Cold weather has ravaged many buildings in town, with sub-zero temperatures causing pipes to freeze, leak or burst, leading to a massive demand for plumbing services.
As of Dec. 29, Environment Canada has issued an alert for Howe Sound. An Arctic outflow, along with already negative temperatures, is expected to produce a wind chill that goes down to -20 C.
For much of late December, Squamish and the Sea to Sky have dealt with uncharacteristically cold weather.
As a result, many have been caught off guard by the unusual climate, which has led to a massive demand for plumbing services.
"Since that Arctic outflow, we have been inundated every day with phone calls for freezing pipes, a lot of which there is nothing we can do. We just have to wait till things thaw out. And it's overwhelming," said Denis Zuvelek, the owner of Big D Plumbing & Hot Water.
There have been so many calls that he's had to press pause on taking new jobs.
"We're getting anywhere between 30 and 50 calls a day. I think over the next few days, when things start to thaw, it's going to be hectic."
The concern is that water expands when frozen, damaging pipes and causing leaks. This damage will become apparent when normal temperatures resume, and water starts dripping from the pipes.
One example of a business that Zuvelek's company has had to help is the ever-popular Sunny Chibas restaurant, which was forced to shut down after it encountered this problem.
"One pipe burst, and it was due to the cold weather," said manager Diana Frederickson on Dec. 29.
"It was in the middle of service, and we had to shut the restaurant down, which is always crappy. You can't operate without water. We were closed all day yesterday."
Frederickson said the pipe burst on Dec. 27, forcing the shutdown. However, they were able to get the problem fixed the following day and were set to open once again as of Dec. 29.
"We'll just make sure we leave water running overnight," she said.
She said the restaurant was closed for a couple days during the holidays, which probably gave the water in the pipes time to freeze.
"Not running any water two whole days in an old building is probably not the wisest idea in this weather," she remarked.
Many buildings housing restaurants in town are also old, making them more susceptible to these problems.
Frederickson said this type of cold has caught many people off guard, adding the last time she remembered such weather was in the 1990s.
"I remember walking to school thinking I was going to die," she recalled with a laugh. "It's been so long since we've had such a cold snap. You don't really think about it at all."
Taka Ramen + Sushi also had issues with the cold weather.
Co-owner David Kite said that a planned three-day closure for Christmas Eve through Boxing Day was extended due to frozen pipes.
They had to close an extra two days.
"A couple pipes were frozen," said Kite. "When I first came in on Boxing Day all the waterlines were frozen and no water was coming in or out. And our noodle boiler was [broken]. We were lucky to have a plumber friend that fixed it up for us…We had to close two extra days for the freezing."
They are slated to reopen on Dec. 30.
On social media, there were other businesses, which announced temporary closures due to frozen pipes.
This included Saha Eatery, Tantalus Bike Shop and Zephyr Cafe.
Zuvelek said that at this time, the most important thing for people to know is where their main water isolation valve is.
That way, if things start to leak during the thaw, folks can shut down the water, minimize damage, and wait for professional help.
If there are pipes that people suspect are prone to freezing, leave the taps on, as it's much harder for running water to freeze.
Finally, if people know exactly where the freeze in their pipes is occurring, it's possible to get a space heater or hairdryer and thaw it out, Zuvelek added.
However, people should still be on guard to turn off their water isolation valve in case there is a leak.
