A mighty thunderstorm that rolled through the Mendenhall community Thursday made a mess of the main transmission line between Whitehorse and Aishihik Lake.

Guy Morgan, Yukon Energy's manager of operations, said this morning two double-pole structures were on the ground.

As well, the insulators on a total of 12 structures had to be replaced, along with insulators on three single poles on the distribution line near Mendenhall.

While lightning activity is more common in the mid- to late afternoon, Thursday's storm hit Mendenhall and the Aishihik area in the morning.

Power to Mendenhall and Champagne was lost at 10:20 a.m.

"We had one of our crew heading out to Aishihik and he was on the radio saying, ‘Man, is there ever a lot of lightning out here,'” he said.

Morgan said crews were able to isolate the problem section and restore power to Champagne by 11:50.

A mobile generator was moved to Mendenhall, and power to the community was back on at 12:30, he said.

Morgan said Yukon Energy line crews who were working in Mayo and up at the Minto Mine have been called back to assist with repairs to the main line.

If all goes well, the Aishihik hydro facility and Mendenall should be back on the grid later tonight, he said.

Morgan explained when they lost the line, there was still ample hydroelectricity being generated in Whitehorse and Mayo, so they were able to pick up the load without losing the whole grid.

The Aishihik plant, he estimated, was generating between five and 10 per cent of the load at the time.

Morgan said it's difficult right now to describe the sequence of events, but if lightning had toppled one of the double-pole structures, the weight of the line could have contributed to the failure of the other structure.

It's also too early to estimate the cost of the damage, he said.

By Chuck Tobin

Star Reporter