Hollister
– San Benito County has begun emerging from the longest and
chilliest cold spell in years, and some locals are still feeling
the effects of the freeze.
Hollister – San Benito County has begun emerging from the longest and chilliest cold spell in years, and some locals are still feeling the effects of the freeze.
Tony Gueracha, owner of A&N Plumbing, said that in the last few days his company has repaired burst pipes and other weather-related problems at more than 30 homes and businesses. It was the first time many of those customers had problems with frozen pipes, Gueracha said.
One of A&N’s repairs on Wednesday was at the Pet Friends animal adoption center. Volunteer Jackie Bickle said pipes burst in both the outdoor dog run and the indoor adult cat room on Saturday.
“Cat trees, cat beds and playthings were all destroyed,” Bickle said.
Luckily, however, the cats managed to climb to safety, and Bickle said the many Pet Friends volunteers pitched in to clean things up.
“If it happened during the week, when we didn’t have many people, it could have been a lot worse,” Bickle said.
At this time of year, Hollister typically has daytime highs of 60 degrees and overnight lows of 38 degrees, said National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson. But the combination of a cold front and clear skies – leaving nothing to trap the heat – meant that Hollister dropped to 26 degrees early Friday morning. Temperatures continued falling over the weekend, reaching record lows of 22 degrees on Saturday and 23 degrees on Sunday. Things didn’t really warm up until early Wednesday morning, when the low temperature was a relatively toasty 34 degrees.
It was the longest and coldest spell in the region since 1998, weather service officials said.
San Benito residents may feel a chill in their pocketbooks when they receive their gas bills for January. PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith said the company previously estimated that a drop in natural gas prices would reduce the average January bills from around $114 to $102
“But with the exceptionally cold weather, I’m not sure those predictions will hold,” Smith said.
The Hollisterites most affected by the cold are likely the city’s homeless. Leigh Dietz, manager of the county’s homeless shelter, said the shelter has been housing around 20 people on recent nights, up from between 12 and 15 at the same time last year. The shelter normally closes its doors at 6am, Dietz said, but they’ve been staying open until 10am due to the cold mornings.
Dietz also said that shelter’s need for donations has been exacerbated by the increase in occupants.
“The blankets are getting a little thin, because we have to wash them every day,” she said, adding that the shelter could use more kitchen supplies.
Much of California felt the same chill. Nearly $1 billion worth of California citrus was destroyed by cold weather. Not even sunny Southern California was spared. The Roto-Rooter plumbing chain reported that it had fixed its very first frozen pipe in Long Beach on Jan. 15.
Hollister resident Margaret Pidd said her property management business has had to repair three broken water lines, as well as faucets that had cracked from the cold.
“We just get a few new parts, get it fixed and hope the next day isn’t colder,” Pidd said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
