The Northwest Territories Power Corporation is repairing damaged infrastructure near the Taltson hydroelectric facility after a wildfire prompted an evacuation last month.

On Aug. 26, the fire, about 30 kilometres northeast of Fort Smith, had grown to an estimated 255 square kilometres in size, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

On Aug. 20, it came close to an NTPC work camp, prompting the power company to voluntarily evacuate all non-essential staff from the Taltson Dam area.

Company spokesperson Doug Prendergast said, SA国际影视传媒渢he scenario didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have an impact on the delivery of electricity to customers,SA国际影视传媒� as the hydroelectric facility happened to be offline for annual summer maintenance, and power for the South Slave was being provided by local diesel plants.

Two workers remained at the site to help strengthen fire defences, though SA国际影视传媒渢he operators were not expected to actively fight a fire,SA国际影视传媒� said Prendergast.

SA国际影视传媒淥ur operators were pumping water on key infrastructure and storage facilities during periods of extreme heat when there was a risk of the fire changing direction,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

They also ran pumps and hoses to various parts of the facility to make them available for ENR fire officials.

The power company kept in regular communication with ENR, which conducted regular flybys, until employees were allowed to return to the site on Aug. 27.

SA国际影视传媒淭here was really good communication between the fire officials at ENR and the NTPC,SA国际影视传媒� said Prendergast. SA国际影视传媒淭he Taltson hydro facility is clearly one of our most valuable assets, so there was a lot of concern, and the open lines of communication made life a lot easier for everybody.SA国际影视传媒�

While the facility was spared by the fire, Prendergast said there was some damage to transmission lines in the area, and three transmission towers.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e actively working to inspect and assess those assets to make sure theySA国际影视传媒檙e in working order before we re-energize those lines,SA国际影视传媒� he continued. SA国际影视传媒淲e expect to be doing some additional work later this month to shore up transmission lines and related infrastructure.SA国际影视传媒�

Once an examination of the transmission lines is complete, Prendergast said the power company intends to restart the Taltson facility SA国际影视传媒渁s soon as weSA国际影视传媒檙e convinced that itSA国际影视传媒檚 safe to do so,SA国际影视传媒� which could be within a matter of days.