Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Pelly Bay (July 23/01) - The hamlet of Kugaaruk/Pelly Bay was left in a near crisis situation when one of its two sewage trucks was destroyed by an electrical fire, July 13.

Senior administrator Quinn Taggart said while the truck's 5,000-litre sewage tank is salvageable, the cab and body of the truck were rendered unusable by flames.

Because the community doesn't have the extra $42,000 it would cost to fly a second vehicle in on a Hercules aircraft, Taggart said they'd have to wait until the middle or end of September, when the sealift arrives.

That means the community of 602 people will have to make do with one sewage truck for the next two months.

"The one that is still operating is a 10,000-litre truck, but this puts a lot of pressure on that truck," said Taggart.

"We'll be in bigger trouble if that truck goes down," he said.

Taggart said it was difficult asking community members to limit usage of their wastewater, but he had made everyone aware of the situation. He said the remaining vehicle would work double duty in an effort not to cause additional hardship to residents.

"We're lucky because many people are out on the land and things have slowed down a bit," said Taggart.

The driver of the hamlet vehicle escaped the fire without injury.

Taggart said the driver noticed smoke coming from under the hood and tried to put out the flames, but the fire was already too big. A water truck arrived on the scene and put out the flames.

Taggart was still waiting for a damage estimate from insurance adjustors. He said he hoped to be able to buy a new truck body by the end of last week.