In-person classes were canceled Tuesday at Auke Bay Elementary School after a pipe burst, likely due to Juneau’s cold snap.
“It was just a classic cold weather situation, and we just had a broken pipe, and cleaning it up,” said Principal Nancy Peel.
She said staff initially saw water leaking into a computer room. Some computers were damaged.
“It might be a few, it might be more than a few. I’m not really sure,” Peel said. “So we’re still assessing what might’ve been damaged, but it could’ve been a lot worse than it was.”
She said the school should be open for in-person classes Thursday.
Water expands as it freezes, putting pipes at risk of being stopped up with ice, or bursting when it’s especially cold.
City utility officials shared preventative tips Tuesday. They recommend running a pencil-thin trickle of water to keep pipes from freezing, closing crawl space vents, insulating pipes, checking that heat tapes are working, and turning off outdoor spigots.
As of Tuesday, city water mains are intact.
