Heber Valley Cold Snap

What actually fails first

In a valley that drops well below freezing overnight for weeks at a stretch, the first things to fail are almost always exposed supply lines — in a crawlspace, a garage, or along an exterior wall that doesn't get much heat. Insulating those runs before the first hard freeze is far cheaper than a burst-pipe call after one.

The thermostat rule doesn't change with elevation

IBHS's advice to never let a thermostat drop below 55°F applies just as much at elevation as it does at the valley floor — the mechanism that freezes a pipe doesn't care how far above sea level the house sits, only how cold the pipe itself gets.

A woodstove or space heater in one room doesn't help a line in an unheated crawlspace on the other side of the house; the whole point of the thermostat rule is keeping the ambient temperature up everywhere a pipe runs, not just where people are sitting.