Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
The home of Joe and Kristy Vigil on South Lane is demolished Saturday, Oct. 17. The home was damaged beyond repair after the basement was flooded from a burst fire hydrant pipe in August.
WORLAND - A break in a line to a fire hydrant resulted in a Worland couple's home being flooded and the home having to be demolished last weekend.
Joe and Kristy Vigil have owned their home at 1215 South Lane for the past 10 years with no flooding issues until Aug. 11 of this year.
Kristy Vigil said about 6 p.m., her husband Joe Vigil heard "the walls crack" with water coming into the basement. She said he shut off the water to the house but the water was still coming in so they called 911. A city crew member arrived and turned the water off on their end but the water kept coming with the hydrant water apparently on another line.
They called 911 two more times as water continued to fill their full basement, Kristy said. On the second and last call, she said Joe told dispatch that it must be from the hydrant with water turned off in all other areas. Once water was turned off to the hydrant the water ceased but the damage was apparently done.
During the evening she said neighbors helped them move as much stuff as they could out of the house and the basement but about $20,000 worth of personal items were damaged including some antiques and some family heirlooms.
They don't know why the pipe burst with Kristy Vigil noting, "It just burst and within about 10 minutes there was about two feet of water in the basement."
She said their insurance company, Farmer's Insurance had an engineer from Salt Lake City come to the home to assess the damage. She said the engineer assessed that the home was damaged beyond repair and needed to be demolished.
She said the water filled the basement bringing several feet of mud as well. It rose up to the ceiling, thus damaging the flooring on the top floor.
According to the Washakie County map server, the home was built in 1958, 1,054 square feet on the first story and 51 square foot finished basement.
The Vigils are living with friends at the present time.
They have filed a claim with the City of Worland for the damages.
Clerk/Treasurer Tracy Glanz said the claim has been turned over to the city's insurance company, Local Government Liability Pool.
"We're just trying to live through this chaos before deciding on our next move," Kristy Vigil said.
