ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Wildfires in Labrador have caused power outages in the west and evacuations in the east, leaving hundreds of people in the region wondering where they’ll take their next shower or when they might be able to return home.
The fires knocked out power from two transmission lines Tuesday afternoon, leaving the western communities of Labrador City and Wabush in the dark.
Jordan Brown, the NDP member of the legislature for the area, said officials have since managed to get power into Labrador City from Fermont, Que. But he said there is no way to do the same for the nearby town of Wabush.
“It’s just the way the system was designed, because it was designed around mining, not around building a community,” Brown said in an interview Wednesday. But the people of Labrador City are certainly providing a community for their electricity-deprived neighbours from Wabush, he added.
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro said late Tuesday night that it had evacuated all of its remaining staff from the massive hydroelectric generating station in Churchill Falls, after a nearby wildfire jumped a river earlier that day that had been acting as a natural fire break.
The community of Churchill Falls, which is roughly 250 kilometres east of Labrador City, was evacuated last week. But critical staff had remained to operate the power plant, which supplies electricity to Labrador and Quebec. The plant is now being operated remotely with a reduced load.
On Wednesday, the Crown-owned energy company said it had restored power to most customers in Labrador City, though it asked residents to conserve electricity and hot water.
“For Wabush customers, we are actively working to identify options to provide electricity. Thanks for your continued understanding,” the company said in a social media post.
Wabush is home to roughly 1,900 people and the outage shut down parts of the municipal water system, forcing officials to impose a boil order. Brown said people in Labrador City, home to about 7,450 people, were offering showers and clean water to residents of Wabush, which is a 10-minute drive away.
The local Iron Rock Brewery invited Wabush residents to fill up their jugs with clean water at no cost, and a non-profit fitness organization, Work Out World Inc., offered showers to anyone needing them. “We’re just going to help as many people as we possibly can,” manger Teri Batlett said in an interview.
Premier Andrew Furey is expected to provide update on the fires this afternoon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2024.
