Mass power outage leaves thousands of Manitobans in the dark

Bad weather knocked out power for thousands of Manitobans over the weekend. (Source: Manitoba Hydro/Twitter)

Thousands of people are waiting for power to be restored after bad weather knocked it out across a stretch of south central Manitoba.

The outage started on Saturday and hit nearly three dozen municipalities, spanning from about Virden to Morden, said Manitoba Hydro spokesperson Bruce Owen.

At around noon on Sunday, Manitoba Hydro's website reported 223 outages affecting 5057 customers.

Mild temperatures, low cloud cover and frost created a cocktail of conditions causing ice droplets to freeze on the power lines.

Several lines have fallen from the added weight and some poles have broken, said Owen.

“Treat each down line as live,” said Owen. “If people know of a down line in the area they should call 9-1-1. It’s a public safety risk. If lines are sagging, please stay away because these lines are energized.”

Hydro hopes to restore power to everyone by the end of the day.