Pimicikamak Cree Nation declares state of emergency after power outage

Residents of a northern Manitoba First Nation are being told that their power will not be restored until late in the day on New Year’s Eve.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation declared a state of emergency on Monday following a widespread power outage in the Cross Lake area around 11:30 p.m. Sunday.

The community, which is about 750 kilometres north of Winnipeg, was initially told that power could potentially be restored by around 5 p.m. Tuesday. That’s been updated to 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to an email from Manitoba Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura on Monday.

An estimated 1,300 meters are affected by the outage, but the number of people impacted is much greater.

Hydro crews used a helicopter to discover a power line stretching across the Nelson River snapped about 10 kilometres north of Pimicikamak. Specialized equipment, including track vehicles, worked Monday to clear an access road to the site.

“Crews need at least one full day of daylight to safely perform the majority of the work, including reconnecting the power line across the river,” Chura said in the email.

Work to fix the damaged line needs to be done during daylight hours for the safety of Hydro workers, Chura said.

“It's in a remote area with some challenging terrain, and crossing a river especially makes it a difficult, more time consuming project,” Chura said in an earlier interview.

“But we're working to get it done as quickly and safely as possible, understanding absolutely the difficulties the community is in.”

Chief David Monias was away from the community on holidays when he heard about the power outage. He was on his way back to Pimicikamak on Monday afternoon to tend to the situation. 

With temperatures below –20, and with it feeling closer to –30 with the wind chill, Monias and his team are working to provide warmth and shelter to the community’s most vulnerable members. The community’s public works building, as well as the old nursing station have been opened up to house people without power.

“We implemented an emergency plan to make sure to check on people. We have safety officers transporting people. We also have them checking on people to make sure they're OK,” Monias told CBC.

“We have our local councillors, executive council members that are working around the clock to make sure people are taken care of.”

He’s been in contact with several provincial and federal individuals and groups, including Indigenous Services Canada and Premier Wab Kinew.