WADENA (AP) — Crews have begun demolishing the Wadena-Deer Creek High School, destroyed by a June tornado.

Demolition began Monday. A Rachel Contractors employee estimates the demolition will take four to six weeks depending on the weather.

The school was destroyed by a tornado that hit Wadena June 17. More than 260 structures were destroyed by the tornado in that area.

Work on a new school is scheduled to begin April 1. The new building is expected to be ready for classes when the 2012-13 school year begins.

Wadena was struck by a tornado on the same day that more than 25 touchdowns of tornadoes were spotted in southern Minnesota, particularly in Freeborn, Faribault, Waseca and Steele counties. The tornadoes dashed farms and homes across the area on the day of the most tornadoes in Minnesota’s history.