BC Hydro raced to restore power to thousands of customers after wind and snow caused outages across the South Coast overnight Saturday.

Approximately 27,000 people woke up without power Sunday morning.

The hardest hit areas were the Fraser Valley, North Vancouver and the east coast of Vancouver Island, including Nanaimo and Campbell River, according to BC Hydro spokesperson Tanya Fish.

"The outages popped up overnight because of snow and high winds," said Fish.

Fish said the snow adds weight to branches and causes them to snap and fall onto power lines. She is reminding anyone who comes across a downed line to stay 10 metres away and call 911.

According to BC Hydro, the outages began around midnight and continued into the early morning hours of Sunday. There was no estimated time for when all customers would have power restored.

"The weather is easing, that should help our crews," said Fish.

For more information and up-to-date outage details, visit BC Hydro's website.