Telecommunications outage to impact northern BC communities

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) has announced a maintenance outage next week, which will affect local customers.

A Facebook post on Friday morning stated that the disruption scheduled for Wednesday, November 20th, by telecommunications company Northwestel “may affect” essential services throughout the region.

Northwestel is a long-distance provider in the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and parts of northern B.C. It currently offers its services in 97 communities across Northern Canada.

Affected areas include Prophet River, Blueberry, Wonowon, Upper Halfway, Bougie Creek, and Pink Mountain, although the NRRM says other areas may “experience impacts as well.”

To ensure preparedness, contact information for the Northern Rockies RCMP (250-774-2777), Northern Rockies Fire Rescue (250-774-2222), Fort Nelson General Hospital (250-774-8100), and BC Ambulance Services (250-774-2344) are also listed.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding as work is done to minimize disruptions,” reads the statement’s conclusion. “Please plan accordingly and stay safe.

The outage will last from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time (2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Yukon time) 

For more information, visit the NRRM’s Facebook page or website.