Phone and internet being restored after technicians fix wildfire-damaged line

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Technicians have been able tofix a fibre line north of a B.C. community impacted by wildfireto help begin restoringtelecommunicationservices in the North, according toNorthwestel.

The company saysinternetand mobility services are coming back online for Yukon and northern B.C. residents, with full restoration expected overnight.

In the Northwest Territories, internet issuesin Yellowknifehave been resolved, with 911 services restored, and phone andinternetare back but could be congested forthe Beaufort Delta region.

Internet, long-distance calling and cellphoneservices are still being impactedin the Mackenzie Valley region of the N.W.T., Fort Simpson,NahanniButte and FortLiard. Nunavut is also seeing disruptions to long-distance calls, according toNorthwestel's update late on Saturday.

Tammy April, thecompany's vice-president of customer relations, said earlier in the day thatwork to repair the line north of Fort Nelson, B.C., was almost completewhenshifting windscreated unsafe fire conditions that put them"in a bit of a holding pattern."

"We are closely monitoring the active wildfires near critical infrastructure and want to advise the public that conditions can change quickly and services could become impacted," said the company.

Wildfires around Fort Nelson, B.C., and FortLiard, N.W.T., had caused widespreadoutages in Yukon and parts of N.W.T. including911 emergency services.

Northwestelfirst announced outageson Friday night.

Workers also remain on standby to fix a separate damages location in the Mackenzie Valley and Beaufort Delta areas of N.W.T.

"At this time, there is no ETA for this restoration," the update said.

Fires burned through Northwestelredundancy options

April said the fires hit fibre lines that not only provided service, but also provided redundancy for one another. The one was "scorched"by Fort Nelson, while the other was hitby a wildfire between Jean Marie River First Nation andKakisa.

"To have fires happen just exactly where they did, I don't think we've seen something like that happen before," she said.

"It's tremendously concerning."

April said the issue of critical infrastructure being vulnerable to wildfires was highlighted last year and this is something thatNorthwestelhas brought up to different levels of government.

"When these sorts of incidents are happening we try to work with our provincial and territorial partners to ensure they're aware of where our critical infrastructure is and we do our best to ensure they're keeping that fire clear of those areas," she said.

How to get help

911 emergency services were down formuch of N.W.T., Nunavutand Yukon but are being restored.

Sean Smith, chief ofKwanlinDnFirst Nation inYukon, said staff in his office wouldbe going door-to-door to check on people, especially elders.

"Ensuring that they're not worried, or if there's any issues, whether it's medical or access to food, anything that they need, we want to be there and be responsive to that," he said.

Some landline 911 calling was workingin Whitehorse, but peoplewho can't get help were askedgo to the ambulances stationed at:

• Canada Games Centre
• KwanlinMall/Independent
• PetroOne/IntegraFuel in Port Creek
• Whistle Bend roundabout
• Rest stop at the top of South Access/Robert Service Way
• Security guards at Superstore, Cornerstone building at Seventh on Main
• Yukon Inn front desk Sirius security patrol vehicles from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Those still being impactedbythe outage in N.W.T.can reachRCMPat 867-765-8337. Residents who can't reach emergency services by phone should go to their localRCMPdetachment or health centre.

Temporary cell numbers were set up for residents in Yellowknife before911 was restored.

Inuvikresidents should contactthe local fire department at 867-678-5379 if they can't reach anyone in caseof emergencies. The fire department will then refer calls through toRCMPor ambulance services if needed. Residents can also get help atthe localRCMPdetachment.

• Track wildfire smoke, active fires and air quality across Canada

In a news release issued Saturday evening, the Government of Nunavut suggestedresidents should seek help at the local detachment in person if they couldn't call in.

Iqaluit localsunable to reach the main emergency number at 867-979-4422 are asked to call 867-222-2954. The Nunavut Emergency Management duty line had been down, butanyone in need could emailNEM@gov.nu.ca.

The release also said the duty line for the Nunavut fire marshal was not working, butcouldemailnunavutfiremarshal@gov.nu.caif needed.