Staff Writer
Record-setting cold temperatures caused a number of problems for facilities from Fort Fairfield to Presque Isle recently, as thermometers dipped well below freezing late last week and into the weekend.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE – Temperatures began to fall late last week, remaining well below freezing into the weekend, as shown here on a thermometer in Washburn late Saturday night. While it was cozy inside, for those having to venture out that night, it was over 28 degrees below zero. At its worst, the recent bout of cold weather saw temperatures dip in some areas to 40 degrees below zero or more.
A worker at the old Fox potato house on the Perham Rd. reported seeing a temperature of 54 below zero when he arrived at work on Friday morning. Temperatures remained well below freezing in the Washburn area until late Saturday evening, where at least one thermometer showed an outside figure of 28.8 degrees below zero.
Presque Isle resident Pat Weaver indicated his home thermometer showed it was 50 below that same morning.
Fire departments in Fort Fairfield and Presque Isle were busy Jan. 16 responding to what turned out to be false alarms, triggered by the cold weather.
In Fort Fairfield, fire department staff said an alarm at an area school was likely caused by recent cold temperatures causing equipment to malfunction.
The Presque Isle Fire Department had their own false alarms to deal with Friday morning, responding to a couple calls at The Aroostook Medical Center, one at KeyBank and another at Budget Traveler. Those calls were also believed to be weather-related.
But while some incidents were caused by the weather, Maine Public Service officials indicated an interruption in service Friday was due to a problem with a distribution recloser that interrupted service for 232 customers on the east side of the city.
“Power went out at 5:40 a.m. and was restored at 8:48 a.m. The affected area was the east side of Presque Isle. We had power back on as quickly as we could,” said Ginny Joles, communications director for MPS.
Presque Isle City Hall was closed for the holiday Monday. But thanks to quick action by staff from Public Works who were on site to remove snow from Monday’s storm, a disaster was averted.
“We had a broken sprinkler head caused by a frozen pipe. Fortunately for us, someone from Public Works was outside clearing snow, noticed the problem and reported it,” said City Manager Tom Stevens.
Stevens said the frozen pipe most likely was related to the recent spell of cold weather.
“The pipe was along an outside wall and the cold affected it,” said Stevens.
The Presque Isle Fire Department responded with a few volunteers, according to Stevens, and had the problem taken care of rather quickly.
“They cleared water to a room with a drain. We called a sprinkler repairman who came and put a new head on and the problem was taken care of,” said Stevens.
No real damage occurred as a result.
“There wasn’t much stored in the basement, so there was very little damage,” said Stevens. “It was more of a nuisance really.”
Stevens’ words sum it up quite well with regard to the recent bout of frigid weather – it’s more of a nuisance than anything.
