Heat is being restored to thousands of customers impacted by the pipeline explosion in southern Manitoba.
TransCanada Pipeline says gas service has been restored to people living in Ste. Agathe, Niverville, New Bothwell, Kleefeld, Otterburne and Marchand.
The remaining customers in St. Malo, St. Pierre-Jolys, Grunthal and Dufrost should have their gas service back on by midday today.
"Everyone at TransCanada can appreciate the hardship endured by families and businesses the last couple of days," says Karl Johannson from TransCanada.
The company said the repairs have been done in two stages.
Communities north of the explosion started receiving gas late Monday night and towns south of the break should have gas restored Tuesday afternoon.
Hydro says crews ready to assist
Manitoba Hydro said it has crews on standby to visit all affected customers to ensure they are able to get their furnaces running.
Manitoba Hydro said once the gas flows, it has staff on standby to help people get their furnaces operating.
"We will visit every customer. We have 200 staff. We brought in 175 extra people - they're being trained to ensure the system is operating as it should,” said Scott Powell from Manitoba Hydro.
Thousands affected
The pipeline explosion near Otterburne, Man. cut gas service to around 4,000 homes on the weekend.
In Niverville, some affected residents have been staying with friends and family, or heading to a warming centre. Some have seen their pipes burst.
The Heritage Centre runs on geo-thermal heat in Niverville. About 200 beds are ready, if needed.
Many people, however, are currently staying with family, friends and neighbours.
Niverville residents told CTV News that people have been sharing space heaters and checking in with friends in the close-knit community.
About 25 per cent of homes in Niverville have natural gas and were affected by gas being cut off, in weather that felt colder than -40 with the wind chill.
"Temperature are cold and should people’s homes become in a state of distress that they need to leave that - we are prepared. Although we anticipate gas coming on soon…we are ready for whatever we need to be ready for,” said Myron Dyck, Niverville councillor.
Manitoba Hydro urged people to only use approved space heaters in homes.
Limited supplies of natural gas were being trucked to critical locations such as personal care homes in affected areas.
There were no reports of injuries from the weekend blast, which sent a huge fireball into the night sky and forced the temporary evacuation of several nearby roads.
Crews isolated the line and the flames were extinguished by Saturday afternoon. RCMP have said the cause of the explosion is not suspicious.
Cause of explosion under investigation
Officials don't yet know the cause of the explosion.
“In this particular case, it's just too early to give you any speculation to what caused this,” said Johannson.
TransCanada said it could take several weeks to determine the cause of the explosion.
The company said it will compensate people for expenses incurred such as hotel bills, space heater purchases and house damage from burst pipes.
"We are very sorry for the impact the disruption of natural gas has had on your communities,” said Johannson.
More information on the natural gas repair work is expected to be posted online on Manitoba Hydro's website and via its Twitter account.
- with files from Jeff Keele, Meghan Roberts, Alesia Fieldberg and The Canadian Press
