City responds to power loss during deep freeze temperatures

Cold Lake, AB – A large portion of Cold Lake was without power on Friday morning, while outside temperatures plummeted to -40ºC. 

“Shortly after the power went out, we enacted our Emergency Operations Centre, which is a central location for our Incident Management Team to gather during times of crisis,” said Chief Administration Officer Kevin Nagoya.

Most City staff are trained through ICS Canada in various levels of the Incident Command System, allowing them to step into key roles during emergencies.

Liaising with ATCO Electric Services, the City of Cold Lake posted status updates on its website and Facebook page to help keep residents informed of what was happening.

“We understand that it was scary for a lot of residents as temperatures in homes continued to drop,” said Mayor Bob Mattice. “Working in the cold at those temperatures is a challenge in itself, and we are thankful to the ATCO crews who were out there, working to restore power to all residents.”

The power went out around 7:15 a.m., affecting an approximate 6,100 ATCO Electric Services customers. Some areas were restored within a couple of hours, and ATCO Electric Services reports that 88 per cent of affected customers were restored by 11:20 a.m. Power was fully restored by approximately 3:30 p.m.

In response to the incident, which affected many of the traffic lights along Highway 28, Public Works sent out crews with generators to get main intersections running with power. 

“There was a dense fog in the morning, which made travel even worse,” said Mattice. “Drivers could barely see the cars in front of them, let alone darkened intersections that had no working lights. We’re very thankful for those who took extra care while driving on Friday morning, as well as those who were patient with staff and crews while reacting to the situation.”

Cold Lake and District FCSS also opened its doors as a warming station for anyone who was without power.

“Although we never want to experience an emergency situation, this is exactly the kind of scenario that staff train for through ICS,” said Nagoya. “Though you can never be fully prepared for every situation, we are pleased with how staff worked together and responded to the incident.”

During any community emergency event, the City’s website will be updated with information at www.coldlake.com/emergency as well as the City’s Facebook page.

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