Environment Canada reissued an extreme cold weather warning for Thursday and Friday night for the city of Calgary and Rocky View County near Cochrane.
Extremely cold wind chill values between -40 and -55 are expected throughout much of Alberta.
The recent deep freeze has already led to major issues, including burst pipes and broken water mains.
Officials say the situation could get worse before it gets any better.
Since Christmas Day, the city of Calgary has received about 70 calls for burst pipes at homes.
And while there hasn’t been an out-of-the-ordinary amount of water main breaks, that could change depending on what type of winter Mother Nature has in store:
“Typically for us, the frost depth really reaches a zone where it starts to impact us if it’s a significant, longer, colder winter, usually in February, March and April,” said Chris Huston with the city.
He said Calgary’s water infrastructure is normally buried deep enough to protect it from frost damage, unless there’s a long stretch of frigid temperatures.
Repair work is underway at the Westview Heights apartment building in downtown Calgary. Last Wednesday, a burst pipe led to flooding in the 297-unit building, causing a loss of heat, water and electricity.
Ajay Nehru works for Mayflower Ventures, who owns the building. He said Thursday was the most important day for the repairs since it marked the first time much of the building would be reheated.
“They’re pumping in millions of BTUs of heat, which will basically result in the unfreezing of pipes,” said Nehru. “But will almost certainly result in multiple pipe failures.”
Nehru said most of those failures will likely be in the first 10 floors, which at Westview Heights, is all parking. He adds that so far, they’ve found that 14 of the nearly 300 units have severe water damage.
As the repairs add up, the potential return date for residents has been moved back. While many were originally told they’d be back on New Year’s Eve, Nehru said that has been moved back to Jan. 5.
Building management paid for three days of hotel accommodations, and now the responsibility is being passed along to the renters and their insurance companies.
He adds that while proof of tenants insurance is required to sign a lease, he can’t control the deductible or whether someone cancels after getting the keys.
“Certainly it’s a privacy issue. I can contact your insurance company to find out if you’re up to date,” said Nehru. “You can choose a higher deductible and pay a lower premium, and people might choose to do that because they think this is a situation that might never happen.”
Dep. Chief Ken Uzeloc with the Calgary Fire Department said on Thursday that city inspectors are on call once the repairs are completed.
“We are certainly prepared and ready to work with the owners,” said Uzeloc. “Once the permits are done, we will make every effort to get on-site and provide the necessary inspections to get people back into the buildings as timely as possible.”
He added that the fire suppression system was one of the systems knocked offline and that it will have to also be functional before residents can return.
With more plunging temperatures on the way, Carol Henke with the Calgary Fire Department said there are some things you can do to avoid potentially significant damage to your home, including using a blow dryer to thaw frozen pipes.
And if you’re heading out of town, it’s recommended to keep your heat on to prevent any potential freezing.
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