Mom, baby survive roof collapse after winter storm in Leavenworth

Mother and baby survive roof collapse after Leavenworth winter storm

A mom is counting her blessings after she and her 8-week-old daughter survived after their roof came crashing down due to the heavy snow.

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. - Snow operations are finally beginning to scale back in Leavenworth and this weekend will look fairly normal for visitors. However, for Emily Elkins this is just the beginning of trying to recover from the winter storm’s damage.

"The thought of me losing my daughter was the scariest thing that’s ever been through my mind," said Elkins.

Elkins was in her home on Saturday afternoon with her 8-week-old baby when her roof came crashing down.

"I heard what everyone around this area knows, it’s just the snow sliding off the roof, and I thought, ‘oh, there it goes,’ and then I started to hear two by sixes snapping. Instinct kicked in. I grabbed Autumn, I threw her to my chest and I dove in between our couch and our coffee table and I cuddled over her. I thought I am going to die, but I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure that she makes it."

Elkins said thinking the worst, she even tried to create an air pocket between her and her baby.

"The neighbors heard the crash, came and dug through the snow, climbed over two by sixes to get into the house to us. I just handed my daughter over to them and said, ‘Get her out of here right now please.’"

The heavy weight of the snow that made the roof collapse also damaged the car port next to it. It contained vehicles, a small trailer and more.

"Our house is gone, our car is gone. We lost almost everything, but we have each other and that is so important," said Elkins. "We’re just so, so lucky to be here, and I’m able to hold her and love her and watch her grow up, and that was almost taken."

Since the incident, the community has raised more than $25,000 for the family in a GoFundMe campaign.

"Even though we host a couple million people a year over here, we still are a very small town. We still have that very small town feel, a very small town way of looking out for each other," said Mayor Carl Florea of the City of Leavenworth. "You hate to hear those stories, but it could’ve been many more of those, and we’re thankful that they were safe. That one could’ve been worse as well."

Mayor Florea said the city is in much better shape a week after the winter storm. The National Guard finished its mission Thursday morning after making a thousand welfare calls the last few days. Crews are also finishing up the last of the road clearing.

"Stephens opened up today so we’re seeing more of the traffic being able to come," said Mayor Florea. "I think we’re going to have, I want to say, a fairly normal weekend of visitors and we’ll be able to host them properly."

Currently, Elkins and her daughter are staying at a friend’s empty house. The priority is to get a permanent home as soon as they can.

"We just need to put a roof over our daughter's head. I don’t care about the car. I don’t care about anything else. I just want her to be warm and safe at night, never under a cold building again," said Elkins.

Get breaking news alerts in the FREE FOX 13 Seattle app. Download for Apple iOS or Android.

Stay connected with FOX 13 News on all platforms:
DOWNLOAD: FOX 13 News and Weather Apps
WATCH: FOX 13 News Live
SUBSCRIBE: FOX 13 on YouTube
DAILY BRIEF: Sign Up For Our Newsletter
FOLLOW: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram