About 6,500 Manitoba Hydro customers — mainly in and around Winnipeg — were still without power Friday morning, more than 24 hours after severe thunderstorms rolled through southern areas.
Some outages could continue into Friday night, the Crown corporation said.
“Crews are repairing damaged power lines, poles, transformers and other equipment as quickly and safely as possible,” a statement said.
Storm damage on Cullen Drive on Thursday (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
Hydro said crews made significant progress overnight to restore power to thousands of customers. More than 30,000 customers lost power due to storms that began Wednesday and continued early Thursday.
Powerful wind gusts knocked down trees and power lines. Environment and Climate Change Canada reported wind gusts of 133 km/h in Brandon, 113 km/h in Souris and 91 km/h in Winnipeg.
More than 2,900 lightning strikes were recorded within 50 kilometres of Wiinnipeg.
Power outage numbers are expected to fluctuate throughout the day as Hydro crews continue repairs. Temporary outages may be necessary in some areas to safely repair damaged equipment.
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If an electrical service mast attached to a home was damaged, it must be repaired by a licensed electrician before power can be safely restored, Hydro said.
People who encounter a downed power line should stay at least 10 metres away and call 911 to report it.
City of Winnipeg crews continued to clean up downed trees and broken branches Friday, after receiving nearly 700 requests for service.
Environment Canada is predicting a mostly warm and sunny August long weekend for Winnipeg. Highs of 28 C to 30 C are expected before a chance of showers and a high of 24 C on Monday.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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