SISTERS, OR -- Bitter cold led to frozen and burst pipes across Oregon last week, including at the Sisters Library. "That happened sometime between when we closed Tuesday night and when the first person - actually, one of our contractors - got there on Wednesday morning," says Deschutes Public Library Director Todd Dunkelberg, "The good news is, he was able to immediately shut off the water, get crews in getting water out and we got a restoration company in, immediately."

The Sisters library branch is now closed. "There’s no good way to put it: when you have water in a library, that’s not a good situation," Dunkelberg tells KBND News, "We were incredibly lucky that it happened over an area that didn’t have any furniture, didn’t have any electronics and no books." He adds, "The water seeped out into the children’s area. All of our shelves in that area are on wheels, so we just wheeled them out and started drying out the carpet. So, that work started right away. And right now, we’re just - as we’re drying everything out - trying to assess the damage. We will have to replace some baseboards; we’re having to take out some insulation."
The closure is heightened because the Sisters branch just reopened after a major remodel less than three months ago. "It was an existing pipe," says Dunkelberg, "It had been there from the beginning of that building, back in 2007. So it’s not a pipe that we added during the remodel."

Dunkelberg says the incident is especially tough on staff, "They’re there to serve people, and this is really hard; not being able to be open and be there for people. We appreciate people’s patience. We’re working as hard as we can to get back open and start serving."

Once reconstruction crews determine a timeline for repairs and reopening, the information will be posted to the Deschutes Public Library website and social media accounts. 

Photos courtesy Deschutes Public Library