Teton County judges, Sheriff worried about courtroom collapse in earthquake

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Written by Elaine Vick, Cowboy State Daily

County judges and the mayor recently told the county commissioners that if a major earthquake hits Teton County, the local court likely won’t survive the impact.

A letter signed by all officials of the Teton County Courthouse, including two judges, court clerks and the county sheriff, called on the Teton County Board of Commissioners to act “immediately” to ensure the safety of courtroom occupants, the mayor’s office and the public.

“The courtroom seismic study concluded that the building was not originally designed, detailed or constructed to account for seismic effects,” reads the letter, which was delivered to the commissioners on June 27. Not only does it pose a potentially catastrophic health and safety risk to the building’s occupants, it represents a serious risk to the continuity of essential government services in our county.”

Seth Wittke, a seismologist with the Wyoming State Geological Survey, told the Cowboy State Daily Wednesday that according to anecdotal accounts, he could not remember the earthquake that caused damage in Wyoming in the nearly 25 years he had lived in the state.

“You can expect to see some damage to buildings when the quake is 5.5, and that’s likely to be minimal damage,” Wittke said. “People can feel an earthquake on the surface when its magnitude is about 2.5.”

In May, Wittke said, the WSGS recorded about 20 earthquakes in Teton County, although most of them were not felt by humans.

The court was built between 1966 and 1968 and last received major renovations in the mid-1990s

“The bottom line is that if we have a major seismic event, the Teton County Courthouse is in danger of collapsing and could significantly injure or kill its occupants,” the letter read.

Court officials also noted that plans were underway at some point to build security upgrades in the courtroom, but it turned out that the building could not support the additional weight of the improvements, so the idea was scrapped.

The judges, staff and officers recommended the demolition of the courtroom and the creation of new ones. In the meantime, a temporary structure could be built to house the Teton County Sheriff’s Office and court offices, along with a small courtroom for most proceedings.

The Teton County Board of Commissioners did not respond to the Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment, and neither did the officials who signed the letter to the council.

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