A BC Hydro pole from the Merritt-area would have an epic story to tell after it found its way to the Lower Mainland, hundreds of kilometres away, after being washed away by floods in November.

It was one of 87 poles lost in flooding along the Highway 8 corridor between Merritt and Spences Bridge after relentless rain that forced the evacuation of a number of communities including Merritt. The electric utility also lost 14 transformers along that route.

In an statement Tuesday, Hydro spokesperson Kyle Donaldson says an employee spotted the pole washed up along the rocks while out for a walk along the 12th Avenue dyke in Tsawwassen on Christmas Day. It was later confirmed to have been one that was installed in the Shackan Indian Band along Highway 8 in 2010.

“The pole would’ve made the epic journey down the Nicola River, past Spences Bridge, into the Thompson River, down the Fraser River and into the Pacific Ocean (Straight of Georgia) before floating around past Tsawwassen and Point Roberts and finally into Boundary Bay,” he said, in a statement.

“The pole itself is broken. And for it to have travelled the way it did, speaks to the severity of this flooding event.”

More than 60 BC Hydro poles from the Highway 8 corridor are still missing, with Donaldson noting that 50 customers in Merritt and the surrounding area are still without power at this time.

“[It is] down from 289 on Dec. 6,” he added. “All of the remaining restorations require extensive reconstruction of Highway 8 and then large scale rebuilds of distribution lines in new locations.”

That work will likely continue well into the spring or early summer, Donaldson noted.