The most noteworthy loss in Bear Lake County is likely that of the historic and nationally known Beck barn at 3527 Lanark Road near Liberty. The barn, built by Joseph Frederick Beck, was completed in 1944 and was a famous stop for photographers and history buffs.

“That one kind of breaks my heart a little bit,” Heslington said about the Beck barn collapsing.

Other notable collapses include the historic schoolhouse in Bern just west of Montpelier, a residential home on Monroe Street in Montpellier and the golf cart storage building at the Montpelier Golf Course. Most of the collapsed structures appear to be total losses with no plans to rebuild.

Montpelier Mayor Ted Slivinski says a building on Main Street was close to collapsing, though he is hopeful it can be saved.

“(On Wednesday) we had a building that hasn’t collapsed yet but when the folks got up there (on the roof) to start shoveling the snow off, the trusses started snapping,” Slivinski said. “The front of the building has buckled a little bit under the stress of the load of snow, but we’re still hoping that building can be saved.”

Slivinski said it’s miraculous that nobody has been injured or killed as a result of all the building collapses in Bear Lake County.

“The fact that we have avoided any building collapse that caused harm or death to an individual is wonderful, but it’s certainly scary times,” he said. “It’s been emotionally draining on me to be honest with you.”

Slivinski said that while there hasn’t been record-breaking snowfall in the Bear Lake County area so far this winter, the snow that has fallen, and there’s a lot of it, hasn’t really had any chance to melt.

According to the National Weather Service, Bern, which is about four miles west of Montpelier, has received 135 inches of snowfall since Nov. 1. About 10 inches of snow fell in November, 31 inches fell in December, 45 inches fell in January, 30 inches fell in February and about 19 inches of snow has fallen so far this month, the National Weather Service said.

“The problem is that the snow that came in November is still here,” Slivinski said. “We have just not had any chance to have any of it melt off. It certainly is a winter like we’ve never seen before. The snow load has turned to ice and a couple of little rain storms added to that.”

Slivinski said the home that collapsed in Montpelier was vacant, and he believes the schoolhouse in Bern was not occupied, though the building was being used for storage. Slivinski said there was also a partial collapse at the golf cart storage building on Montpelier’s Boise Street and the roof of a warehouse on Eighth Street belonging to the owner of a Montpelier auto body business collapsed as well.

“I personally had a deck collapse at my home because of all the weight of the snow,” Slivinski said. “It has just been non-stop shoveling over here.”

Slivinski said he believes the worst is behind local residents when it comes to the threat of collapses, adding that he has been blown away by the Montpelier community stepping up to help those who have been unable to shovel the snow off their roofs.

“In our community there’s so many wonderful people that are affiliated with different organizations that have provided help where they can,” Slivinski said. “We have a lady here that’s part of an earthquake recovery team called Team Rubicon and she contacted her team to come up and assist the elderly and disabled with snow removal. We have several church organizations that have been wonderful and just some great neighbors that have been helping each other out.”

The snowfall has also resulted in six natural gas leaks in Montpelier, the latest of which resulted in South Ninth Street being evacuated over the weekend, Slivinski added.

The recent collapses in Bear Lake County come after the well-known Blue Moon Bar & Grill on South 1st East Street in Lava Hot Springs collapsed on March 1.

Bannock County sheriff’s deputies rescued a woman who was trapped in what remained of the Blue Moon following the roof collapse. She miraculously suffered only minor injuries and was transported via Pocatello Fire Department ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello for treatment, authorities said.

A man was also trapped when the Blue Moon’s roof collapsed but he was pulled from the debris by a family member and was not hurt, authorities said.

As spring approaches, Slivinski and other officials in Bear Lake County are very concerned about the possibility of flash flooding as all the snow melts.

“We’re not out of the woods quite yet because my biggest fear is that it suddenly hits 50 degrees and we start having that fast melt off,” Slivinski said. “If that happens we’re definitely going to experience some flooding.”

Slivinski said Todd Boehme, the emergency management coordinator and road and bridge supervisor for Bear Lake County, was present at the Montpelier City Council meeting on Wednesday and outlined a plan for local residents to obtain and fill sandbags for flooding prevention.

“They have a limited supply of sandbags available today, but they have a huge order coming in that should land here any day now,” Slivinski said. “Folks can get sandbags filled at the county road and bridge building (22956 U.S. Highway 30) and there will also be a load of sand available down at our city public works building (39 Main St.).”

Officials in Bannock and Bingham counties as well as the Fort Hall Reservation are also making sandbags available for local residents.