More than a dozen buildings on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus were without heat or water Monday morning and afternoon due to a steam and water line breakage on the first 40-below day of the winter in the Interior community.
By 8:30 p.m., heat and water had been restored to all buildings after line breakages were reported around 4:30 a.m., UAF spokesperson Marmian Grimes said.
More than a dozen buildings, mostly residences, were affected. They were listed in a release as: Walsh Hall, Stuart Hall, Whitaker Building, Bunnell House, Harwood Hall, Hess Village, Maclean House, the Chancellor's residence and all residential facilities north of Yukon Drive and east of Hess Village.
As of 5 p.m., heat had been restored to all but three buildings: Walsh Hall, Stuart Hall and the Whitaker Building. Walsh and Stuart Halls are campus housing. The Whitaker Building houses the fire department, police department, dispatch center and counseling offices.
Walsh Hall was the building most affected by the breakage, Grimes said, and there was damage to residents' property.
The hall "took quite a bit of damage," Grimes said. "There was a lot of steam."
The hall is a 12-apartment complex that houses married students who don't have children. About 15 individuals were moved from the hall to other housing on campus. It is unclear when they will be able to return, she said.
Facilities Services crews had located the breakage Monday afternoon, which occurred in the main steam supply line. The cause of the breakage was still unknown Monday night.
Grimes said that crews struggled to locate the breakage right away because the university's utilidors -- tunnels that run underneath campus and connect the buildings -- were flooded with hot steam. Once crews isolated the area and shut off the steam valves, they were able to enter the utilidors and start searching for the breakage, Grimes said. UAF has its own power plant, which also provides steam heat to campus facilities through the underground corridors.
Other buildings on campus may have higher-than-normal humidity levels due to the utilidors' flooding with steam, Grimes said.
At 4 p.m., the temperature had climbed to 33 below at Fairbanks International Airport, while the evening low was expected to be between 40 below and 51 below.
The Bunnell House child-care facility was closed Monday and parents had been contacted to pick up their children.
Free showers were available at the Wood Center and the Student Recreation Center, according to a release.