Power restored early in northern communities

Manitoba Hydro says work to restore power to hundreds of northern customers amid wildfires this spring and summer will be finished earlier than expected.

Power was being restored to Lynn Lake and Marcel Colomb First Nation on Thursday, the Crown corporation said in a news release.

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (Pukatawagan) and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (South Indian Lake) were back on the grid Wednesday. Repairs to one transmission line to improve reliability in Mathias Colomb will be done next week.

Power was restored in Leaf Rapids on Tuesday.

The work will be finished two to four weeks sooner than expected, the release said. Favourable weather, reduced wildfire activity, and well-planned logistics and camps housing crews, helped speed up the process, Hydro said.

“These communities have been under terrible strain due to this devastating wildfire season,” Jeff Betker — Hydro’s vice-president of external and Indigenous relations, environment and communications — said in a news release. “We’re pleased we’ve been able to restore power, much more quickly than initially thought, without compromising safety.”

More than 1,000 hydro poles, and other equipment, were damaged or destroyed amid Manitoba’s worst wildfire season in decades, often in remote areas and difficult terrain, Hydro said. The cost of the restoration effort is estimated to be $32 million.