Some River Heights residents are waking up without power for a third day Tuesday, as Manitoba Hydro crews prepare to resume repairs following extensive damage from Sunday’s severe storm.
Manitoba Hydro warned Monday evening that customers affected by the River Heights outage should prepare for a multi-day outage. The utility’s latest estimate calls for full restoration on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Crews stopped restoration work Monday evening for safety reasons and were expected to resume Tuesday morning.
“For the safety of our crews and the public, work on restoring power will wind down this evening to be resumed in the morning. Crews made good progress today in securing the site, including cutting around and removing trees and broken infrastructure,” Manitoba Hydro said in an update Monday night.
Manitoba Hydro’s outage map continued to show several affected areas in River Heights early Tuesday morning.
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Extensive damage complicates repairs
The utility described the River Heights repairs as “extremely challenging” after Sunday’s storm caused highly localized damage to electrical infrastructure.
Downed power lines, broken utility poles, and fallen trees are among the obstacles crews have encountered.
As of 5 a.m. Tuesday a large area of River Heights remains without power. (Manitoba Hydro)
Manitoba Hydro said crews made progress Monday securing damaged areas and removing trees and broken infrastructure before work was halted for the night.
As of 4:10 p.m. Monday, about 3,100 customers remained without electricity between the separate River Heights and Westwood outages. Hydro had initially reported about 6,700 customers without power in the two areas following Sunday’s storm.
Westwood power restored
Customers in Westwood were given a more optimistic timeline Monday evening.
Manitoba Hydro said shortly before 8 p.m. that it expected full restoration in Westwood Monday night. Hydro’s outage map on Tuesday morning shows that was the case.
Earlier in the day, crews had been repairing damage at Cavalier Station. Hydro said the restoration estimate depended on the repairs and whether additional damage was discovered as work progressed.
Customers in Silver Heights, Woodhaven, Crestview, and Westwood were also warned Monday that they could experience brief power interruptions while crews safely completed storm-related restoration work.
Sunday’s powerful storm caused widespread damage across Winnipeg, bringing down trees and power lines, snapping utility poles, flooding streets, and leaving thousands without electricity.
Manitoba Hydro has repeatedly reminded residents to stay at least 10 metres away from downed power lines and anything they are touching, and to call 911.