More roofs give way to wet, heavy snowloads without injury

Ellie Ruel
5 days ago
2 min read

Fisherman’s Bend boat storage facility partially collapses, Echo Ranch Bible Camp gym fully collapses

By Ellie Ruel

Juneau Independent

The roof of an industrial facility in Auke Bay that stored over 40 boats partially caved in over a shed area after record snow became drenched with rain from an atmospheric river this week.

Cindy Fuller was in the parking lot above the marina Saturday afternoon and said she owned the collapsed building. Her son had called her Friday morning and told her about the shed collapse.

“I’m just thankful no one was in there,” she said.

The damage appeared to be localized to an area near an exterior wall facing the bay. The building was constructed in 1964 and has been in Fuller’s family since 1974.

According to Fuller, the structure’s collapse was completely unexpected. The road down to the building was cordoned off for safety reasons on Saturday, and she hadn’t been inside yet to survey damage since there was still snow on the roof but plans to after some of it melts away.

“The water's running off, and the snow has come down considerably today. I look around and I can't believe how fast it's dropped,” she said.

Rainy conditions are expected to continue into next week, with a flood advisory that expired Sunday morning. According to a social media post on Saturday, the gym roof of Echo Ranch Bible Camp also collapsed due to the weight of snow.

“We are so thankful that everyone, including our winter caretakers, is safe and after initial inspections, all other buildings at camp are doing well,” the post states.

Other structure damages reported during the storm include the roof of a Mendenhall Valley home caving in Thursday afternoon, the unoccupied Bill Ray center’s roof giving way downtown and a karate dojo’s roof collapsing near the airport. The Fred Meyer's fuel station canopy also partially collapsed, and the store itself was evacuated twice this month due to roof safety concerns before reopening Sunday morning. Flooding also remains a concern with localized ponding around frozen storm drains.