11/12/2025
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In northern Saskatchewan in 2010, survival came down to one calculated decision.
A man boating on a remote lake near Wollaston Lake and Hatchet Lake was caught in severe weather and forced ashore. His boat was damaged. He had no radio, no phone signal, and no way to contact anyone. Days passed as he sheltered in the bush, exposed, exhausted, and running out of options.
But he had one tool. An axe.
And he had one idea.
The man knew the region’s power lines were regularly monitored. If something went wrong, crews would have to investigate. So he walked to nearby utility poles and began cutting. One fell. Then another. Eventually, four power poles were down, knocking out electricity to surrounding communities and leaving hundreds of residents without power for more than 30 hours.
The outage triggered an emergency response.
SaskPower crews were dispatched to inspect the damage. Because of the remote terrain, a helicopter was chartered to assess the downed lines from the air. During that search, they spotted something unexpected.
A man, sheltering under his overturned boat.
According to SaskPower spokesman James Parker, he was found in severe distress after being stranded for several days. He told rescuers he had acted deliberately, knowing that damaging the power infrastructure was the only signal large enough to force a response in such an isolated area.
It worked.
The crews rescued him and restored power soon after. No one was seriously harmed, and the communities affected were informed of the unusual circumstances behind the outage.
The episode is sometimes described as extreme, even reckless. But it also revealed a sharp understanding of systems and consequences. With no technology, no signal, and dwindling strength, the man identified the one action guaranteed to bring people to his location.
In survival, intelligence is not always quiet or polite. Sometimes it is disruptive by design.
This post is shared for educational and informational purposes based on reported accounts.
