Province’s Northeast Hit By Prolonged Blackout
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 15:34
SaskPower crews were forced to use snow buggies to reach the source of a prolonged power outage in northeast Saskatchewan.
Communities from Hall Lake to Southend were without electricity for eight hours today, starting just after 6:30 this morning.
SaskPower spokesman Larry Christie says heavy wet snow snapped a couple of crossarms in a remote location just south of La Ronge — and it took some doing to reach the site.
Christie says they had to fly in a helicopter just to spot the trouble.
Power was temporarily restored around 1:00 p.m., but Christie says it went down for another hour-and-half when the surge of power caused an equipment failure.
Christopher Lake, Waskesiu and Weyakwin also saw the lights go out this morning, but they came back on within an hour-and-a-half.