Snow Loads in Boundary County Not That Severe…Yet

So far so good.

That's what Boundary County's Incident Commander of Emergency Services says as far as snow loads reaching unsafe levels on roofs throughout the county.

Despite record snowfalls in the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene areas that caused numerous roof collapses, Boundary County residents and businesses have been more fortunate.

At least for now.

Brett Brown and his snow removal team prepare the roof of the Bonners Ferry Safeway store for the next round of snow storms headed our way.

"There really hasn't been anything real significant damage-wise except for a few reports of outbuildings that sustained some snow damage," said Bob Graham. "It's nothing like the heavy amount of roof cave-ins we had in 1996. I've been in touch with Sheriff's dispatch, and there have been no reports of any major home or building collapses."

Graham met Boundary County School District earlier this week and said school officials are keeping a close eye on snow loads on school roofs.

"The ceiling tiles on the middle school were opened up to allow heat to go into the roof to help reduce the buildup of snow," he added.

As of Dec. 30, Graham said about 17 pounds per square foot of snow had collected on the middle school roof, while 30 pounds per square foot has built up on one section of the new Bonners Ferry High School. Valley View Elementary School has a snow load level of approximately 18 pounds per square foot.

None of those amounts are problematic, said Graham.

"Modern buildings can take a snow load level of up to 60 pounds per square foot," he said. "We're not close to the point yet of having any kind of fear of a major roof collapse. The real threat would be if a significant rain event hit the region."

Although a warming trend without rain would create some problems, Graham pointed out that a bigger fear would be a wave of warm weather along with rain.

"That could turn into a real mess for many people," he added.

Graham stressed that residents should do everything they can to clear snow and ice from their gas meters as well as natural gas and oil venting pipes.

"Keeping those vents open and running so carbon monoxide can't back up into homes is critical," he said. "In the past, it has been somewhat of a problem for some areas, especially those in high elevations."