Update:
Power was restored at 3:18 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22 to Clearwater and other communities in the region after a 20-hour outage.
BC Hydro confirmed Thursday afternoon there was some infrastructure in critical need of attention that required a planned outage.
The issue is located on the 1L210 line between Barriere and Vavenby, where one of the transmission poles had been found with cracked timbers, noted Susan Edgell in an emailed response.
She said as a result the entire circuit had to be taken out from Heffley Creek to McBride while crews began the work.
Shortly after the power was taken out Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m., it was returned to Barriere and all points south.
Valemount and McBride were also supplied power through independent power producers. However, communities north of Barriere were without power since last evening including Clearwater, Vavenby, Avola and Blue River.
"The reason why the outage has lasted so long is because access to the site proved more challenging than expected," Edgell said. "Transmission crews got to the site (between Barierre and Vavenby) and were unable to access our damaged infrastructure."
A path needed to be bulldozed up a steep incline and vehicles and equipment towed up to the worksite, which was not possible in the dark Wednesday night.
"We only learned this would be the case late last evening," she explained. "In order to maintain the safety of our crews, which is very important, we cannot have them work in darkness. We had to de-energize the line last evening at 7:30 p.m. because if the broken infrastructure fell and pulled down the high voltage line with it, this could have started a forest fire, which is not in anyone’s best interest."
Edgell said work at the site resumed first thing Thursday morning.
The bulk of the time was taken to gain access to the damaged structure. A total of 3,034 customers were without power since 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night.
In a post on its Facebook Thursday afternoon, the District of Clearwater noted even before power was fully restored, they were gradually making progress in replenishing the water reservoir, which had bottomed out at around five per cent capacity.
"This achievement was due to the extraordinary efforts of our public works team, district staff, and the collective support from the community in reducing water consumption."
At a rate of one per cent per hour the reservoir was replenished by trucking water to the fresh water intake at Hascheak Creek.
"Special thanks go out to Oncall for their assistance in ensuring that water reached the intake."
The district noted public works crews are currently out in the field clearing alarms on equipment such as sewer lift stations and pumps, but we're pleased to report that there are no major concerns at this time.
"If you notice you still have no, or low, water pressure, please be patient as public works crews get around to all the neighbourhoods to open valves up to restore pressure."
The district also thanked the TNRD Emergency Management team, who were in constant communication with the district throughout the day, offering "valuable guidance" and keeping staff informed about available equipment.
"Finally, a big thank you to our community for responding so effectively by dramatically lowering water usage. Your cooperation has been vital to our efforts."
Original:
Due to wide spread power outages and heavy water use the District of Clearwater is now subject to immediate emergency water restrictions Thursday, Aug. 22.
The district is asking that all non-essential water use stop until further notice.
Water levels have continued to drop in district reservoirs and will leave the district critically unable to maintain water for fire response, noted the district in a Facebook post.
"Please Inform family friends, and neighbours who may not have received this notice."
Residents are urged to conserve water for drinking and emergency fire fighting requirements.
"All outdoor watering is banned until the power returns and reservoir levels can return to sufficient levels."
The water restriction will begin Immediately until power returns.
This notification is subject to change and any updates will be shared as they become available.
BC Hydro has indicated the power will hopefully be back on by 2:30 p.m.
It has been off since 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening due to repair and replacement work.
The district as activated the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at the fire hall, which is equipped with generator power and Starlink internet access.
Mayor Merlin Blackwell said Thursday afternoon they are trucking in water to keep fire flow for emergencies.
"The hospital is trucking in drinking water and potable water for basic operations," he said. "Telus cell and internet are a crawling speeds or completely out - I expect to hear the modem sound every time I send a text."
With the latest power restoration time for 3:30 p.m., Blackwell said that will be 20 hours without power.
