Flood repairs under way at Glacier High

School will resume today at Glacier High School despite flooding on Saturday.

Eleven classrooms, a special education pod, administrative offices and the school’s main office were affected after a pipe burst in a conference room on the second floor of pod B at 1:40 p.m. Saturday.

Water reached a depth of 8 to 10 inches in the room and then flowed down the walls into the offices of Principal Callie Langohr and Assistant Principal Lance Labrum. The water also went down a stairwell.

School administrators don't yet know the full extent of the damage. Allied Property Restoration and Murphy's Stat Restoration are working on the repairs, along with subcontractors and school personnel.

"We're waiting to see how much dries and when it dries," Langohr said Sunday. "There's been a huge effort on the part of many people to come in today and yesterday."

The goal is to have 98 percent of the walls and carpet dry by Wednesday morning, Langohr said in an e-mail to parents.

It's possible some drywall may have to be replaced, she said.

Removing baseboards and built-in cabinets and drilling holes in the walls are part of the drying strategy. The other 2 percent of the process may involve "additional invasive strategies," Langohr said.

The school district's technology team has been assessing technology damage in the flood zone, Langohr said. "We are hopeful that all of the computers, phones and TV will be in fine shape," she said.

Sophomores — the majority of whom have lockers in pod B — have been told to empty out their lockers today so the lockers can be removed for drying work on floors and walls.

It will be "business as usual. We have plenty of room for the relocation," Langohr said.

Food service was not affected and meals will be served as usual. The gymnasium area also was not affected and all activities in the gym will proceed as scheduled.

A strategic plan, including a timeline for restoration work, is expected to be established within a few days, she said.

"Our aim in the strategic plan is to return the facility to its ‘like new' condition," Langohr said.

Signs have been posted throughout the building to direct students away from the B pod into the school's other pods, Langohr said. All the damage was in the B pod, which includes classrooms on the second floor and administrative offices on the first floor.

The flood is believed to have started when a frozen fire suppression water line broke.

Parents were notified the flooding and cleanup efforts via e-mail, Langohr said, while staff members were notified via an employee phone tree.

Updates can be found on the school's website, www.sd5.k12.mt.us/ghs.

Glacier High School opened in fall 2007. The 242,664-square-foot building in north Kalispell was built for $37.3 million.