Residents of the remote Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba had to evacuate, then evacuate again after a downed power line cut off heating heat in the winter cold, leaving them with burst pipes and a failing water treatment plan after the initial break was repaired.

Completion of the initial, challenging repairs came a day after Pimicikamak Chief David Monias urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to send in the military to deal with the crisis caused by the outage, The Canadian Press reported Jan. 1.

In July, Pimicikamak was one of the First Nations that had to evacuate because of nearby wildfires.

Then late on Sunday, Dec. 28, the community lost power when a line crossing the Nelson River snapped.

Manitoba Hydro said in a statement it would gradually restore power in stages last Thursday to avoid overloading the system and potentially damaging equipment, explaining in a statement that electric furnaces and other equipment can draw very heavy current when they initially come online in cold weather.

The 300-metre line ran between two islands in the Nelson River, where the ice was not thick enough to support repair vehicles, the utility said. But meanwhile, water tanks had frozen, sewage systems were failing, and the community had run out of potable water, Monias wrote in a letter to Carney.

“Elders, infants, children and medically vulnerable citizens are at immediate risk,” said the letter, dated Dec. 31.

“Time is critical. Every hour of delay deepens the harm and increases the risk to our people. I urge your immediate attention and action.”

Monias noted evacuations from the community about 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg were under way, with families moved to Norway House, Thompson, and Winnipeg.

“Hotel capacity in nearby centres is exhausted, and additional evacuations are expected as conditions worsen,” the letter said. “Once power is restored, widespread burst pipes and flooding are anticipated, which will further extend this emergency and displace more families.”

The chief said that despite the involvement of Indigenous Services Canada and the Canadian Red Cross, the scale and severity of the crisis exceeded local and regional capacity. “Essential resources, equipment, and personnel are insufficient to meet urgent needs on the ground.”

He asked for immediate deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces’ Joint Task Force West to provide help, including emergency logistical support, airlift and ground transportation for evacuations and supplies, temporary shelter support such as cots, blankets, and heating, and water delivery and sanitation support.

A Month to Finish Repairs

On Friday, the day after the provincial utility restored power, CBC reported that repairs in the community would take three weeks to a month unless more plumbers could be brought in to speed up the work. A day later, about 4,000 people out of a population of 7,000 were evacuated again, and Monias said repairs could cost at least $44 million. Premier Wab Kinew was scheduled to visit the community Wednesday.

“Randy Spence, one of 10 plumbers working in the community, estimates about 70% of homes there have had damage to their plumbing,” CBC wrote Friday. “He said he’s seen multiple flooded crawl spaces and water pooling in homes’ main living areas—sometimes rising to more than an inch high—during recent service calls.”

“Oh my goodness, it’s been hectic here,” Spence told the national broadcaster. “Right now, nothing is under control,” with the available plumbers mostly working to turn off main valves to prevent further damage.

On Saturday, Monias said hundreds of homes had been “severely compromised”. Band councillor Shirley Robinson warned the outage had caused “tremendous damage to our Nation”, with the community’s water treatment plant “ready to collapse.”

Last summer, several thousand people from the community and surrounding area were taken by plane 500 kilometres south to Winnipeg due to wildfires, CP recalls. At times, heavy smoke closed the local airport.

Getting everybody out of the area took a week, and the evacuation lasted roughly one month, starting in early July.

Monias said in his letter to Carney that the current request “is not made lightly, but out of necessity.”

“As a First Nation, we should not be left to endure repeated emergencies alone, particularly when the risks are foreseeable and preventable,” he wrote.

Manitoba Hydro said in its statement it had assigned 20 staff to work in the community and supplied a large generator to restore power to a water treatment plant and eight generators to power heavy-duty heaters for the community’s use since the outage.

Soraya Lemur, press secretary to Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski, said federal departments were actively monitoring the situation and working to ensure power was fully restored as quickly and safely as possible. She added that federal and provincial officials and non-governmental and Indigenous organizations on the ground were working together to support the community and respond to emerging needs, Lemur added.

“This includes the delivery of generators, heaters, food and water, as well as the evacuation of community members, where needed,” she said.

The main body of this report was first published by The Canadian Press on Jan. 1, 2026.