A power outage brought on by winds of more than 100 km/h in Ulukhaktok will continue into Sunday, the NWT Power Corporation says.
The hamlet of 450 people is under both wind and blizzard warnings. Conditions were expected to gradually improve overnight into Sunday.
The community’s airport weather station has reported sustained winds above 70 km/h and gusts above 90 km/h since 8pm on Friday, topping out at 114 km/h gusts on Saturday morning.
Parts of Ulukhaktok lost power in the early hours of Saturday. The wind has since caused more problems and prevented the NWT Power Corporation from easily dispatching a crew to the community.
“The full community outage will continue overnight as a result of the ongoing storm,” the power corporation said on Saturday evening.
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“A number of powerlines are down and powerline technicians are required to make the necessary repairs. NTPC will continue to monitor the weather and will try to arrange for a charter to be available as soon as flights can safely land at the local airport.”
Some residents described barely being able to stand in the wind on Saturday morning. There were reports of minor damage to some buildings.
Meanwhile, Ulukhaktok’s school opened its doors as a warming shelter, source of food, and emergency broadcaster of the World Series’ deciding game.
“Come on up to the school if you are getting cold, need food or water, or are just wanting to be around people,” the school posted online.
“We’re all here for each other. We’ll be showing the Jays game at 6pm too!”
Sachs Harbour was similarly under a wind and blizzard warning as of 5:30pm on Saturday, with conditions forecast to improve later that evening.
