Storm damage not severe in arts district, official says

EL DORADO — The section of roof torn from a pavilion at the Murphy Arts District amphitheater during a storm Tuesday will not put a damper on the upcoming events schedule, said Pam Griffin, the organization’s president and CEO.

Griffin said the debris is cleaned up and that, despite the dramatic-looking wreckage scattered across Hill Street on Tuesday, damage was minimal.

“After we posted pictures of [the damage] on Facebook, I started getting concerned calls from people and thought, ‘This must look worse than it actually is,’” Griffin said.

The debris consisted of the top “membrane” and foam insulation that sits on top of the pavilion’s tin roofs.

This top layer was torn away by the straight-line winds during Tuesday’s storm, but the tin roof is still intact on the pavilion.

The pavilion that took damage is the one located closest to the amphitheater stage.

The damage should not affect any upcoming events.

“It’s all cleaned up. We’ll of course have to fix the roof of the pavilion, and the fence at the Playscape was knocked over a bit. It also took out a few trees, but there wasn’t any real damage. We’re very fortunate and very glad that no one was injured or in danger,” Griffin said.

Because the pavilion is still in working order, officials are not rushing to begin the repair process.

“We’re still working on getting estimates; we don’t really know the cost of fixing it yet. The way building materials are right now, it might be more expensive that usual, but we don’t expect it to be terrible,” Griffin said.

Officials have not learned of any reason the pavilion might have been particularly susceptible to wind damage.