Subzero? No problem

COEUR d'ALENE - Despite subzero temperatures early Thursday morning, the Northern Builders crew went to work.

But building a home at 17th and Mullan Avenue in such conditions proved difficult.

The spot heater wasn't working. The compressor wouldn't start. Some battery-powered equipment refused to come to life.

"That's a big problem," said Jeffrey Fulton, laughing. "It's really real out here."

Fulton, David Merte and Gabriel Egge were huddled around a makeshift fire, reviewing building plans and deciding what they could get done.

Fulton said they're used to working in cold weather, but Thursday was another level of cold.

"Today has honestly been the coldest," he said. "Kind of miserable."

Merte figured that, at best, assuming they overcame mechanical troubles, they might be able to work for 20 minutes, then return to the fire to thaw out.

It's a matter of survival.

"Your fingers, your nose, start getting too cold," Merte said. "Frostbite is a concern."

He guessed they could have to call it a day soon.

"We're not trying to get hurt out here, but we do try to make progress," Merte said.

Climatologist Cliff Harris said it hit a record-low of negative 12 degrees at 7:50 a.m. Thursday, the coldest day in Coeur d'Alene in nearly 40 years. It broke the Dec. 22 record-low of minus 8 degrees in 1983.

With windchill from 11 mph gusts on Thursday, it was 28 below zero.

Harris said the coldest day ever in Coeur d'Alene was 30 below zero on Jan. 30, 1950. Two days later, on Feb. 1, 1950, it hit 27 below zero.

"The winter of 1950 was by far the coldest winter on record," Harris said. "That was a real bearcat."

Some are comparing this winter to that one of 72 years ago.

"That's when a lot of pipes froze," Harris said.

While most folks stayed indoors Thursday morning, for others being outside in negative temperatures was kind of a necessity.

Count Randy Swisher among them.

The mailman began making his rounds about 6 a.m.

"You know what? We are out here in any type of weather, regardless," Swisher said as he carried his shoulder bag of mail on Mullan Avenue.

He's been with the Postal Service since 2014, and nothing the weather throws at him is a surprise.

"The main thing is, we're out here, we dress for it," Swisher said. "If we didn't, guess what? It would be too cold to be out here."

Janice and Ken Copper were headed to their Fort Ground home after swimming and working out at The Coeur d'Alene Resort.

The walk through City Park, with the sun shining and mist rising off Lake Coeur d'Alene, was enjoyable, Janice Copper said.

"This makes it kind of fun," she said.

Janice Copper is a photographer, too, and she saw amazing photo opportunities all around.

"It's beautiful," she said. "Look at this."

Ken Copper previously lived in Michigan and Iowa, so subzero days and nights are routine for him.

"I grew up in cold country," he said, smiling.

In Rathdrum, the cold didn't stop 15 businesses from delivering donations Thursday morning to Adept Business Solutions. From there, the donations will fill shelves at the Rathdrum Food Bank.

Adept's Diane Gardner wrote that the deep freeze didn't keep the 13th annual food drive from dropping off 1,153 items.

"Rathdrum truly is a community that pulls together to help each other," she wrote.

Tom Colwell, rink operator for "Coeur d’Alene On Ice" at McEuen Park, was getting things ready for the 10 a.m. opening.

His day started at 6. He turned the water on and checked the propane as he made his usual security rounds.

Colwell was bundled up and was warm enough - except for his feet.

"You gotta dress for it," he said. "My shoes are not the greatest."

It should be a good day for ice skating.

"Unless it's too cold," Colwell said.