Monday morning windstorm tears off portions of the roof at Water Canyon Elementary

Warped and crumpled panels of aluminum roofing became entangled with the flagpoles outside Water Canyon Elementary after the Monday morning windstorm, Hildale, Utah, March 21, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County School District, St. George News

HILDALE — The same windstorm that knocked out power in Santa Clara and parts of Ivins also reached the southeast corner of the county, with gusting winds ripping off parts of the roof at Water Canyon Elementary.

Large pieces of aluminum sheeting on the north half of the school’s roof blew free around 2:30 a.m., according to footage captured by security cameras at the nearby high school. 

Water Canyon Principal Brad Jolley first learned about the damage from his colleague Steve Showalter, principal of Water Canyon High. Showalter arrived at the high school to see a pile of crumpled metal panels littering the entrance to the elementary.

“I was running some errands in Hurricane getting ready to come up when he (Showalter) called me and said, ‘Hey, are you supposed to be getting a new roof or something?’” Jolley said. “I’m like, ‘Not to my knowledge, why?’ and he said, ‘Well part of your roof is in the parking lot.’”

After gathering photos of the wind’s destructive effects, Jolley said he notified the maintenance department for Washington County School District, which responded within hours by dispatching a team to assess the damage.

The damage to Water Canyon Elementary was first reported by Principal Steve Showalter of the nearby high school after arriving in the early morning hours, Hildale, Utah, March 21, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County School District, St. George News

“When I started picking some things up, they were pieces of that aluminum that were pegged into the lawn a good 6-8 inches,” Jolley said. “That strong wind moving that object obviously could have done some real damage.”

The bulk of the roofing that blew off rolled up and over the roof’s ridge, coming free just before crumpling around the twin flagpoles set in front of the school entrance. Some smaller areas had torn aluminum panels dangling off the roof or folded on themselves.

Jolley said the silver lining of the whole situation was its timing: Washington County schools had not yet returned to instruction after spring break and classes wouldn’t resume until Tuesday morning.

“You hate to think what could’ve happened had this happened during a school day, so 2:30 at night during spring break was the best case scenario,” he said.

A view of the damage to some roofing panels atop Water Canyon Elementary, Hildale, Utah, March 21, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County School District, St. George News

Since there were no students in school, the maintenance team was able to clear away the damaged panels and ensure the building was safe and operational for students to return on Tuesday.

Steve Dunham, communications director for the district, said the estimated cost for repairs is around $200,000. 

“That’s just a rough estimate from the district,” Dunham said. “We have a contractor meeting with our maintenance folks today (Tuesday), and he’s going to look at it. From him we’ll get a firm estimate as well as a timeline on repairs.”

The last time the roof had major repairs was when the school district regained ownership of the building in 2014. Dunham said the school was sold to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2001 after enrollment in the community’s public schools dropped off altogether.

Ultimately, Willie Jessop ended up as the owner of the building and offered to sell it back to the district to bring public education back to Hildale, Dunham said.

Since reopening in 2014, enrollment at Water Canyon elementary and the high school has grown steadily along with the entire community of Hildale. The elementary school now has a total enrollment of 233 students grades K-6, while the high school serves approximately 319 students grades 7-12.

While Monday’s scene was unusual, the wind hasn’t blown the school off track, Jolley said.

“I talked to some of my employees and teachers that live there locally, and they were amazed at the strength of (Monday’s) wind,” Jolley said. “We do get wind at the mouth of Water Canyon, but they said it was an uncommon storm. The bottom line is we’re just fortunate that no one was hurt, and our maintenance department has got it so that school can keep on going.”

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