HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The stretch of bitterly cold weather that brought a prolonged period of below-zero temperatures across the Hi-Line has come to an end, and Havre Public Works Director Dave Peterson says damage to the city’s infrastructure was minimal.
“We had one issue last week with a water break that cost us a day of our guys working out there in that cold weather to get that water line repaired anf back up and running. Our guys did a great job with that, especially being out there in that cold weather and sub-zero temperatures. We had a lot of calls with people that had maybe frozen meters or frozen water lines, most of that probably had to do with the fact that they maybe didn’t have heat on those water lines or in the area where their meters were at. So I know they did have some issues with that last week.”
Peterson says the only other issues he is aware of had to do with problems with the city’s vehicle fleet.
“We did have some other issues with our garbage trucks last Thursday and Friday, with those temperatures the way they were, we had some hydraulic lines go bad and just some general freeze up on that stuff. One of our trucks blew out a radiator, so that was down for a day. Our guys actually came in and worked this weekend and got those trucks back up and running so they were ready to go today and get garbage picked up. It did hamper us a little bit, but with everything, we get out there and try to get it repaired and replaced and get working as soon as we possibly can. The guys did a really good job with that.”
Even with the weather beginning to warm back up, Peterson wants to remind the public that frozen water lines can still occur.
“People still need to be aware of the fact that just because it’s getting warmer out, we still have freezing temperatures. The warm weather will push that frost down. So people that were having issues with water lines, they’ll want to make sure they keep a stream of water running just so it doesn’t freeze up on them again. People who may not have had that issue, but the weather stays pretty cold, they may want to run a little stream of water for awhile until the temperatures get real warm and the frost starts coming out of the ground.”
According to the National Weather Service, the temperature at the Havre Airport was below 0 degrees Fahrenheit for 231 consecutive hours: a stretch that began on the evening of February 5th and ended late in the morning on Feburary 15th. That puts it in the top 10 longest stretches of below-zero weather in the city’s history.
