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Transmission structure fire leaves thousands without power Thursday

May 3, 2018 | 1:42 PM

A transmission structure fire is being blamed for a widespread power outage that extends north of the Battlefords to areas such as Meadow Lake, Beauval, Buffalo Narrows and La Loche, leaving thousands without electricity today.

Jordan Jackle, with SaskPower, said they were alerted about the situation at approximately 5 a.m. this morning when a major transmission line tripped.

“Crews discovered that there was a transmission structure that had caught fire at some point and caused significant damage,” Jackle said. “We are not sure at this point what started the fire, but right now our priority is to get residents without power back online. “

Jackle said SaskPower crews have been able to re-route and restore power to some specific communities but it may still be a few hours before the power is fully restored.

“This is a pretty widespread power outage,” he said. “At this point, we estimate power should be restored by 5 p.m. this evening if all goes right.”

 The challenge for SaskPower, Jackle said, is to get equipment including a crane into the area with the structural damage in a way that doesn’t compromise the safety of their workers.

“Safety is paramount,” he said. “We need to consider we have high winds of around 60 km/h outside right now, so things may be a bit tricky.”

This is the second significant power outage that SaskPower has had to deal with this week. On Tuesday afternoon residents from the west side of the Saskatoon area, including Martensville, Warman, and Shellbrook, were left without power for six hours after a faulty piece of equipment sparked a small fire on a power line.

 

roger.white@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW