North-central Saskatchewan continues cleanup efforts following weekend storm

After severe weekend storms pummelled north-central Saskatchewan, crews are still working to restore power in some areas, according to SaskPower.

Saturday evening saw a widespread outage affecting a “very large area” that included Prince Albert, Melfort, Shellbrook, Spiritwood, Nipawin, Candle Lake, La Roche and Hudson Bay, said Joel Cherry, spokesperson with SaskPower, adding that 50,000 customers were impacted.

Power to this area was restored by Sunday morning, but another storm that day caused further outages in the region, said Cherry.

“It wasn’t just one single storm that caused it. We had another storm on Sunday that caused outages in the northeast,” he said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, a few hundred customers in the area were still without power, said Cherry, adding that the utility expects to restore power to all customers in the area before the end of the day Tuesday. The utility’s outage map provides the latest information.

Cherry says the weekend storms caused “extensive damage” to both large transmission lines and secondary systems, with the widespread damage making restoration more difficult.

“In terms of the total number of outages, it’s the highest we’ve seen not only this year but in several years over the course of a short period,” he said.

The village of Aylsham, located about a 30-minute drive southeast of Nipawin, declared a local state of emergency Tuesday afternoon, urging residents to avoid using the water system and unnecessary travel.

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“This declaration allows the Village to coordinate emergency response efforts, request additional assistance, and take the necessary steps to protect the health and safety of our residents,” says a social media post from the village about the state of emergency.

Yvonne Angelica lives in the village of Aylsham and says she couldn’t believe the impact of the storm on her area.

“There are so many damaged lines, so many broken poles that are taking them. They were here yesterday from eight in the morning till 10:30 at night,” Angelica said.

Aylsham resident Cori Jones says driving home Saturday evening through the storm was “terrifying,” with the thought of a tree ripping through her mobile home keeping her up all night.

“When I actually felt the house move was when my stomach turned because it was like, ‘Is this a tornado that we’re about to get?’” Jones told Global News in an interview.

“We have a nine-month-old son, so there is nothing scarier than being in something that could potentially move.”

Jones says she was without power for three days, something she calls “a nightmare.” But while she has a backup generator, she says not everyone is in the same position.

“I know my mother-in-law right now hasn’t had power for the last three days, and I know all three of her freezers are now garbage. The food in her fridge is garbage,” she said.

In nearby Carrot River, emergency responders worked tirelessly through the weekend to clean up after what they say is the worst storm this year.

“My crew put in some insane hours, and I’m very appreciative and very proud of the work that they put in. They were on standby. As soon as I asked them to, they were out and about in my community helping out where they could,” said Jordgan Sinclair, Carrot River’s fire chief.

The storm also derailed weekend plans for visitors to nearby Pasquia Regional Park, another hurdle for the park, which faced a late start due to spring flooding.

“We’ve lost a lot of revenue that’s not going to be made up, so that’s going to be a tough one,” said Elvira Pompu, general manager of Pasquia Regional Park, adding that the loss of power for three days and the debris from the storm meant the park had to shut down its pool, golf course and playground.

Images shared with Global News from the park show downed trees cutting through camper trailers and crushing the tops of golf carts on the park’s golf course.

Pompu says she does not have a dollar figure for the total costs associated with the weekend storms, but is thankful to all community members who volunteered their time to help with the cleanup efforts and hopes the weather will “start to cooperate” more going forward.

The park is slowly reopening, said Pompu, with the playground, pool and golf course resuming operations in the coming days.