The southeast corner of Spearfish’s Wal-Mart Supercenter bows Thursday under the weight of broken ceiling beams. Recent snow caused a rafter to snap. Customers and employees were evacuated without incident about 3 p.m. It isn’t clear when the store will be able to reopen. (Jan Kaus, Lawrence County Journal)
Wal-Mart’s roof partially collapses under weight of wet snow
By Jan Kaus, Lawrence County Journal
SPEARFISH — A mid-week storm in the Northern Hills dropped more than snow by the foot. It also dropped part of the roof at the Spearfish Wal-Mart Supercenter, causing the southeast corner wall to bow in on Thursday.
Customers and employees were evacuated uninjured after managers noticed bowed steel beams in the dairy section shortly before 3 p.m.
Despite several hours of firefighters and engineers discussing how to handle an impending cave-in, the wall was still standing as of news deadline Thursday night.
The wall continued to bow in as the evening progressed, and the weight of the snow on the roof dropped the beams lower and lower. Additional cracks could be seen branching out across the south exterior wall.
A crane was dispatched to the scene in order to bring down the wall intentionally, rather than waiting for it to collapse on its own.
But as engineers and construction experts got a closer look, plans changed, and officials decided to wait it out through the night.
The primary concern was determining how to get the weight of snow and water off the roof.
It was eggs that held the wall up and supported the steel rafters — egg coolers, that is.
“The beam that broke was just above the eggs,” store manager Tom Jones said.
Employees were sent home with little information Thursday.
Co-manager Randall Weinzierl later said the employees were told not to report to work on Friday and that they would get more information as it become available.
“I’m thinking we’re going to be without a Wal-Mart for a while,” Jones said.
He said he hopes employees will be allowed back in the store this morning to retrieve personal items.
It was too early Thursday to determine if it would be possible to isolate the southeast corner and open a section of the building or if it would be shut down until all is repaired.
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