Roof collapse sends Watson Lake family of 4 looking for a new home

After spending spring break in Mexico, a Watson Lake family returned to find their house's roof had collapsed. Not only that, their cat was missing.

Thomas Slager grew up in that house. Slager, his wife Leazel and his two kids, aged 14 and 15, were on their second-last day of their vacation when Slager received a call from a friend about the house's condition.

"I just sat down on the side of the road and just lost it," said Slager.

The cause is still unknown, but the aftermath is a pile of lumber and lots of snow.

One possibility is high snowfall.

On average, the months ofJanuaryto March from 1981 to 2010 saw89 centimetres of snow and 67 millimetres ofprecipitation in Watson Lake.

This year, however, the same months saw295 centimetres of snowfall and 213 millimetres of rain.

According to Michael Smith, the Yukon's chief meteorologist, that's about 318 per cent higher than normal.

The trend is visible throughout the territory, which has reported record snowfall, prompting fears of another wet spring like that of 2021.

Slager explained the house was not a "shoddy old construction," in fact, the roof had been redone five years ago.

He lived therefor 43 years.

"If we had actually been in the house at the time, both my children would be dead," he said. "It's a miracle that we were away when it happened."

'Watson Lake has its people'

While the family was trying to make sense of the harsh news from Mexico, back in Watson Lake, community members were coming together to gather the family's belongings.

Residents organized help for the family through a Facebook group and over 20 close neighbours went in to remove personal items from the collapsed building.

One of them was the town's former fire chief and a friend of Slager, Scott Maclean.

"It almost looked like half of it blew up. There was just stuff everywhere. The neighbour had heard it happened. He said it was quite loud," said Maclean.

Maclean said there was a lot of lumber, insulation and other materials in every direction.

"Thankfully, a large portion of the house was still standingThere were some areas of the house in very bad condition. Not everybody was comfortable going into those," he said.

Maclean and other members were able to get most of the valuable items out of the house such as wedding rings and laptops, and stored these in either their houses or at the fire hall.

In light of the community's help, Slager said he was reminded of a quote, "Dawson City has its history, Haines Junction has its mountains, Watson Lake has its people."

The familycat Boo Boo was also missing until one of the daughter's friends, Isabelle Paquette, went to the house in shambles four days after the incident to find the missing kitten.

"We can't believe the cat is alive," said Slager. "Isabelle is allergic to cats and she went over there, she got all scratched up and had to take so many antihistamines. But she did that for her friend. Pretty cool on her part."

Slager said there are other items with high sentimental value which are uninsured and were lost in the incident, such as the moose antlers from his first hunting trip with his dad.

"We had mounted those because it was like my first moose. It's a special thing for Yukoners. That was crushed," said Slager.

"I feel lost, paralyzed, I can't explain the feeling of hopelessness, shockNot enough words to describe them."

Temporary home

On Tuesday night, Watson Lake's town council voted to provide temporary housing to the family until they can find something more stable in the long run.

The house is meant to be used for emergency reasons or to house a new town employee who's coming from out of Watson Lake.

The offer was on a month-to-month basis. While Slager says he appreciates the offer, it's not the right fit for his family of four.

"We want something a little bit more permanent so I think we are going to turn the town's offer down," he said. "I want something a little bit more stable, versus bouncing around."

Slager and his family are staying at a friend's house in the meantime.

"It's going to be tough; but we'll get through it because that's what people do," he said.