Freezing temps lead to burst pipes

Frozen pipes plagued many Tuolumne County residents after temperatures dipped into the high teens Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

Weather forecasters say there is a 20 percent chance of rain today and a 50 percent chance of rain tonight, with snow likely in the high country.
   

The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning for the Mother Lode area to be in effect until tonight.

Sonora recorded a low temperature of 18 degrees late Tuesday to early Wednesday morning. Pinecrest had a low of 9 degrees and the Phoenix Lake area reported a low of 10 degrees. Angels Camp had a low of 27 and Avery had a low of 16.

Record low temperatures in Sonora for Wednesday’s date was 8 degrees in 1972.

"We’ve had an overflow of phone calls,” said Lisa Westbrook, spokeswoman for the Tuolumne Utilities District.

TUD received 128 phone calls Tuesday and Wednesday for either frozen pipes or burst water pipes, Westbrook said.

“Unfortunately I think the calls are going to continue,” she said. “This freeze spell has totally taken people off guard. We’re trying to respond as quickly as possible.”

Crews were out in Columbia Wednesday on Jackson Street for two broken pipes and crews closed portions of the street, Westbrook said.

The situation was the same in Groveland.

“We’ve had a lot of calls about frozen pipes. We’ve been kind of inundated,” said Lena Spilman of Groveland Community Services District.

Spilman said between 10 and 20 people called with burst pipes and that “a lot of people don’t have water.”

Spilman said before pipes freeze, people can leave faucets on slightly, dripping, so water is flowing through the pipes. Once pipes are frozen, there is not much that can be done but wait for them to thaw, she said.

Pipes were apparently faring better in Calaveras County, as Calaveras County Water District assistant general manager Larry Diamond said Wednesday afternoon he hadn’t heard of a “rash of breaks.”    

Diamond said sometimes people do not know a pipe has broken until it thaws.

ATCAA Head Start in Soulsbyville was closed Wednesday because frozen pipes left them without water, said Rosalind Sullivan Whitley, ATCAA spokeswoman.

Columbia College had a late start Wednesday but expected to open on time today, said Vice President Dennis Gervin.
 

Sonora Police Department temporarily closed a portion of Barretta Street because of icy conditions Wednesday. Before the closure, one driver lost control and went through someone’s fence.

According to the Tuolumne County Public Works Department, no roads in the county are closed.

Sonora Planning and Public Works Director Ed Wyllie said crews have been sanding streets since Monday and were still sanding Wednesday.

 “There’s a couple of warmer storms coming in,” Wyllie said. “Our expectation is that whatever’s been impassable will become passable with the rain.”

Power has been restored to all Tuolumne County residents, said PG&E spokeswoman Nicole Liebelt.

Calaveras and Amador counties still had nearly 2,000 customers without power Wednesday, mainly in the Pine Grove and West Point areas, Liebelt said.

“We are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore customers,” Liebelt said. “Pine Grove got hit really hard with the snow. Our crews are literally working in the cold and snow and rain.”

The Cal Fire Emergency Command Center in San Andreas received 57 calls Tuesday, mostly for weather related traffic collisions.

Some area schools, like Sonora Elementary, had late starts Wednesday due to the icy conditions. Gold Rush Charter School was closed. Other schools, like Avery Middle School and Hazel Fischer Elementary in Arnold, started on time.