What the January 2024 Freeze Taught Portland About Burst Pipes

What happened in January 2024?

A freezing-rain and ice storm hit the Portland area for nearly five days, with four days never rising above freezing. Portland firefighters got more than 1,000 potential water-emergency calls between January 13 and 17, mostly burst pipes, peaking as pipes thawed. About 633,000 people in Multnomah County lost power.

The figures come from local television news reports and a regional magazine, not from our own records. Some details of the storm, such as the number of deaths, vary between sources, so we do not repeat any.

What the record shows is a city that saw a hard freeze only occasionally, and a surge of water emergencies as the ice cleared. The table below sets out what is known.

For many households the freeze was several emergencies at once. Roads were dangerous, power was out, and heat was off in houses with pipes in exterior walls. The calls to firefighters were only the water part of a larger event, and a lot of homeowners dealt with burst pipes on their own.

Why did the damage show up on the thaw?

Freezing water expands and splits the pipe wall, but the ice itself plugs the opening. Water cannot flow out until it melts and the pressure returns, so a pipe can look fine through the cold and fail on the first mild afternoon. The split can be a thin crack that releases a lot of water under pressure.

That pattern catches households out. During the cold nobody checks the pipes because nothing is leaking. When the temperature climbs, the leak starts, often while people are at work or asleep.

The practical lesson is to inspect after the cold, not only during it. Walk the crawl space, garage and basement, listen for hissing, and look at the ceilings below bathrooms and kitchens.

One more reason the thaw is dangerous: people tend to relax once the weather turns. The danger is not over when the sun comes out. Check the pipes while the temperature is climbing, and keep checking for a day or two afterward as the last of the ice in walls and crawl spaces melts.

Why are mild-winter houses exposed?

Builders and owners in a mild climate design against rain, not frost. Supply lines run through vented crawl spaces, along garage walls, up exterior walls and into unheated utility closets, places that rarely freeze until the one winter they do. There is little margin when a hard cold snap arrives.

Many Portland-area houses sit over vented crawl spaces, where foundation vents let in cold air. Exposed supply lines in the joists have only the air between them and the outdoors.

Hose bibs and irrigation lines are another weak point. A frozen outdoor tap can split inside the wall, and the leak shows only after the water is turned back on.

We have no sourced data on which plumbing materials were used in which Portland decades, so we say only that older houses often contain a mix of original lines and later repairs, and that the repair points are where trouble tends to start.

A house that has never frozen is not proof that it will not. The difference between a cold night and a hard freeze is the number of hours below freezing, and January 2024 had days of them in a row.

How do you prepare pipes before a freeze?

Insulate exposed pipes, seal drafts around crawl-space vents and utility penetrations, disconnect and drain outdoor hoses, let faucets on exterior walls trickle during a hard freeze, open cabinet doors under sinks and know where the main shutoff is. These steps cost little and reduce the risk of a split.

A mild-winter city rarely thinks about this until the forecast turns. The simplest habit is to do it each autumn, when the first cold nights arrive, not when the ice does.

If you plan to travel in winter, keep the heat on, leave cabinet doors open and arrange for someone to check the house during a cold snap.

Foam pipe sleeves are inexpensive and easy to fit on exposed runs. Seal gaps where pipes pass through walls and floors, since those gaps are where cold air enters. A plumber can advise on heat tape or on rerouting a line that keeps freezing.

What do you do if a pipe freezes or bursts?

If a pipe is frozen, open the faucet slightly and warm the pipe gently with a hair dryer, never an open flame. If it has split or is leaking, close the main shutoff, switch off power to wet areas if you can do so safely and call. A crew is dispatched as fast as one is available.

Keep someone near the shutoff while a frozen pipe thaws, because a hidden split may open as soon as the ice clears.

Photograph the water and the damage before moving anything, and note the time you found it and when you closed the main. These details help the technician and your insurer.

For the cleanup, see burst pipe water damage and frozen pipe water damage.

If you cannot tell where a leak is coming from, shut the main and call. Wet insulation, a ceiling that bulges and a drop in water pressure are all signs the water is moving somewhere you cannot see.

If water is coming through a ceiling, keep clear of the bulge and turn off power to that room if you can reach the breaker safely. Lights in a wet ceiling can short and the board can fall.

What happens in the days after a burst?

The crew extracts the water, maps moisture with meters and a thermal camera, removes wet insulation and drywall that cannot dry and runs dehumidifiers and air movers to a dry target, often over several days. A plumber repairs the pipe. Rebuilding is quoted separately once the structure is dry.

Water from a burst pipe travels. It follows framing, wiring holes and plumbing chases, so a split in an upstairs wall can soak the ceiling below and the floor underneath. A crew that dries only the visible stain can leave hidden wet material behind.

The EPA advises drying within 24 to 48 hours to head off mold. After a freeze, many houses were dealing with several problems at once, from power loss to wet walls, which made quick drying harder.

Insulation is often the surprise. Wet batts in a crawl space or wall cavity hold water against framing, and they usually have to be removed. Dry insulation near the wet area can generally stay. The technician decides from readings.

What about insurance, rentals and multi-unit buildings?

Sudden pipe failure is more often covered than seepage or flood, but only your insurer can say and it depends on your policy. In apartments and condos, water from one unit can reach others, so tell the manager or association at once. Keep photographs, the plumber's report and the moisture log.

Landlords and managers should have a winter plan before the forecast turns: where each unit's shutoff is, who can enter a vacant unit and who calls the plumber.

A vacant house is the worst place for a frozen pipe, because nobody notices until the damage is large. Shutting off the main when a house will be empty for days is cheap protection.

For multi-unit buildings, a winter checklist for managers helps: where each unit's shutoff is, who has keys to vacant units, and who calls the plumber at two in the morning. A written plan is easy to make in October.

What is worth remembering for the next freeze?

That a freeze here is rare enough to be forgotten and serious enough to flood a house, that damage shows on the thaw, and that preparation takes an afternoon. Find the shutoff, insulate exposed pipes, check after the cold and call early if something leaks.

Firefighters took more than 1,000 potential water-emergency calls in about five days, and that volume meant crews were stretched. Your best protection is preparation before the cold, not hoping for help during it.

A written checklist taped inside the utility closet door is a small effort, and the one habit that pays off most is knowing where the main valve is.

It also helps to talk with neighbors. After a storm like this, people compare notes about whose pipes froze, which fixtures failed and which plumbers they reached. That knowledge is more useful than a general checklist, because it reflects the houses on your own street.