How to protect homes with Freeze Warning in rural areas across Central Valley
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Thousands of residents in rural areas across the San Joaquin Valley are facing below-freezing temperatures.
People at Fresno AG Hardware say during the wintertime, it is important to protect your home from getting damaged.
That includes your windows, plants, and even pipes.
Bob Louis lives in the countryside of Fresno. He says every year, he preps his house for the freezing temperatures in the winter.
“We have a well, and we insulate the pipes,” said Louis. “And if it gets real cold, we actually leave a small amount of water running on one of our hoses so the pipes don’t freeze up.”
The rural areas of the San Joaquin Valley are under a freeze warning, the National Weather Service says sub-temperatures could get as low as 31 degrees in parts of the region, and protecting your outdoor pets is important.
“We got goats, chickens, and rabbits and we make sure I’ve got them covered like a little barrier and I keep plenty of straw in with them, keep them warm,” said Louis.
The manager at Fresno AG has tips for what to do during this season.
“The first thing that we tell people is to make sure that there are no gaps in windows indoors,” said Fresno AG Hardware Manager Ian Williams. “So get some insulation that can fill those up. You definitely want to protect those pipes. It gets really cold, and if there’s water left in those lines, it’ll freeze and potentially break the line. So we always recommend using some foam insulation over those pipes”
Workers at the hardware store say a little investment in protection could go a long way.
“On the flip side, if you didn’t and that did burst, well, now you’re going to be in it, you know, a considerable amount to what you would have paid it just by a little bit of prevention,” said Williams.
As for Louis, he says he learned his lessons as a guy who lives in the countryside and hopes others don’t learn their lesson the hard way.
“You know, you can sleep at night, not wake up and go; oh man, I didn’t cover the pipe, but by the shop, and you don’t have to worry about any of that because it’s all done ahead of time,” said Louis.
The Freeze Warning is expected to expire by Wednesday at 8 a.m.
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