Tok Alaska’s winter weather is capricious. The weather here is two-faced! Tok School has been overcoming floods lately due to the cold weather snapping the pipes. Tok School had a pipe burst in December in the technology room, and, surprisingly, the same thing happened over winter break!
The winters in Tok, Alaska are always different. Some are warmer than others and some are colder. This year in interior Alaska, it has been warming up to +40 degrees Fahrenheit, then dropping by dozens of degrees up to -50 degrees Fahrenheit. That is almost a full 100-degree difference in a matter of a few days!
The principal of Tok School, Julie Shotwell, was interviewed about the cold weather and the breakage of pipes due to it. “I do not like the cold weather, but I don’t mind it. I like living in Tok because I like working with our students.”
Special Education teacher, Vanessa West, was interviewed about her thoughts on the recent coldness. She was asked if she likes the cold and, if not, why she lives here. Vanessa stated “No, I don’t. I live here for my grandkids. Will I stay in Tok forever? I don’t want to. Alaska is so far away. Maybe I will change my mind but I am still getting used to the fact I have to drive three hours to get to Walmart.” She was also asked if she was surprised that the cold was the reason the pipes broke. She stated, “No, that is what happens when there is cold!”
The pipe bursts have greatly affected the school over the past few weeks. The science room was completely flooded, as well as the technology room. Ms. Fifarek and Ms. Lindsay's rooms flooded, as well as the hallways in the high school area of the school. Much of the technology in the IT room was severely damaged and it will be a lot of work to fix. Because of this, the maintenance department has been working on fixing and drying affected areas for about a week now.
Tok, Alaska is a very cold place and our community should be aware of the consequences that come out of not using cold safety. We should be prepared for this coldness with warm clothes, warm houses, warm businesses, enough food and water, and warm animals. Heat in buildings is important in the winter, especially in Tok. We need to come up with more solutions on how to make this issue not repeat itself, such as keeping the classroom doors open to spread heat! How were you and your family affected by the cold snap? Let us know! Stay warm, safe, and bundled up!
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