Wind burst wrecks Whitefish school shed, damages track
<p><strong>An unusual</strong> burst of wind destroyed a metal building at Whitefish High School that was used to shelter the track programs pole vault pit. The microburst also damaged the track and ripped up a section of chain-link fence. No one was injured. </p>
A fierce, unusual burst of wind caused thousands of dollars in damage to Whitefish School District’s pole vault pit and track on Wednesday.
Wind uplifted a metal building on wheels used to shelter the pole vault pit, and flung it roughly 15 feet, flattening a segment of chain-link fencing, according to witnesses and Whitefish High School Principal Kerry Drown.
The structure was then launched onto the track, leaving some damage to the rubberized surface, Drown said.
It was definitely not an ordinary gust of wind, he added.
No one was on the track at the time the incident was reported to Whitefish Police Department around 1:15 p.m. . Witnesses described the wind as having a tornado-like effect.
Bruce Bauck, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said there were gusty winds, but it wasn’t a tornado. Bauck said the wind measured about 30 miles per hour at Glacier Park International Airport around the time of the incident.
The metal building was a total loss. Drown suspects there was minimal damage to the pole vault mats. He saw that one mat had a slice and attachments on mats were damaged.
Insurance adjusters have not yet assessed damages, but Drown speculated it could be between $5,000 and $10,000.
“Hopefully they will be there today and we can start cleanup,” Drown said. “We’ll move the pole vault mats inside.”
Until then the track is closed.
“I was standing out there yesterday and the wind was blowing the sheet metal around. You don’t want to be near it, it’s quite a mess,” Drown said.
The wind was a concern not only in Whitefish but also with the Reynolds Creek Fire in Glacier National Park. Bauck added that even more concerning than the wind was the extremely low humidity.
“It was an exceptionally dry day,” Bauck said.
In Kalispell, he said there was just between 9 to 10 percent humidity Wednesday.
“It’s pretty rare that it gets that dry up there,” Bauck said.