A large swath of northern Alberta was under a state of emergency Friday night due to low natural gas pressure.
Mackenzie County, which borders British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Wood Buffalo National Park, declared the emergency at 4:30 p.m. Friday, citing “extremely low natural gas pressures through the region,” the county said.
The county advised all residents to use alternate heating sources, if available, and said communities south of La Crête were already experiencing natural gas outages.
“If you do not have alternate sources of heat, we encourage you to stay with friends or family,” the county said in a statement Friday evening.
“A reception centre has also been established at the La Crête Mennonite Heritage Centre for others that have been displaced.”
Local natural gas provider Northern Lights Gas Co-op said in a statement Friday its system was experiencing low pipeline pressure and asked residents to restrict gas use as much as possible.
About 11,000 people live in Mackenzie County, according to 2016 census data. The county is expected to remain under an extreme cold weather warning throughout the weekend, according to Environment Canada.
“At this point we are asking that all natural gas users within the region limit their usage as low as possible,” Mackenzie County said. “This will help gas reach the end of the line and prevent additional houses from freezing.”
Residents are encouraged to call the county’s Emergency Services Hotline at 780-927-3718 with questions about the natural gas situation.