The arm of an orange excavator rested atop a pile of rubble late Friday afternoon, after an Anchorage demolition contractor tore down four concrete buildings at Russian Jack Springs Park this week.

The only problem is, the city's contract with Alaska Demolition only asked that three buildings be demolished, according to the city Purchasing Department.

The fourth gray, roughly 16-by-16-foot building that sat behind a covered picnic area, had been used for years by the Girl Scouts of Alaska as a storage facility for a summer day camp.

An Alaska Demolition truck arrived Friday afternoon to remove the debris pile, composed of concrete blocks, reinforcing steel, broken Hula hoops, and at least one yellow plastic squirt gun. Another pile of salvaged items included extension cords, cooking utensils and watering pots.

"I think that any time you're under the impression that your equipment is stored safely, you're surprised to find that it's bulldozed," Girl Scouts spokeswoman Jennifer Gallant said.

Gallant was quick to note that the Girl Scouts harbored no animosity for either the contractor or the city, both of whom notified the organization immediately after the accident, she said.

Parks and Recreation had decided to remove three structures in the area that were being vandalized and used for what director John Rodda described as "negative behavior."

At some point during the tear-downs, Alaska Demolition realized they'd started to destroy the wrong building, Rodda said. The demolition project was stopped, but damage to the already old building was substantial enough that Rodda decided it should be completely torn down.

"It's unfortunate," Rodda said. "Somewhere along the lines, somebody got their signals crossed."

Alaska Demolition plans to replace any destroyed items, and the city will be working with them to figure out what to do about the building itself, Rodda said.

Alaska Demolition declined to comment for this story.

Find Casey Grove online at adn.com/contact/casey.grove or call him at 257-4589.