Vandals destroy building at Stimson Lumber

Vandals drove a stolen mini excavator through a fence at Coeur d’Alene’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and demolished a building at neighboring Stimson Lumber over the weekend, causing nearly $30,000 in damage.

The vandals likely climbed the fence at the treatment plant and found the excavator with keys left in the ignition, Wastewater Superintendent Sid Fredrickson said.

They drove the excavator through padlocked gates at the treatment plant, then used it to destroy a shack used by Stimson log scalers to take work breaks, Fredrickson said.

The vehicle was left in the lumber yard on top of a pile of rubble where the building had stood, he said.

Fredrickson estimated damage to the fence at $2,000.

An employee of Stimson Lumber estimated damage to the building – and to equipment owned by the company – at $25,000, according to a police report.

The vandalism occurred between 6 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday, the report said.

Fredrickson said it was the second time in as many weeks that vandals had struck at the treatment plant.

On Dec. 23, a worker found a padlock had been cut from the gate, and a city-owned all-terrain vehicle with a snowplow was missing.

Fredrickson said the ATV was discovered abandoned along nearby railroad tracks.

The excavator stolen over the New Year’s holiday belongs to Contractors Northwest, a construction company working on an upgrade to the treatment plant.

Fredrickson said it appeared the suspects weren’t after money since nothing was taken, but were just out to destroy property.

No one has been arrested, and an investigation is continuing.