Courtesy saskpower.com
*UPDATE – SaskPower says the power in Dillon and St. George’s Hill will likely remain off until tomorrow, due to damaged lines, the weather and road conditions.
*UPDATE – SaskPower says it’s well aware of all the localized power outages in Meadow Lake and Green Lake — even though power was restored to much of those communities this afternoon.
The utility says there is a large number of trees and lines down in those communities from the snow and ice buildup from the recent weather.
There is still no estimated time of repair for the outages in Pierceland, Goodsoil and surrounding area.
But SaskPower hopes to have power restored to Waterhen Lake by 8 p.m. this evening and in Ministikwan by 9:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Ministikwan and Makwa reserves have also lost SaskTel land line, cell and Internet services as a result of the power outages.
While crews are working to restore the services as quickly as possible, they don’t have an estimated time of repair.
Power is gradually being restored to parts of western Saskatchewan affected by the recent heavy snowfall and rain.
This morning, SaskPower was reporting that most of Meadow Lake was without power because of several downed power lines in the area.
The utility is now reporting that electricity to the community is partially restored.
Outages were also reported in Goodsoil, Pierceland, Ministikwan, Makwa Lake, Loon Lake and surrounding areas.
This morning, repairs were completed and power restored in Pinehouse Lake.
An area stretching from Waskesiu north to Southend was also affected by an outage, which began Sunday afternoon and continued in some areas until early this morning.
SaskPower is reporting that there may still be some localized outages and crews are making patrols, looking for downed trees and power lines.
SaskPower spokesperson Jonathon Tremblay says members of the public are also being asked to report any downed power lines immediately, and to stay at least ten meters away from downed power lines.
“A downed line may not look like anything is happening, but power may still be flowing to it and that may actually energize the trees around it,” he said.
The power outages resulted in precautionary drinking water advisories for a number of communities, including La Ronge and Air Ronge.
Anyone using water from the La Ronge system should boil it for one minute in situations where it may be ingested.
That includes things like brushing teeth, washing fruits or vegetables, washing dishes and making ice cubes.