NEVADA CITY, Calif. — The roof over a school gym in Nevada City gave way to the weight of piled on rain and snow from recent winter storms.
It happened at Echo Ridge Christian School in Nevada City.
The gym acted as a multi-purpose room where students at the Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade school would go to for Physical Education, music and cooking classes. The building also housed the library.
"The roof came in and the walls went out, so it is a total loss," said Laurie Trujillo, director of communication for Northern California Adventists in Action, which helps run the school.
No one was injured, and school was not in session when it collapsed over the weekend.
Typically, the school rents out the gym, but because of the weather, they decided to close up over the weekend.
Trujillo said the collapse happened sometimes between 6 p.m. Saturday and 4:30 p.m. Sunday. She said they noticed something was off when the alarm malfunctioned and sent up staff to check it out.
"Surprising and devastating to see just how much damage there was," said Louise Pryor, vice principal of Echo Ridge Christian School. "Not having it is going to make a huge impact."
Trujillo said the school is in contact with their insurance to come out and assess the damage.
Pryor says they are hoping to rebuild the gym.
"Certainly hope that there is something that will help us get back in shape soon because the people in the community who rely on this school are really going to be hurting," she said.
Students were out of school on a snow day Wednesday, but students are expected to be able to come to school during the cleanup and rebuilding process since the gym is located in a different part of the property than the classrooms.
People in the Sierra have also been trying to dig their way out of the aftermath from relentless snowfall. But more rain is on the way and snow at higher elevations.
"Spent hours up there, about four of us, working on the roof and making trails so that the water--when it starts melting--so it has a way to go," said Nevada County resident Bill Fox, who told ABC10 he helped shovel off snow from the roof of the local food bank.
A donation page for the school is available HERE.
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