The number to call is 801-785-4920 I've heard just now one person dead, 49 still injured. Here is my account: We were all at the park, some of us paddling kayaks on the park pond, demo-ing, some of us catching others up on our lives and work. Sharing the latest mergers of the industry, trying to get more of our boats into dealerships, looking for something new. As the sky grew darker my companion mentioned what a waste the day could become if he couldn't try out the boats he wanted. While the sky continued on it's sojourn, a wind picked up and several people held onto their four legged structures so they wouldn't get lofted. Pretty soon it was cold and we were all huddling. Lightning was coursing through the sky and the last of the die -hards came in from the pond. When the worst was over I headed to one of the park's hilltops to see what everyone was looking at. It was was gone, but I found out later it was a curling tornado. We all resumed our business and chatting. An hour later someone said, "Did you hear a tornado touched down at the Delta Center and collapsed one of the outdoor pavilions, wiped out a side of the trade center, and left four dead and hundreds wounded?" It turned out to be a mild exaggeration, as to date the twister has left only one dead. But the devastation was completed and the situation horrific. At the Canoe Magazine party that night, we heard various accounts. One said as the twister hit, the pavilion began to loft and pulled huge stakes from the ground as if they were toothpicks. Parts fell flat on the ground like a sheet on a bed. People were screaming and running into the middle for cover. Huge crates, used to ship the booths, were lofted and moving towards the doors of the trade show. Ice axes moved through the air. One man dove under a table, his booth came down around him and he stood up unharmed. A big wind was felt in the middle of the center, screams were heard, recommendations were made to stop working although many people continued as if nothing had happened. It seems everyone had an experience. As we couldn't find a ride we walked back from the park and found the staging area for helicopters. Ambulances and fire trucks were everywhere. The downtown buses where parked in lines blocks from downtown to pick up their 5:00 customers as downtown was off limits. Everyone was calling everyone to find out if they were OK. Hundreds of booths are destroyed, one hotel evacuated. Each of the show hotels has a note in the lobby: If you have booth space to share, call the main office. We came to our room to watch the news. The president had already sent a note promising disaster relief. The mayor and governor had made pronouncements. Local reporters where being interviewed, the impact on Salt Lake City is immense. For us it is an eerie feeling to have been so close yet so far. The radius of one twister had a path as if just down one street here, across another block there. A small area, relatively speaking, a ton of damage. Press conference on tv: continuing to open up traffic. Coordinating getting people back to their homes, engineers are testing structures. Will be another meeting with fema and local gov. at 10:00. Were concerns about looting, esp. with the show merchandise, but not theft. Experienced less traffic than usual as a matter of fact. Wonderful the way the community is pulling together. We were very lucky considering. On Thu, 12 Aug 1999 KayakherSC_at_aol.com wrote: > Does anyone have any details about the outdoor retailers trade show that was > hit yesterday, specifically regarding any injured who may have been > attending? I have two friends there and am very worried. Sandy > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > *************************************************************************** > Andree Hurley Hurley Design Communications - ICQ# 27469637 On-line Editor - http://www.canoekayak.com Other Kayaking - http://www.onwatersports.com Web Sites for Specialty Businesses - http://www.viewit.com/HDC/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Aug 12 1999 - 08:53:31 PDT
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