SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Police say cleanup is expected to last between 2 to 3 days after a 160-foot scaffold collapsed in downtown San Antonio Thursday night.
Three people sustained minor injuries when strong wind gusts from Thursday night's sudden storm caused a million pounds of scaffolding to fall onto St. Mark's Episcopal Church in downtown San Antonio, officials said.
"We attribute it to the wind. This street will be closed for quite a while," said SAFD Chief Charles Hood, referring to Martin Street at Jefferson.
As a result of the collapse (and an event going on in the same area), Navarro, Pecan and Jefferson Streets around Travis Park will be closed through Sunday afternoon around 5 a.m.
A city bus with eight passengers inside was nearby where the scaffolding fell, but officials said the bus driver thankfully noticed it falling and managed to get to the intersection and out of harm's way. No one inside the bus was injured.
Hood said multiple cars were caught under the wreckage, and officials broke into them to ensure no one was inside. He added that torches and heavy equipment will have to be used to cut up the scaffolding before it's eventually transported out of the area.
Hood said the scaffolding was originally attached to the AT&T building, which authorities said was undergoing some renovations.
St. Mark's Episcopal sustained roof and water damage to their parish house as a result of the collapse during the storm.
A spokesperson with the church provided an update on Facebook early Friday morning.
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT THE PARISH HOUSE
Dear People of St. Mark's,
I received a call late tonight that the scaffolding from the AT and T Building had collapsed during the storm and had caused roof and water damage to the parish house. The city quickly responded and gave us a walk through of the initial damage reports. Thankfully no one was present in the building at the time of the incident and so no one was hurt.
We will continue to assess damage, but until the city clears the building, we will be closed. The chiller has been crushed so we will not have AC for the foreseeable future. There is roof and water damage throughout the parish house. We will report more in the next 24 hrs to assess our schedule for the weekend.
While this is upsetting, I give thanks to God that no one was hurt. This is an important reminder that a church is always more than a building. The people of St Mark’s will rally to do what needs to be done. We will be in touch regularly with updates. I give thanks to our first responders and staff who quickly arrived to provide help.
I invite your prayers as we await further reports.
Peace,
Beth+