Ronan Boys & Girls Club suffers windstorm damage

Friday's sudden microburst wreaked havoc at the Boys & Girls Club in Ronan, damaging the roof and carrying off a donated carport (courtesy photo).

RONAN — A strong microburst caused considerable damage at the Boys & Girls Club building in Ronan Friday evening. Around 9:15 p.m., just minutes after teens and program aides left the building a storm kicked up winds in excess of 50 miles an hour. A metal carport donated to the club as a sun shelter was thrown into the north side of the building crushing the swimming pool fence on its way, damaging two porta-potties and smashing the chain link fence between highway 93 and the club. The carport literally flew into the path of southbound traffic on Highway 93 in front of the club.

As the winds continued, the club director managed to pull across the front lawn of the club and anchor the carport to his truck. With help from two spectators from Charlo and a Ronan City policeman, he then pulled the damaged structure off the highway. "We're extremely thankful nobody was hurt," said John Schnase, Executive Director, "I was really glad to have the people from Charlo and the police help make sure it didn't continue to block traffic and cause a worse hazard."

Sunday, volunteers Sheila and Monte Lucht helped Schnase dismantle the carport and repair the fencing to make the club safe for the summer program kids. "I've had many phone calls offering help, and asking if the club would be open again," said Schnase, " We're up and running again and waiting to see how our insurance coverage will handle the damages." The northeast corner of the building sustained the worst damage as it crushed the eves and buckled the metal on about a quarter of the roof. Windows were in tact and no visible damage appeared to the main north wall.