First Nations face months without power in wake of wildfires

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This article was published 11/08/2021 (1233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

People left without power due to wildfire damage in two First Nations communities could be waiting months for Manitoba Hydro to complete repairs, the provincial NDP says.

Fires around Lake Winnipeg have burned hydro poles at Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids, and returning power to those without it needs to be top priority, MLAs Ian Bushie (Keewatinook) and Adrien Sala (St. James) say in a letter, dated Aug. 6, to Crown Services Minister Jeff Wharton.

“Our understanding is that several kilometres of transmission lines… have been affected by the fire, and that as a result, these communities have been told by Manitoba Hydro that they may be waiting upwards of two to three months until power is restored,” the letter reads.

Despite media previously reporting Hydro considered the preliminary timeline for repairs to be two to three months, a spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro told the Free Press Thursday they wouldn’t be able to provide a timeline — and didn’t know where the two- to three-month timeline was sourced from, calling the damage “not as bad as it could have been.”

There are 55 fire-damaged poles and 33 crossarms that require replacement, affecting approximately 1,500 people between the two communities. In 2019, it took two weeks to replace 20 poles lost to fire near Little Grand Rapids.

“Manitoba Hydro engineering staff are now working on a plan to replace the damaged structures. We are also in the early stages of marshalling our crews and contractors to begin the difficult work of completely rebuilding the line in extremely challenging terrain,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Helicopters will be needed to bring in crews and equipment, because much of the area that requires service is swampy and not accessible by road, and many of the poles typically require equipment too heavy to move easily through this type of terrain, which will make the repair process “slower and more labour intensive.”

Bushie said the timeline came from leaders in those communities, who had been told as such by Manitoba Hydro. Bushie suggested Hydro was back-tracking, noting he and Sala had not heard back from either Wharton or Manitoba Hydro.

“Perhaps they thought that we would just take that (timeline) at face value,” he said. “But the fact of the matters is Hydro has the capabilities and the resources, whether it be within their own infrastructure or whether it be contracting out to other various powerline companies in the provinces, to get that done in an expedited fashion.”

In a statement, Wharton said he sympathized with the residents of these communities left without power.

“Our government is aware of the post-fire restoration efforts and have been in continuous conversations with Manitoba Hydro,” he said. “We have been informed that Manitoba Hydro is exploring all options to restore power to customers in the region and ensure that the community can have a safe return home as quickly as possible.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_