Barry
In a message dated 1/23/2010 9:12:47 A.M. Mid-Atlantic Standard Time, billmyong@... writes:
> Winds, rain tear through Scottsdale auction venue
> January 22, 2010
> by Old Cars Weekly
> Staff
> Heavy winds and matching rain destroyed tents and
> devastated one of the main auction venues in the annual collector car auction > extravaganza in Scottsdale, Ariz., Thursday night.
> Three tents were ripped from the ground at the
> Russo & Steele event, leaving several hundred collector cars exposed to > the elements and the wreckage during some of the worst weather in the > Scottsdale area in recent years.
> Remains of one of the tents wound up
> strewn across nearby Highway 101, forcing highway crews to temporarily shut > down one of the citys main arteries.
> No injuries were reported and
> most of the audience had already been evacuated by the time the tents > collapsed.
> No car owners or spectators were being allowed onto the
> venue grounds today as police and insurance adjusters combed through the scene > and assessed the damage.. One car owner reported that he had been told he and > other car owners would not be allowed on the property until 8 p.m. Saturday.
> According
> Old Cars Weekly
> Auction Editor Ron Kowalke, who was
> at the site, the winds picked up at 6:15 p.m., and the large white tents began > pulsing and the lights inside began swinging above bidders. After about 100 > cars
> had crossed the block, an unknown person ran into the tent and contacted Russo > & Steele President Drew Alcazar, who immediately ordered everyone inside > the main tent to evacuate as a Chevrolet was mid-bid on the block.
> The
> evacuation was very orderly, reported Kowalke by phone, which probably > helped get everyone out of the tent safely.
> Once we got out, everybody
> went out into the rain. People were trying to get to their cars when suddenly > the southern-most tent where they keep most of the > cars
> lifted into the air. When the tent went up, all of the poles supporting it > came down on the cars. To make matters worse, the remnants of the shredded > tent began slapping on the cars.
> The part of the tent still there, the
> wind would get underneath it and lift it, then drop it back onto the > cars > .
> Meanwhile, owners could do nothing but watch
> the weather abuse their fresh restorations and high-dollar machines as police > and fire safety personnel kept the crowds and owners away due to safety > concerns.
> A Road Runner convertible owner tried to get the police
> officers to allow him to his car since it was beneath a pole hanging above, > and they almost let him until they decided it would be a safety concern, and > then they would have to let everybody else in, Kowalke said.
> On some
> of the convertibles, where the owners left the tops down, there is nothing > covering them anymore and they are filling with water. None of the owners > could retrieve their > cars
> or raise the tops to keep the rain out.
> The main tent, where bidding
> is conducted, remained in position as of Friday morning. To block the > continuing winds, several Reliable Transport semi trucks and trailers lined up > bumper to bumper to form a barrier to prevent further wind damage from the > southern end of the auction compound.
> Kowalke noted that the high winds
> also put Barrett-Jackson on alert, and it evacuated one of the tents at its > venue where cars are staged before they cross the block, and one of the > non-essential tents did blow away. Due to the rain, Barrett-Jackson had also > been forced to closed part of its lots due to flooding.
> I think they
> are going to declare a state of emergency, Kowalke said. There are a lot of > flooded streets and they are getting several feet of snow in the mountains and > they are not prepared to deal with that here.
> One of the marquee cars
> on the Russo & Steele schedule was a Tucker convertible that had drawn > much publicity and scrutiny in the past year. According to car owner Justin > Cole of Benchmark Classics, "the Tucker convertible was under one of the tents > that was destroyed by high winds... Fortunately, it only sustained minor > damage to the left front fender."