Classes Canceled After Wind Blows Roof Off Spavinaw School

NewsOn6.com

SPAVINAW, Oklahoma -- Spavinaw schools have canceled classes Monday after a portion of the school's roof blew off Sunday.

The building where the roof was damaged houses offices, a computer lab, the cafeteria and a couple of classrooms.

"This is what the wind--a straight gust of wind--has done to all this," said Spavinaw School President Clarence Gregory.

The view from SkyNews6 shows the wind peeled a large section of the roof back.

Parts of the roof lay scattered on top of other sections of the school. The roof is rolled into a ball. Insulation litters the ground.

"Got a phone call about 11:30. 'You better come down here. The roof's blowed off,'" said superintendent Kelly Hampton.

Amazingly, no one was hurt - it's not a school day.

"No kids were around. No students in danger," Hampton said.

Still, superintendent Kelly Hampton says he wasn't prepared to see the 20-year-old roof gone.

"Shocked would probably be the main word. We knew it was windy but nothing like this," he said.

After seeing all the damage, he thought the rooms inside would be scattered with debris. Luckily, those rooms were spared.

"It has another roof under it, thank goodness," Hampton said.

As if Mother Nature hasn't thrown enough at this school there's a chance of rain Sunday night. Just to be safe, administrators unplugged and turned off all the electronics and covered them up with tarps.

"The reason we turned the power off is this power head right here. It's a feeder into the school and we didn't want anything on fire," Gregory said.

The exposed roof will be covered with a tarp, once the weather cooperates.

"They've got to wait until the wind cuts down so they can get up there," Hampton said.

Rolling with the punches... with a new respect for the power of wind.

"I never dreamed it was blowing this hard today. It just goes to show you - you better watch out in Oklahoma," Hampton said.

Administrators say an insurance adjustor will inspect the roof Monday morning and put a dollar amount on the damage.

School's definitely canceled Monday. It might still be canceled Tuesday. They'll make that decision Monday afternoon.

More than one-hundred elementary and junior high students attend the school.