A preliminary examination into a days-long power outage that led to a water catastrophe at a northern First Nation found firearm damage near the power line, Manitoba Hydro said Monday. 

The Crown-owned utility said an inspection of the wire that broke at the end of last month in Pimicikamak Cree Nation showed shotgun pellet damage to portions of the infrastructure, including the power line. Chief David Monias issued a statement saying the line has “been vulnerable for years.”

Several aerial markers used to alert aircraft were damaged due to shotgun pellets. 

Manitoba Hydro said while it hasn’t been determined pellets caused the line to break, the utility is warning hunters and other firearm owners that shooting at electrical infrastructure can shorten its lifespan, cause outages and create safety risks. 

Hydro workers have seen damage to infrastructure such as transformers, insulators and hydro poles, but shots fired at aerial markers is new. 

“It was quite disturbing to find all that evidence of gunfire damage to areas (where) we haven’t seen it before,” spokesman Peter Chura said. 

“We aren’t saying that is the cause of the outage. The cause is still under investigation. But any kind of damage like that can weaken a power line.”

The First Nation, located 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg, was without power for about four days when the 300-metre-long power line running between two islands in the Nelson River broke. 

The power went out during a cold snap, resulting in ruptured pipes, the evacuation of 4,400 residents from the area and the deployment of the Armed Forces to help get one of the community’s water treatment plants and its sewage plant back online. 

Pimicikamak’s leader has said it’s likely every one of the 1,300 homes in the community will require some sort of repair. 

Chura said crews have canvassed portions of the line that were not part of the break and discovered similar damage to other aerial marker balls. 

“Out of an abundance of caution, we’re going to replace those lines,” he said. “Once we salvage those three other lines, then we can examine them closely to see if there are actual … pellets in those lines.” 

Manitoba Hydro plans to work with Pimicikamak on replacing the old lines, which will require a planned outage that could last hours. 

The community continues to call for the utility to move the power line out of concern for aging infrastructure and accessibility. 

“This line has been vulnerable for years,” Chief David Monias said in a statement Monday. 

“The rush to replace entire sections of the transmission line makes clear how vulnerable the infrastructure is.”

Monias added until a full investigation takes place, claims about the cause of the outage are premature. 

Premier Wab Kinew has committed to asking the utility to review its response to power outage and to consider moving the community’s line.

He declined to comment on Manitoba Hydro’s discovery at an unrelated news conference Monday. 

Chura said there’s no way to tell how old the damage to the lines and aerial markers is. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2026.