UPDATE: Miller Hill Mall Closed Through Thursday After Roof Collapse

UPDATE (March 15, 1:25 p.m.) — The Miller Hill Mall will remain closed through at least Thursday after a portion of the roof collapsed Tuesday morning.

This is according to a statement from the Miller Hill Mall, which is below:

“We are grateful there were no injuries as result of a portion of the roof collapsing and for the swift actions of the first responders. Miller Hill Mall will be closed through at least Thursday, March 16, but we are diligently working on a phased opening plan. We will share an update on our website when the property is reopened.” – Miller Hill Mall

While the official statement says the mall will be closed through “at least Thursday,” the mall’s website says hours of operation will resume at 10 a.m. Friday.

ORIGINAL POST: 

DULUTH, Minn. — The snow that fell from last weekend’s storm was apparently too much for a portion of the roof at Miller Hill Mall, as part of it collapsed Tuesday morning.

Workers had been shoveling snow off the roof when they began to hear popping noises, according to mall management.

The crews quickly got off the roof before a large section caved in.

The mall wasn’t scheduled to open until 10 a.m., so the collapse occurred before shoppers were present.

There were only mall walkers and store employees inside.  Nobody was hurt.

The mall was evacuated and stores were locked up, including the Essential Health offices. .

A smell of gas was in the air and all gas lines coming into the mall were shut down. Water and electricity were also shut off to prevent any other damage.

“The team had gone inside just to do some evaluation on what came down, how it came down and is there any other shifting or any other structural damage that they had to worry about and their kind of working on that assessment going on,” said Pete Johnson, assistant chief of special operation with the Duluth Fire Department.

Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj said about 40 firefighters responded to the call, as well as many other agencies.

“I’m real proud of our people and our partners. They got here quickly, they did a really quick assessment. They got in right way. They operated safely and confirmed there were nobody in there and started doing a more thorough search and what not,” Krizaj said.

It was not known Tuesday night if the Mall would reopen tomorrow.

A statement on behalf of the mall was released by a PR firm Tuesday:

“We are grateful there were no injuries as result of a portion of the roof collapsing and for the swift response of first responders. Miller Hill Mall is closed today and we will share an update on our website when the property is reopened.”