CBC Goose Bay

has come to the party and is covering the post Hydro plant fire quite well. I had heard that there was a spokesperson from Hydro on yesterday, I missed it, and this morning the mayor of Nain was on with a very informative interview.

This is what I can deduce from that interview and my own observations around town:
It seems there are two generator units running at moment, it least there was diesel fumes pluming from two stacks last evening.
There are at least 12 hydro guys in town working on the situation; they could be here for another week or more.

The Community Government declared a state of emergency on Monday afternoon. This was done because of the unknowns and because by declaring a state of emergency the town could access any provincial emergency measures on offer.

Unfortunately the declaration could not be communicated to the residence very well, the word of mouth worked to a degree, but most heard of it after the power came back on and the transmitter sight was powered back up.
CBC used to have a back up generator [noisy little bugger] but due to on going breakdowns in other sites with that type of generator it was decided to remove most if not all of them on the coast of Labrador.
A spokesperson for CBC transmissions said that the situation in Nain could be revisited, there was once a need for it, then the new hydro plant was built, now there maybe a good argument for one to be re-installed.

Perhaps NG or others could come to the party here, after all the Okalakatiget Society has it’s transmitter in the same location as CBC, OK could not broadcast either, there is a back up in the new building, [if it is working] it is only hooked up to the furnace and emergency lights, so there is some food for thought there.

There were offers of assistance from many people and organizations, Makivik in Quebec offered generators and any other assistance if needed.

By declaring the state of emergency it exposed some weaknesses in the town’s emergency preparedness plane [EPP]. While disaster was avoided by the quick response time of the town volunteer fire brigade lessons have been learnt, like keeping up to date with scheduled meetings of the EPP, one had been scheduled for July but had not been held until the fire.

So on a more personal note; after some research I have decided to order a back up generator, I just don’t trust hydro to provide constant power anymore, not to mention the peace of mind.
With the cost of alternatives like a wood stove, oil space heater, moving to Florida it seems the most economical.
Actually I have ordered the generator; glad I did not rush in and buy one from Goose Bay, cost wise anyway, 3000 watts under 700 bucks ex Goose Bay sounds good to me.
It will power the furnace and a couple of other items I would think. I debated the diesel model but hopefully we won’t get to use the gas one much.