Spokane, Wash. roofs collapsing under snow

The weight of record snowfall has caused roofs to collapse in the Spokane area, while snow was blamed for at least one death.

Portions of the roof at a church, a grocery store, health club and a building supply company were among 19 collapses attributed to the wet, heavy snow, officials said.

The latest snowstorm that brought some 10 inches to the Spokane area this week was also blamed for the death of Venita Johnson, 85, of Rockford, about 15 miles southeast of Spokane, the Spokane County sheriff's office said.

She suffocated over the weekend when snow apparently fell from her rooftop and buried her as she shoveled her sidewalk, the sheriff's office said.

A neighbor stopped by the victim's home Sunday and found the front door open. He checked the yard and found her body, deputies said.

More than 59 inches of snow has fallen in Spokane in December, a record for one month.

The Spokane Fire Department responded to several collapsed roofs, including one at a Rosauers grocery store on Monday that caused one minor injury. Roofs also partially collapsed Tuesday at Evergreen Building Supply and at Trinity Baptist Church. There were no injuries, officials said.

The roof of the Global Fitness gym in north Spokane caved in Tuesday, prompting the Spokane City/County Rescue Dive Team to spend two hours searching the debris-filled swimming pool for victims. No one was found in the pool.

Deputy Patrick Bloomer said divers could check only the two ends of the pool because of fallen debris, but people who got out just prior to the collapse reported no one else was in the water.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday forecast more hazardous weather for Eastern Washington, with additional snow expected in the Wenatchee, Omak, Spokane and Pullman areas.

A major winter storm also was forecast to begin New Year's Day and last into Friday, followed by another storm Sunday, bringing moderate to heavy snow accumulations.

The state Department of Transportation has sent some of its snow removal equipment from Western Washington to Eastern Washington. Five plow trucks from Tacoma and Aberdeen are working in the Spokane area. Those trucks will run 24 hours a day for the next seven days, DOT officials said.

"The additional trucks from the west side will allow the WSDOT to move some of our equipment into rural areas," said Keith Metcalf, Eastern Region administrator for the agency. "Some of our plows will now join up with Spokane County crews and the Washington National Guard to open and widen local roadways."

Elsewhere in Washington, a winter storm warning was posted for the Olympic and Cascade mountains through Wednesday afternoon, with a strong weather system expected to bring 1 to 2 feet of new snow. Much of Western Washington, including Seattle and the Puget Sound area, braced for rain and winds expected to gust to 50 mph.

As of Tuesday, the weather service said Spokane had received 59.7 inches of snow in December, breaking the one-month record of 56.9 inches set in January 1950. Snowfall records in the area have been kept since 1893.

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