Like much of the Pacific Northwest, Sequim area businesses and residents felt the impacts of cold weather in recent weeks with slick roads, frozen pipes and single-digit temperatures.

Jessica Myers, mitigation department manager for ServPro of Clallam and Jefferson County, said they’ve been extremely busy dating back to before Jan. 11 snowfall with cold-related issues. Their waitlist as of Friday, Jan. 19, was more than a dozen people still seeking help.

“This season caught us off guard,” she said. “When the freeze starts to thaw is when calls normally start to come in.”

Sean Ryan, manager for Restore-X, formerly ServiceMaster, said they’re a few days out for their waitlist, which doesn’t include mold removal calls prior to the snow/ice.

He estimated his business has had 40-plus calls for broken pipes across Port Angeles and Sequim in the last week-and-a-half for businesses, churches, and homes.

“We’ve been able to dry them out and get them back in their house, and get businesses back up and running,” Ryan said.

George Washington Inn

One of the most sizable business impacts of the storm was inside the George Washington Inn at 939 Finn Hall Road, Port Angeles.

Co-owner Dan Abbott said he and his wife Janet returned from church around 7 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14, to see the front doors of the inn steamed up.

Upon closer inspection, Abbott said he could see water trickling down from the ceiling and once inside it was like a “tropical downpour,” so he ran downstairs where they reside to turn off the power.

The couple later discovered a fire sprinkler in the semi-finished attic had frozen, and for some reason the suppression system dumped water through the Mount Vernon replica home’s three floors.

Abbott said their insurance adjuster told him the inn was 95% impacted, with 1-2 inches of water pooled on the three floors that caused warping, fading and to-be-determined damage to their five guest rooms, staircase, walls, ceiling, kitchen and more.

Abbott was still discovering water in new spots such as kitchen drawers late last week.

They were able to move out some important items with help from their pastor, such as Dan’s great-great-great grandfather’s letters from the Civil War, a number of Mountie paintings, and Janet’s cross stitch piece of George Washington she’s been working two-and-a-half years on.

“God has given us peace through the whole thing,” Janet Abbott said.

The couple has a professional moving crew helping them remove the inn’s contents with much of the furniture appearing to be undamaged, including an organ and their library. They also brought in some large fans used to dry lavender from their fields.

However, removing damaged materials and rebuilding could take upwards of a year, Dan Abbott said.

The couple has refunded all reservations for 2024, and say people can sign up for their newsletter for updates at georgewashingtoninn.com.

The Northwest Colonial Festival, now known as the Northwest Heritage Festival, was already set to move to Port Gamble this year (July 5-7) for more space, the couple said.

The inn also has five seasonal employees and the Abbotts said they’ll keep one on for groundskeeping through in the summer.

Some silver linings include that the couple had updated their insurance to be fully covered in the summer with Callis & Associates Insurance.

They also had renovated their carriage house, a former gift shop, for visiting family and friends, but now they’ll plan to live in it for the next year during construction.

Through the experience, the couple said they look forward to reopening.

“We plan to build it better than the first time,” Dan Abbott said.

Photo courtesy Cedars at Dungeness/ The Cedars at Dungeness had two sprinklers freeze and break over a four-day period due to the cold weather. One break in the Double Eagle restaurant poured into the banquet room, pictured.

Cedars at Dungeness

Staff at the Cedars at Dungeness, 1965 Woodcock Road, report two separate sprinkler pipes froze and broke over a four-day period due to the cold temperatures.

Chad Wagner, general manager and director of Golf at The Cedars at Dungeness, said the first break occurred around 2 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12 in a storeroom, but “thankfully it had its own water system and turned off in a reasonable time.”

“It could have run all night but I received a call from our surveillance team and myself and Richie Camporini (maintenance tech lead) headed to shut it off,” he said.

Around 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, a pipe above the Double Eagle restaurant burst and poured water into the banquet room, Wagner said.

“Again, we were lucky as Mike Snyder (the golf course’s superintendent) was sitting at the restaurant and knew exactly how to shut the water off,” he said.

Stymie’s was reopened that afternoon after an inspection by staff, but the remainder of the building was closed for safety precautions through the next day.

Wagner said ServPro owner and golfer Robert Bourns was quick to act and get the necessary machinery in place to eliminate any moisture.

