B.C. Hydro outage: Thousands of customers without power in Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley

Emergency crews are working to restore power to thousands of B.C. Hydro customers in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley after a major outage hit the region on Tuesday morning.

As of 8:30 a.m., B.C. Hydro's outage map showed more than 30,000 customers were without power in Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Mission, and Chilliwack.

The outage was caused by a problem at a substation in Burnaby, according to B.C. Hydro spokesperson Susie Rieder. She said crews are on site and working to fix the problem, but there is no estimated time for when power will be restored.

"We apologize for the inconvenience this is causing our customers," Rieder said. "We are working as quickly as possible to restore power."

In the meantime, B.C. Hydro is urging customers to stay away from downed power lines and to report any outages by calling 1-800-BCHYDRO (1-800-224-9376).

Customers can also check the B.C. Hydro outage map for updates on the situation.