Communication among community partners is key in dealing with emergency situations, says Whitehorse Fire Chief Jason Everitt.

Everitt was among those who held a briefing Wednesday to discuss the response to the lengthy power outage on Dec. 19 in -40 temperatures.

The chief was joined by Andrew Hall, president of the Yukon Energy Corp., Jay Massie, vice-president of ATCO Electric Yukon, and Greg Blackjack, the director of the Yukon’s Emergency Measures Organization.

Everitt said having the community partners come together to debrief and discuss the response to the power failure is how they learn what went wrong – and how to better prepare for the next emergency.

The partners held a debriefing last month.

“Every time one of these things happens, it is a learning opportunity for all of us,” Everitt told reporters.

Hall has already explained in an interview last month that Yukon Energy was caught off-guard by the additional load coming from the build-out of the Whistle Bend subdivision.

The additional load tripped a breaker at the Tahkini sub-station, he said.

Ideally, he explained last month, Yukon Energy should have adjusted the settings at the substation.

Yukon Energy, however, was surprised by the additional load, Hall explained last month.

He reiterated on Wednesday they have plans now to meet regularly with the city and ATCO representatives each fall to look at increasing demand for power.

They’re also developing plans not to just look at how growth could affect the load on the grid in the coming winter, but also to develop a five-year vision of the anticipated growth and expected increase in demand, he said.

Hall said they need to monitor that construction every year.

Communication, added Everitt, is one of the most critical elements of an emergency event.

He said through communications on Dec. 19, the city activated its plan to establish its emergency response centre at the Public Safety Building at the top of Two Mile Hill.

It was through communications that it was decided not to activate the Canada Games Centre as a warming shelter, as the duration of the outage was not expected to be long, the fire chief explained. (It lasted several hours in some areas.)

The director of EMO said communication during the emergency is important to begin the task of preparing, getting people to where they have to go in order to respond to the emergency.

Had the Games Centre been activated as a warming shelter, it would have required support workers who would have had to be co-ordinated by the EMO, Blackjack explained.

Emergencies, said Blackjack, are not limited to the days of frigid cold, but can occur anytime, even in the summer.

During the flood season, for instance, a power outage could paralyze the ability of homeowners to operate de-watering pumps, he said.

It was noted that last summer, a bus -load of tourists was turned around and sent back to Whitehorse because of forest fires in the Dawson City region.

They were put up at the Games Centre for a night, until they could make other arrangements.

The vice-president of ATCO said staff were prepared for the response on Dec. 19.

“We called in everybody,” Massie said. “It was all hands on deck, so it was not a lack of resources.”

He said the frigid temperatures of that day and evening posed challenges not only for employees but also for equipment and vehicles.