It could have been worse. A lot worse. If the roof over a pool is going to collapse, better it happens at 3 am. That's what happened at the Snow Ghost Inn at Big White Ski resort overnight. While it has left the building with a mass of debris in its central atrium, people are breathing a sigh of relief that nobody was injured. 

"We heard a loud crash," said resident Glen Stevens. "Initially we thought it was just some snow falling off the roof." Like most of the 14 or 15 people staying at the Snow Ghost last night, he was asleep when it happened. "We heard a big crumbling and a big crash and a bang. By the time we woke up, it had stopped but definitely it was loud enough to shake you out of bed." 

One neighbour told KelownaNow that he heard noises coming from the Snow Ghost building at about 1:30 am, but he thought it might just be a slamming door or something. Then at 3 am came the big crash.

While the damage was spectacular, what the Big White Fire Department found when they arrived was a huge relief. "We were very lucky in this case," said Chief Chris Cormack. "Had this been when the resort was open at two in the afternoon or something it would have been a very very different story, but at three o'clock in the morning it was probably a best-case scenario for us."

Still, he added the massive roof failure was something the likes of which Cormack had never seen before. "It's a first for me," he said. And for now, he said, the building is behind warning tape and off-limits. "Obviously an engineer is going to have to make the call as to whether it's safe for people to go back in." 

Displaced residents were able to find alternative arrangements on the hill last night.