Weather blamed for evening Yellowknife-wide power outage

Official with the Northwest Territories Power Corporation blame the weather for last night's widespread power outage in Yellowknife.

The entire city lost power shortly after 8 p.m. Monday, reportedly triggering several fire alarms.

Lightning at the Snare and Bluefish hydro systems likely caused the outage, explained Doug Prendergast, a spokesman for the power corporation.

The Northwest Territories wildfire map shows hundreds of lightning strikes over the past 24 hours roughly in the area where the hydro generators are located.

Crews worked to restore power throughout Monday evening, with Northland Utilitiesreporting on Twitter that crews had finished their work shortly before midnight.

Power to Yellowknife is supplied by the power corporation and distributed by Northland Utilities.