Pipes bursting all over county

LYNNWOOD — The cold snap might be over, but its bite continued to cause plenty of misery Tuesday.

Broken pipes have hit houses, apartments, businesses, a school, a police station and even a college dormitory.

Snohomish County Fire District 1, which covers most of south county, received 63 reports of broken pipes since Saturday. Four of those calls came Tuesday when temperatures warmed up after five days below freezing.

In Lynnwood on Tuesday, a pipe burst on the fourth floor of the Rainier Place student residence hall at Edmonds Community College.

The break, which occurred about 12:45 p.m., affected seven units and up to 28 students, college spokeswoman Marisa Pierce said.

Those students were moved to two classrooms to stay warm while crews assessed the damage Tuesday evening. Some were expected to be able to return to their rooms. The college was making arrangements for others to stay at a hotel.

“We don’t know who can come back into the building tonight,” Pierce said Tuesday.

The timing wasn’t good: It came during finals week.

Rainier Place, which has about 180 beds, was emptied of students while firefighters examined the building.

Lynnwood Fire Department Lt. DeVon Ogurkow said the water damaged all four floors.

“Water was coming out of electrical panels,” he said.

Oak Heights Elementary School in Lynnwood was closed Monday after pipes burst on the 60-year-old campus. Classes resumed Tuesday, with some students reassigned to other places on campus.

“When it was discovered, we already had six classrooms with water damage,” Edmonds School District spokeswoman DJ Jakala said.

Five of the affected classrooms typically are used for daily lessons.

It could take more than a month to repair all the damage. Students will be out of school for two weeks of winter break during that time.

Maintenance crews checked Oak Heights on Sunday, and there were no signs of the break. The cleanup brought workers from several schools to the Lynnwood campus.

“We had custodians dispatched from throughout the district to Oak Heights,” Jakala said.

The Mukilteo Police Department lobby will remain closed again Wednesday. An indoor sprinkler pipe burst Sunday above the records department, city officials reported.

Several hundred gallons of water flowed through the ceiling, down walls and onto work spaces below. The result was significant damage to furniture, flooring, computers, electrical items and walls.

There was minimal damage to the main case records, which were in another part of the same office and on elevated shelves. Water flowing through the lobby also damaged the floor.

“We continue to work through inventorying damaged materials and equipment and have had our insurance adjustor inspect the facility,” Police Chief Rex Caldwell said.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood
Crash in Lynnwood fully blocks Highway 99

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, fully blocked southbound lanes. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.