LEWISTON – Crews returned to work Monday in the Wal-Mart Distribution Center’s dry goods building while workers repaired a hole in the roof of the perishables building.

Rescue crews responded to the Plourde Parkway warehouse Saturday after crews reported finding cracks and signs of damage in the perishables building roof. A 50-by-40-foot section collapsed last week, closing the perishables building, one of two warehouse buildings on the site.

General Manager Cathlin Foster said the perishables building, which runs along Alfred Plourde Parkway, will remain closed while crews repair the collapsed section of roof.

Regular distribution center operations continued in the dry goods portion of the center. The dry goods building is on the northern part of the site, running along Goddard Road.

“Everybody is safe and everybody is back to work,” Foster said. She said the perishables building is empty.

The hole in the building’s roof didn’t grow any larger Saturday, but the building was closed as a precaution. Crews working to clear snow from the roof noticed new cracks in the ceiling caused by the added weight of the rain, Foster said.

“It was the same roof and the same area, but we just closed it as a precaution,” she said. “Nobody was injured and there wasn’t any more damage.”

Foster declined to comment on how long repairs would take, what exactly was being done, and how much they would cost.

David Hediger, Lewiston’s deputy director of planning and code enforcement, said the city is not allowing use of the perishables building until Wal-Mart’s engineers prove the building is safe.

“The ball is completely in Wal-Mart’s court at this point,” Hediger said. “Right now, we’re waiting to hear from them.”