80-year-old woman dies after porch roof collapses under heavy snow

FORESTHILL, Calif. (KMAX/KOVR) - In a catastrophic collapse, a back porch roof caved in under the weight of heavy snow.

An 80-year-old woman caught in the collapse was killed on Tuesday.

Neighbors pulled her out, and firefighters responding to the call of a woman trapped in the collapse found her in cardiac arrest.

She died after being rushed to the hospital.

“We just saw the activity and knew it wasn’t good,” said Allan Carlson, who lives up the street and watched the flurry of first responders.

“We were just watching all the snow come down, and it was just nonstop. And then the paramedics came in and then a captain right after that,” he said.

The deadly collapse comes on a day the community has been hit hard by snow, with some 3 feet falling in a 24-hour period, leaving Forresthill rooftops bearing an extra burden.

“Make sure you shovel,” Carlson said. “Keep the weight off, you know, cause this is, we’ve got a lot of weight. You can see the house over there. You can see how much amount of snow that’s up there on the roof.”

People who live in this community are used to extreme weather. Jeff Frenger owns a quad utility vehicle for snowstorms like this.

“Just staying prepared and just doing what you can do. Hunker down and wait it out. That is all you can do,” he said.

Downed trees have snapped power lines, causing power outages across the area.

“Snow is heavy, so it’s the kind of thing that you really need to pay attention to,” said Aosha Wells of Foresthill.