PIKANGIKUM — Residents of a number of remote First Nations in Northwestern Ontario are back on the electricity grid after losing service due to a forest fire.
Red Lake fire 62 caused damage to several wooden poles on Saturday along a line between Red Lake and Pikangikum.
This impacted Pikangikum, Deer Lake, Sandy Lake, Poplar Hill, North Spirit Lake and Keewaywin First Nations, although a few of the communities have backup diesel generators for power.
Wataynikaneyap Power, which manages the system, reported Tuesday evening that the damaged poles had been safely replaced.
It said Pikangikum, North Spirit Lake and Keewaywin First Nations were already reconnected to grid power, while the other communities had their infrastructure energized so as to allow a transition from the diesel-powered service.
Transfer back to the grid was coordinated with Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
