Power has been restored to half a dozen First Nations in northwestern Ontario after a series of hydro poles along the Wataynikaneyap Power line were damaged by wildfires on Saturday.
Wataynikaneyap Power said the restoration was completed as of 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
“Pikangikum, North Spirit Lake and Keewaywin First Nations are reconnected to grid power,” Tuesday night’s update said.
“Deer Lake, Sandy Lake, and Poplar Hill First Nations have their assets energized to allow a reconnection to the grid from their diesel generator back-ups. Transfer to grid power will be co-ordinated with Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.”
The outages created a number of challenges in the communities, resulting in food spoilage, overheating in people’s homes, and shortages of food, fuel and other essential supplies, as Pikangikum First Nation’s chief told CBC News.
Pikangikum First Nation has been without power for four days after wildfires damaged six hydro poles in northwestern Ontario, causing outages in as many First Nations. Here’s the latest from Chief Paddy Peters about what the remote Ojibway community is going through.
However, surrounding wildfires still pose threats to a number of communities in the region. Pikangikum is continuing to evacuate its most vulnerable members to Thunder Bay and Sioux Lookout due to Red Lake 62, a 31,000-hectare, out-of-control blaze just seven kilometres away.
Meanwhile, North Spirit Lake sent its at-risk members to Toronto because of Red Lake 40, which is more than 8,700 hectares large and remains not under control.
A spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) provided an emailed statement to CBC News on Tuesday evening.
“Indigenous Services Canada continues to work in close collaboration with all partners to support evacuation operations and respond to emergency needs as the situation evolves,” said Anispiragas Piragasanathar.
“Through the Emergency Management Assistance Program (EMAP), ISC reimburses all eligible costs related to wildfire response and recovery, including evacuation support and culturally-sensitive services such as mental health care, traditional foods, language interpretation, and child care.”
Elsewhere, a 32,000-hectare fire known as Red Lake 67 prompted self-evacuations in McDowell Lake First Nation. East of Poplar Hill, the Red Lake 72 fire has grown to 4,900 hectares.
The region’s largest wildfire, Red Lake 12, continues to be observed at 195,000 hectares.
Recent rainfall is expected to reduce fire behaviour in much of the Red Lake sector, fire information officer Chris Marchand told CBC News on Tuesday.
Thanks to the precipitation, the wildland fire hazard is now low to moderate across the entire northwest region.