Nunavut community’s state of emergency enters fourth week

Equipment bound for Pangnirtung is loaded on a Sikorsky S-64F Skycrane helicopter April 15 at the Iqaluit airport. (PHOTO BY THOMAS ROHNER)

Pangnirtung’s state of emergency has entered its fourth week, as technicians with the Qulliq Energy Corp. continue to install generator units throughout the Baffin community.

Those units, called “gensets,” are considered a mid-term power solution, the Government of Nunavut said in an April 24 release, and the local state of emergency won’t be lifted until they’re in place.

In the meantime, the GN warns Pangnirtung residents to be prepared for brief power outages.

The generators replace the emergency back-up generators, which have provided power to the community since April 6, roughly four days after an early-morning fire knocked out power to Pangnirtung’s 1,500 residents.

Four of the self-contained generators were delivered this week by the heavy-lift Sikorsky S-647 Skycrane, nicknamed Bubba, which become a popular sight in Pangnirtung.

Next, the Skycrane will be dismantled and taken away April 27 on an Antonov A-124-100 — the huge aircraft which brought it to Iqaluit April 13.

The GN suggests Pangnirtung residents to listen to the local community radio station for information and updates.