'Dust Devil' Collapses Building, Killing Man in Maine


Tuesday, May 20, 2003

LEBANON, Maine — A freak burst of wind on a clear day apparently caused an auto body shop to collapse, killing the owner, officials said.
 
Monday's collapse was initially thought to be caused by an explosion, but a witness reported seeing a windstorm lift the roof off Vintage Auto Body, causing much of the two-story building to collapse, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Public Safety Department (search).

Large sections of the building's metal roof were ripped up and the wooden frame was visible in several collapsed areas. Hunks of corrugated metal were thrown hundreds of feet away.

The owner, Danny Lehoux, 51, was killed. An employee who dove under a car was not hurt.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service (search) said the cause may have been a dust devil (search) -- a whirlwind that travels along the ground like a miniature tornado and sucks dust into the air. Several dust devils are reported in Maine each spring when temperatures rise quickly in the morning and there are light winds, said meteorologist Jim Hayes.

Although the whirlwinds have the power to push garbage cans around or rip doors off hinges, Hayes said the collapse was unusual.

"They're normally not destructive," he said, adding that they generally last less than a few minutes.

Hayes said he couldn't be certain a dust devil was responsible for the building's collapse, but weather conditions favored one. It was a sunny day when the building collapsed.

"Sometimes the weirdest things happen on clear days," he said.