Sunday River sustained some heavy damage from a July rainstorm, washing out some base area roads, and damaging the Barker Mountain Lodge and loading decks on two chairlifts. Spokesman Alex Kaufman said repairs began immediately and are 70 percent complete. The lifts and lodge required some engineering to ensure soundness, Kaufman said, so are taking longer than the road repairs. One wall of the Barker Mountain Lodge, the lodge deck, and a stairway to the deck are being replaced, as are loading decks on two lifts, he said. "Operations will not be affected," Kaufman said. The local, 8-inch rainfall hit two weeks before Boyne USA Resorts was to close on a deal to buy Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA from American Skiing Co., and resulting damage may have played a role in delaying the deal for a few days. It closed on Aug. 8, a week after the initial projected closing of July 31. "Pretty good timing for such a large transaction," Kaufman said. "Nature threw lemons at us, and we did our best to make lemonade."