SPOKANE, Wash. – Due to dangerously cold temperatures throughout the region, the Kootenai County Fire Department (KCFD) is responding to many calls of burst pipes, leading to flooding.
Kootenai County fire fighters said they answered at least 15 calls reporting burst pipes in the past two days.
The following are experiencing a break, leading to multiple evacuations and closures:
Treaty Rock Elementary School pipes’ burst, causing flooding. Fire crews monitored the flood throughout the day. It is unknown when school will return to normal operations. The Post Falls Library is currently closed. There is no estimated time for reopening.Greensferry Elementary School is flooded. The superintendent said the school should resume normal operations on Tuesday, Jan. 16. there is no school on Jan. 15 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Guardian Angel Residential Facility was evacuated due to a water line break. We do not know the status of the facility at this time.
This comes after a series of water line breaks on Saturday in Kootenai County. KCFD Fire Chief Chris Way said this is an unprecedented time, and they are exhausting most resources trying to keep up with high call volume.
“We are seeing the pipes burst long before the thaw happens, which makes us admittedly a little nervous of what’s going to happen when the thaw does happen,” said Way.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Check back for updates.
