How a local construction crew is surviving the blistering cold temperatures

IDAHO FALLS – Though numerous schools across eastern Idaho are closed Monday due to record-breaking freezing temperatures, for many people it’s just another working day, and some are outside battling the extreme cold trying to stay warm.

Montana Kottkey, 23, and his crew of 12 with NV Construction & Land Management are spread throughout Driggs, Ririe and Idaho Falls working on various housing projects.

During a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Kottkey asked his Idaho Falls team how they’re doing today, and they responded frankly, “It’s really f****** cold.”

The crew got started at 6:30 a.m. when the temperature was -28, the coldest temperature since 2009, according to the National Weather Service in Pocatello.

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They’re planning to work typical hours Monday, which ends around 5:30 p.m.

“Everybody needs hours, everybody needs money,” Kottkey says.

In Driggs, it was only slightly warmer at a blistering -27.

Kottkey says the reason for working today, rather than taking the day off, is due to pending deadlines.

“The house that we’re working on (in Driggs) should’ve been done two days ago,” he explains. “So, we just need to get some work done.”

But it’s taking some extra effort to keep the job site running smoothly during the cold weather. The battery life on their cordless tools is significantly reduced so they have to keep the trucks running to charge them.

“We had to heat up the generator in Driggs with a propane torch, but we had to heat up the tank at a coffee shop first because the propane was frozen. Then we went to the job site and had to heat up the generator with the propane torch,” says Kottkey.

And it took until after noon to get the forklift started, even though it had been on the charger for several hours.

Despite the setbacks, Kottkey says the work itself isn’t taking any longer — “it’s just miserable.”

“It took us longer to get our stuff moving, but once we get our stuff moving, it will keep going,” he says. “If it was snowing or raining, it would take longer. But it’s not snowing or raining, it just sucks.”

“It blows. It gives me a reason to go to college,” he adds, laughing.