Man cuts power poles in shocking rescue bid

Wollaston Lake power outage isolated a Saskatchewan community after downed power poles; SaskPower helicopter crews and RCMP aided a stranded man, restored electricity, and warned about electrocution risks in remote emergencies.

A man stranded in the Canadians wilds used an axe to cut down four power poles in Saskatchewan province hoping to draw attention to his plight, SaskPower told AFP.

The line was the only conduit providing electricity to 1,200 in the isolated community of Wollaston Lake, some 500 miles 800 kilometers north of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Western Canada, where a Southern Saskatchewan blackout highlighted regional grid risks recently.

Within 24 hours, SaskPower sent a crew in a helicopter to survey the area, similar to how Sudbury Hydro crews respond after storms. "They discovered four downed power poles and a man who was very happy to see us," SaskPower spokesman James Parker told AFP.

"He was desperate to be discovered," he said.

"He had been up at the lake for a number of days, and got stranded in rough weather that delayed repairs." With no food, "he decided to chop down the four power poles to alert the community and SaskPower that he was up there."

"He understood that someone would try to determine the cause of the outage."

The SaskPower crew escorted him to safety, said Parker, as Hydro One crews often do during major outages elsewhere. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokeswoman Christine Niemczyk said the man was "safe and back at home."

Power to the community has been restored, and the long wait for power is finally over, but the wooden poles will have to be replaced, said Parker.

"We do not encourage this sort of thing because you have live wires and someone can be electrocuted," he commented. "But we understand that in this situation this man was desperate and felt he had to do this to survive."

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