The chief of a northern Manitoba First Nation has criticized Manitoba Hydro after a multi-day power outage forced some residents to flee the community and temperatures dropped below -30 C Tuesday night.
Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias declared a state of emergency for the First Nation on Monday after power was lost late Sunday when a power line crossing the Nelson River, about 10 kilometers north of the community, snapped.
The First Nation, located approximately 530 kilometers north of Winnipeg, about 7000 inhabitants living in reserve.
Crews working in Pimichikamak said repairs would last until about 6 p.m. Thursday due to the remoteness of the power line and difficult terrain, Manitoba Hydro spokesman Peter Chura previously told CBC News.
The broken line runs between the two islands, Chura said. Crews and materials will have to be flown to each end of the damaged span by helicopter to complete repairs, which are still in progress and should be completed by Thursday, Hydro said in an email to CBC on Wednesday.
Monias says he's not happy with the timing.
“I'm very disappointed. I'm very upset,” Monias told host Marcy Marcus on CBC Manitoba. Information radio Wednesday.
“All of this could have been avoided if a hydraulic line had been built along the highway.”
Hydro previously told Pimitsikamak that relocating the transmission line could take decades and would require multiple studies to examine feasibility and impacts, Monias said.
There is no guarantee that moving the power line closer to the road will prevent extended power outages in the future, Chura told CBC News on Wednesday.
Hydro has sent additional support to Pimicikamak in case repairs take longer than recent estimates, including a 300-kilowatt generator sent from Thompson to power the water treatment plant, as well as several smaller generators and heaters for use at local heating centers, Chur said.
“Families are freezing”
While Pimichikamak's needs are mostly infrastructure-related, they also need more cribs, water, food and gas, Monias said.
Pimicikamak's water and wastewater tanks are frozen and the main water supply is in danger of freezing, he said. The community's reservoir has also dried up.
There were fire and safety risks as some remaining residents used candles and small portable heaters to stay warm, Monias said.
“Families are freezing. Our homes are left without heat and electricity in extreme winter conditions,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s now a human safety issue, not just a power outage.”
Pimichimacak County. Shirley Robinson said it was a “matter of life and death” during a news conference with Monias and Manitoba Garrison Chief Warden Keewatinowi Okimakanak in Winnipeg Wednesday afternoon.
Robinson called on the province to do more to support residents.
“I want governments to act now to help us, to help our nation. Now, at home, we are in a matter of life and death. The temperature is -31°C as we speak,” she said, holding back tears.
Robinson was in Cross Lake when the power went out and helped transport residents to the public works building so they could have a warm place to sleep.
“Prime Minister Wab Kinew, I know you are listening. Join us in declaring a state of emergency and sending the army to Cross Lake as soon as possible,” Robinson said. “Bring out our children. Bring out our old people. Bring out the community.
“We shouldn't beg. We deserve the same standards of care as every other ordinary person in our country.”
Monias said he asked for the residents to be evacuated by plane at a meeting Wednesday morning with Manitoba Hydro, Indigenous Services Canada and the Canadian Red Cross.
But he hopes evacuations will no longer be necessary: 600 generators will begin being delivered to the area on Wednesday.
Several busloads of Pimicikamak residents were taken to Thompson, about 125 kilometers north, or south to Winnipeg, where they stayed in hotels.
Troy Paupanekis and his family of six arrived in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
The first couple of nights without power, they stayed warm by huddling together in the same room using a three-wick candle and body heat after their generator froze and didn't work.
They ended up going to the public works building before being evacuated.
“Now we are here. We're warm. We are grateful to our community,” Paupanekis said. “We’ve been taken care of, so I’m glad about that.”
“We're stuck here”
Philip Birdie, 70, was already in Winnipeg when the power went out in his area.
“We're stuck here now,” he told CBC News on Wednesday.
This is not the first time the power line has failed, Birdie said, as wind has caused it to sway and break in the past.
“We've been talking to Manitoba Hydro about this for a long time.”
It was “very devastating” for the people of Pimicikamak, he said.
“Nobody likes to leave their community, especially this time of year.”
