Power out in many parts of Portage la Prairie

With the wind gusting as high as 100 km/h at times this morning, it is no surprise power outages have been reported.

Hydro crews are already in the area doing their best to restore power but as quickly as some outages are being repaired, more are being reported.

The number is changing minute by minute but as of 3:40 p.m., a large area northeast in Portage is still without power. 

People are reminded if a tree has fallen on power lines to stay away from the area and report the situation immediately.

MB Hydro media relations officer Bruce Owen weighs in.

"In your area in Portage la Prairie, we've got a couple of outages -- one in town and one north. These outages are widespread throughout the southwest into the Parkland and now getting into Eastman and Grand Beach, for instance," says Owen. "There are a lot of trees coming down taking out lines. If they're not taking out lines, the tree branches are resting against lines, also causing outages."

Owen provides some tips if you see an incident.

"If anybody comes across a live line, they need to stay at least 10 meters away. Call 911," notes Owen. "It's an emergency situation, especially if it's in a populated area. I've been checking our outage map and at 9:00 or 8:00 o'clock this morning. There were around 15,000. It's around 13,000 right now. It will keep going up and down all day as the wind persists. We're trying to get everybody up -- most people up -- in one fix as possible, but some areas are going to be without power for a little bit longer."

Owen adds they preach the same note every time an event like this occurs.

"Get ready. This is our fourth go-around of Colorado Lows and heavy rains this year and this spring," says Owen. "If you have any time in your schedule, once the power is back on, you need to go to our website. Learn what you need to do to build a basic emergency kit, and please do it because the need to be prepared is certainly being demonstrated this spring."

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