‘Worst wildfire season’: Manitoba Hydro still restoring wildfire-damaged infrastructure

A power pole damaged by fire is seen near Laurie River, Man, on Aug. 13, 2025 (Manitoba Hydro)

Manitoba Hydro says work is still progressing to repair fire-damaged infrastructure in the province and restore power to all impacted communities.

“It’s been one of the worst wildfire seasons ever, certainly the worst in at least 30 years, in terms of both its scale and its duration,” said Peter Chura, media relations officer with Manitoba Hydro. “It’s led to a lot of significant damage to Hydro infrastructure.”

Chura said approximately 1,200 wood power poles have been damaged or destroyed by wildfires, along with other equipment such as transformers and power lines. Roughly 500 poles have been replaced, but lots of work still needs to be done, especially in northern Manitoba.

“There’s damage in very remote, isolated areas that’s difficult to access, and in some cases, there’s damage we’re only becoming aware of because we haven’t been able to access those areas to see what it is,” he said, adding that ongoing fire activity in some areas means they can’t assess the damage.

He added Hydro has been working to protect their current infrastructure from fire damage by clearing brush and trees from power lines and facilities, and adding fire mesh to power poles. The mesh expands and becomes a fire-resistant layer when exposed to heat.

Chura estimates approximately 1,300 customers with Manitoba Hydro are without power, and there is no current timeline for full restoration.

“We really feel for the communities that are without power, those that have been evacuated and are waiting for power to be restored,” he said. “We’re taking every step that we can to get the power restored as quickly as possible under some very challenging circumstances.”