The Power Struggle

The adventure continues with another twist. I've put some other stories on hold for this one. While in the transient apartment of the past month, we had several days without running water. Many towns and villages have suffered with this problem, more so this winter than past years. The hamlet of Rankin Inlet, here in Nunavut, is not unique. On my sunday stroll out to Lake Williamson, I happened to be heading past the Northern and noticed Big Bertha once again working her magic trying to free up some of the frozen water supply in that area of town.

The  NORTH star

I stopped to talk with the man on duty at the trailer, and to thank him for their hard work and efforts to help the town become free flowing again. It was -26C, sunny but with a strong wind. Our conversation continued and he said they were getting good support from the town people...doing the same thing..stopping by and expressing their gratitude, which surprised me for a moment. These were people who couldn't wash clothes, shower or even flush without effort. On reflection, it's what the people in this place would really do. I think it must be a characteristic of the Inuit people...working together through adversity for a common good. It happens elsewhere, but is very common in life here.

In Niagara, there has been talk of some 65 homes and business affected in one of our cities  and solutions are slow at best and tapping into a neighbours supply seemed the ready answer when other fixes were not available. Here, in the far north, the cold temperatures can create havoc with deep frost getting into the ground before the successive layers of snow start the insulation process.

The solution to a frozen water supply is something I had not come across in my previous travels. At the least, if so, I have not been aware. The solution for this town (and I would imagine is very common  in the north), is to keep the water moving. Coming here from Niagara Falls, I understand the concept. Despite reports of the great cataract 'freezing' this year, it did not. The surface and mist formed beautiful facades, but the flow underneath continued unrestricted.

It's a similar situation here in Rankin Inlet. Any commercial building or large apartment must have sprinkler systems. These buildings have a supply line usually 4-6 inches and a return of around 2 inches. Circulation pumps keep the water flowing in those pipes, which is extremely helpful when there is no internal demand (at night). With the return lines active, this flow helps in keeping movement within the main town line running under the street.

But this beautiful clear sky morning we face another challenge. During the night my power went off. The smoke detector beeped twice just to let me know. It was around one in the the morning. I confirmed this by looking over at the clock radio, expecting it to be blinking...but got a blank stare instead...probably no battery backup. My wrist watch finally put the issue to rest. Looking north out the window, the north end of area 6 was dark. No TV images were dancing in windows, no street lights, and only the occasional vehicle was moving during the blackout.

The reward was looking and watching the most incredible display of galaxies and star systems, I have ever seen. While we were in the midst of our blizzard last week with overcast skies and blowing winds, 'southerners' had the ability to view one of the best displays of the northern lights in recent history. WE could not see a thing. One of my goals this trip, was to see the northern lights. Last night, while they weren't the cloud burst of colour that I was hoping for, the display was most beautiful and thoroughly breathtaking.

Immediately, I grabbed my miniature Maglite, from my shaving kit. Ever present, but seldom used, this is a great piece to carry and while I've used it sparingly over the years, it was most handy this time again. The camera, the tripod..then set them up. I covered the door frame so the light would not come under the door from the emergency lighting in the hallway and reflect off the glass. I took my time to try various settings...took a few photos for about an hour. I had scouted to see what areas were affected by this blackout and found it to be localized just outside my window and north towards the edge of town. This being the case, I fully expected the phone to ring, to call me back to the health centre.

A localized blackout usually means equipment failure...sometimes caused by someone running their vehicle into a power pole. The phone never rang and the power came back in about 45 minutes. As quickly as it had arrived to my retina, then my Nikon, the starry scene was invisible...lost amid the sodium vapor street lighting. A big screen flickered nearby. Wisps of steam could be seen, as furnaces and the heating of the local houses began again.

Mother nature had showered me with a personal light show. It made me think about the distances that light had travelled, the millions of years to reach my camera and my eyes. A vision that I could only see here in Nunavut, when the lights went out. A power struggle of epic proportions. Man versus nature. Don't ever bet against nature!

A dazzling display last night

Update: On entering the Health centre this a.m., I was informed that we were on rotating blackouts as one of the 3 generators in town was not operating. Hopefully, man wins out soon here!