“By Thursday afternoon, you wouldn’t be able to tell if there was ever a leak,” he said.

Photo courtesy City of Sequim Sequim Mayor Brandon Janisse discovered water pouring into the lobby of the Sequim Civic Center on Monday, Jan. 15, and after alerting city manager Matt Huish, city crews were able to stop a sprinkler leak due to the cold weather. Damage was limited to some art work and walls, city staff said.

Civic Center

Sometime over the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, a sprinkler pipe froze and broke inside the Sequim Civic Center over the lobby at 152 W. Cedar St.

Public Works Director Sarah VanAusdle said Mayor Brandon Janissee stopped in on Monday, Jan. 15, when the facility was closed for the holiday. He discovered the leak and notified city manager Matt Huish.

City staff isolated the pipe, turned off the fire suppression system and it was repaired the next day.

“We feel very fortunate that the damage was minimal and that (Janisse) happened to come in when he did,” VanAusdle said.

Damage was to some wall space and a few art pieces on display from local artists.

“ServPro responded right away,” VanAusdle said.

She said pipes were breaking across the city and their water crewmen were called out eight times over the holiday weekend to shut off water to burst pipes in residents’ homes.

During the snow/cold temperatures, VanAusdle said the City of Sequim’s Public Works crew worked 271 hours to clear and prep roads using 250 gallons of magnesium chloride, 3,300 gallons of brine (with 4 tons of salt), and 4 tons of ice of “Ice Slicer” salt for use with 10 tons of sand.

Photo courtesy Clallam County Fire District 3 Clallam County Fire District 3 firefighters help clean up water at Dungeness Courte Memory Care on Jan. 14 after a sprinkler head broke due to cold weather. No residents were impacted, staff and the fire district reported.

Minor damages

Following up on Clallam County Fire District 3’s report of broken sprinkler pipes on Jan. 14, a previous story incorrectly identified Suncrest Village, 251 S. Fifth Ave., as having a sprinkler issue. A sprinkler broke inside an office at Suncrest Senior Apartments on East Prairie Street, and no residents were impacted, the fire district reported.

At Dungeness Courte Memory Care, 651 Garry Oak Drive, Darah Bowens, vice president of Northwest Care Senior Living, said the business “had a sprinkler break above one office (and) the sprinkler head has been repaired and we did not have to move any residents out of the community.”

At Sunny Farms Country Store’s warehouse, 261461 U.S. Highway 101, staff reported a sprinkler broke in their warehouse but it didn’t do much damage to inventory or infrastructure.

Tips

According to Washington’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, he writes that “frozen pipes tend to thaw as temperatures rise back above freezing level — which means they’re more likely to leak or burst.

His office advises getting pipes inspected as soon as possible if you suspect they’ve burst to prevent further damage and denied claims due to taking too long.

He also recommends keeping homes above 60 degrees in the winter, and to drain, cover or insulate outside pipes.

Myers also recommends keeping faucets going at a slow drip during freezing temperatures, and wrapping pipes when/if possible.

Ryan said turning off the water is key too if there’s a leak/burst pipe, and to find a friend and use their water until the damage is fixed.

He added it’s important to check with your insurance agent about your home’s coverage and to consider that variables are covered because that extra few dollars a month could save a lot more in the future.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Dan Abbott, co-owner of George Washington Inn, looks closely at the finish that appears to have been washed away on the staircase after a fire sprinkler froze and poured water throughout the inn.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ All five guest rooms, the kitchen, attic, basement, and other rooms were found with at least 1 inch of water on the floors after a fire sprinkler froze and spilled water throughout George Washington Inn. Owners said they were fully covered and plan to rebuild and reopen tentatively in about a year.

Photo courtesy Cedars at Dungeness/ The Cedars at Dungeness had two sprinklers freeze and break over a four-day period due to the cold weather. One break in the Double Eagle restaurant poured into the banquet room but was repaired the next day. “By Thursday afternoon, you wouldn’t be able to tell there was ever a leak,” said General Manager Chad Wagner.

Photo courtesy Cedars at Dungeness/ The Cedars at Dungeness had two sprinklers freeze and break over a four-day period due to the cold weather. One break in the Double Eagle restaurant poured into the banquet room but was repaired the next day. “By Thursday afternoon, you wouldn’t be able to tell there was ever a leak,” said General Manager Chad Wagner.