What February 2021 showed about burst pipes in Yukon
Oklahoma City's low on February 16, 2021 was minus 14°F, beaten on the Oklahoma Climatological Survey's record only by a reading from 1899. Within a day, Yukon officials said record demand had put the city's water system under stress, and the city urged everyone to drip their faucets rather than run them full.
That request says a lot about how a freeze plays out here. Yukon's water comes from city wells plus water bought from Oklahoma City, and the system relies on five water towers to hold pressure. When homes across town run faucets full blast to keep pipes from freezing, while burst lines keep leaking until someone shuts them off, the whole system feels it. Shutting off your main fast after a burst protects your house and your neighbors' water pressure.
Emergency burst pipe repair: what to do before we arrive
If a pipe has burst: close the main water shutoff, then open the lowest faucet in the house to drain the lines. If water is near outlets, light fixtures or the electrical panel, switch off power to that area only if you can reach the breaker without standing in water. Never use a torch or open flame on a frozen pipe.
Then move furniture and valuables out of the water, take photos of the damage for your insurer, and put buckets under drips. If the ceiling is sagging with water, stay out from under it. When you call, tell us where the water is coming from and whether the main is off, and we take it from there.
Speed matters because even small splits release a lot of water. By IBHS figures, a split only one-eighth of an inch across can let out upward of 250 gallons in a single day.
Emergency water leak repair after freezing
The burst you see during the freeze isn't always the only one. Ice inside a pipe can split it without leaking, because the ice itself plugs the crack. When temperatures climb and the line thaws, water finds the opening, often in a wall cavity or ceiling where you won't notice until a stain appears.
After any hard freeze, walk the house as it warms up. Check under sinks on outside walls, the garage ceiling, around the water heater, along exterior hose bibs and in any attic space with pipe. Listen for hissing with the house quiet, and watch the water meter with everything off. If you find a leak, close the main and call us for emergency repair.
How we repair a burst pipe
- Confirm the water is off. We check the main and isolate the failed section so unaffected fixtures can come back on sooner.
- Open only what we need. We cut the smallest practical opening in drywall or ceiling to reach the break.
- Cut out and replace. The split section and any damaged fittings come out, and new pipe goes in with proper support.
- Pressure test the run. We restore pressure and inspect the repair and nearby lines for more splits.
- Prevent the repeat. We recommend pipe insulation, relocating the pipe to a warm interior wall, or a frost-free hose bib where the break happened.
Homes in Yukon have a median build year of 1979, and in houses that age, the usual trouble spots are garage walls, attic runs, exterior walls and hose bibs. For more detail on materials and cost factors, see our main burst pipe repair page, and for local conditions, our Yukon plumber page.