Early morning power outage in southeast Calgary

ENMAX crews replace a power pole in the 2400 block of 31 Ave. S.W. following a Saturday morning fire. A similar fire caused a large outage in SE Calgary.

With the exception of flashing clocks in their homes, residents in several southeast neighbourhoods encountered little evidence of a Saturday morning power outage, thanks in part to the quick response of ENMAX employees.

Shortly before 5:00 a.m., ENMAX crews responded to reports of outages in the communities of:

Crews determined a power pole fire caused the outage and quickly replaced the pole.

Power was rerouted within the grid and electricity was restored within 30 minutes to 2,737 of the 2,771 home impacted by the outage. Electricity is expect to return to the remaining 34 Forest Lawn homes by late morning/early afternoon.

As spring approaches, the warmer temperatures, combined with moisture in the air and a buildup of road salt on the base of power poles, increases the likelihood of fires.

Leanne Pottinger, Corporate Communications Manager with ENMAX, says the organization is in the midst of a pole washing campaign throughout Calgary to reduce the risk of power pole fires.

Pottinger reminds Calgarians to call 911 if they encounter a power pole fire or downed power lines.