Lights back on across province: Hydro

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This article was published 25/10/2019 (2348 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Hydro says the power is back in all communities cut off by snowstorm damage two weeks ago, and evacuees can return home.

Large diesel generators will temporarily supply power to Little Saskatchewan and Lake St. Martin First Nations and the community of Dauphin River, as work continues to repair power lines to the communities damaged during the storm, the provincial utility said in a news release Friday.

Downed power lines during the Thanksgiving weekend storm left 53,000 Manitobans without power, prompting Premier Brian Pallister to declare a state of emergency. Close to 6,000 evacuees from 13 First Nations registered with the Canadian Red Cross.

“Evacuees from the communities are slowly starting to head home,” said Michelle Palansky, Red Cross spokeswoman in Winnipeg. The Red Cross still has its reception centre for evacuees at the RBC Convention Centre but the operation is downsizing, she said.

On Thursday, the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council said most community members have returned home — but the emergency isn’t over for many.

“There are still ongoing issues of our water treatment plants needing testing and further treatment to ensure proper drinking water is available to each community and its members,” council chief executive officer Karl Zadnik said. “Basements and crawl spaces are flooded, making homes uninhabitable because of mould concerns.”

Zadnik was unavailable for comment Friday.

In the two weeks since the storm hit Winnipeg, southwestern Manitoba and the Interlake, close to 1,000 workers with Manitoba Hydro and its partner utilities replaced more than 4,000 damaged wood poles in 11 days, and repaired approximately 950 kilometres of power lines.

“Manitoba Hydro employees worked tirelessly around the clock to restore power to communities affected by the fall storm,” Pallister said in the Hydro news release.

Crews from SaskPower, Hydro One (Ontario) and Minnesota Power began returning home Wednesday. Hydro’s employees are also returning home and to regular duties.

“This was a huge challenge for Manitoba Hydro and one we met head-on with the help of neighbouring utilities, partner contractors and the support of thousands of Manitobans,” Crown corporation president and CEO Jay Grewal said in Friday’s release.

Now, the utility has to retrieve the broken poles, transformers, overhead wires and other materials left when new lines were built to quickly restore power to customers. Hydro said it expects to finish the cleanup by mid-November, weather permitting. In the meantime, don’t touch any of the damaged equipment, it warned.

“We’re asking our customers to be on the lookout for these materials in all areas of southern Manitoba, as it could pose a hazard to anyone riding an off-road vehicle, such as an ATV, dirt bike or snowmobile, or to cross-country skiers and back-country hikers,” said Grewal.

Manitobans should call 911 if any reported damage looks recent and is an immediate public safety risk, Hydro advised. Livestock producers or those with animals should try to keep them away from areas with downed power lines, broken poles or damaged equipment to avoid injury or entanglement.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca