Cedar Falls High School is closed today due to safety concerns. District Superintendent David Stokes decided to cancel classes today over fears that a 20,000 smokestack standing next to the building might collapse.
Teachers noticed a large crack near the base of the 80-foot structure Tuesday afternoon. Stokes then made the decision to close the school until engineers deemed the smokestack safe. By Tuesday evening, the crack ran most of the way around the smokestack, causing it to buckle.
Structural engineers arrived at the school around midnight and immediately began stabilizing the smokestack. Stokes says crews are installing several 16-foot I-beams around the base and workers plan to tear-down two-thirds of the smokestack piece-by-piece once the structure is stabilized.
No decision has made yet if classes will resume at Cedar Falls High School on Thursday. The students have a scheduled off day on Friday.
By Elwin Huffman, KOEL, Oelwein