Another Challenge! September 11th 2004

Five Years Ago!

Deseret Morning News, Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Also: The newspapers history of the event

'99 tornado still seems 'a freaky thing'

A reoccurence is always possible, Eubank says

By Jody Genessy
Deseret Morning News

Five years and countless "Where were you when it happened?" personal stories later, the headline from the Aug. 11, 1999, afternoon edition of the Deseret News still reads as strangely as it did then:

Exhibits were torn to shreds when a Salt Lake tornado hit the Outdoor Retailers Show Aug. 11, 1999.

Gary Mckellar, Deseret Morning News
"Tornado rips into Salt Lake City."

Considering Mother Nature rarely gives birth to freaks
like powerful twisters in the Rocky Mountains, the
fact this bizarre phenomenon really happened downtown
on this date five summers ago doesn't make it any less
unbelievable to Utahns.

"That," recalled Salt Lake resident Tim Bair, "was a
freaky thing."

Bair was golfing when the storm hit and was called in
to be part of the clean-up crew. His job was to "tear
down what the tornado didn't." And the wreckage from
the F2 tornado (winds from 113-157 mph) was plentiful.

It tore down large chunks of the Delta Center roof, a
huge tent at the summer Outdoor Retailers Show at the
Salt Palace, parts of more than 300 homes, thousands
of windows, power lines and 700 trees. .

At the time, Katherine Bradway said what most Utahns
were feeling: "It's Utah. We can't be a having a
tornado."

That's what Beehive State native Mark Arcolio
mistakenly thought when he witnessed a dark, swirling
cloud of dust zip toward him while he was preparing
for the show at the Salt Palace.

Seconds later, though, he realized, "I better not be
standing here. We better get inside."

The most terrible part of the twister's toll was the
death of Allen Crandy, a 38-year-old father of three
from Las Vegas who was visiting for the outdoor show.
Dozens of others unfortunate to be in the storm's
zig-zagging path between 1000 West and Memory Grove
were injured, including more than 80 people who were
treated in area hospitals with injuries ranging from
life-threatening to minor cuts and chest pains.

The tornado put a lifelong twist in the lives of Pat
and Larry Schmidt. The Colorado couple was in town to
sell sunglasses and found themselves sucked into the
storm. Pat ended up being the longest-hospitalized
tornado victim after she was slammed by an airborne
trailer. Larry was scraped up, but Pat suffered severe
head trauma and was left in a coma for weeks. Pat's
recovery has been both ongoing and inspiring. She
still suffers from a speaking condition called
"aphasia." She completely understands what people are
saying, she just can't always find the words to
respond back.

Deseret Morning News graphic
But thanks to therapy, hard work and a positive
attitude, Pat has made significant strides. She can
now walk, ride a bike and ski. Last year, she even
hiked up Pikes Peak in Colorado with friends and
family. One of the biggest highlights from the past
couple of years was getting the chance to carry the
Olympic torch.

In a brief conversation, Pat said she is "happy, oh
yes" and that "many things (are) good, much better."
"She's doing fine for what she had gone through," her
husband said. "It's a slow process, but the good news
is that we have the time and she has the energy and
desire to want to work on it and try to regain her
speech." The Schmidts have maintained an admirable
positive attitude throughout the ordeal.  in large
part because they still have each other after coming
so close to death.

"Life is good," Larry said. "It's too often taken for
granted. It seems as though you need something to slow
you down and shake things up before you realize you
don't have to be in such a rush to get something done
because tomorrow might not come."

The frightening part is It could have been much worse.
The tornado hit a day before the opening of the
Outdoor Retailers Show, and it happened during
lunchtime when many employees were not inside the
tents.

The tornado first hit the ground about 12:50 p.m. a
couple of blocks southwest of where The Gateway now
stands. After slamming into power poles and abandoned
Union Pacific warehouses, it inflicted more damage to
the Delta Center than Michael Jordan before
pulverizing a quarter-mile wide path around and
through the city in a northeasterly direction for
about three miles.

It toppled a heavy crane onto the roof of the LDS
Conference Center, busted up the Wyndham Hotel,
wreaked havoc with grounds at the State Capitol and
scattered tons of debris from heaven to highwater.

An overall damage assessment was reported at $170
million, but that dollar amount cannot be verified
because many claims were done through private
insurance and those numbers are not reported publicly.

The tornado even elicited a sympathetic message from
the White House and a state-of-emergency declaration,
which led to a half million dollars in federal aid.
The day it happened, President Bill Clinton expressed
his "concern for the people of Salt Lake City. . . .
The burden of recovery will be heavy, but it is a
burden that the people of Salt Lake City need not
carry alone. As they begin the difficult process of
mourning, healing, and rebuilding, our Nation stands
steadfastly behind them."

In the aftermath, Utahns were praised for their
emergency response and recovery efforts. About five
homes and several businesses were totaled, but stories
of community courage, faith, humor and hope were
abundant. Tornadoes in Utah really aren't really as
unusual as people might think. The state averages
about two a year, said Mark Eubank, KSL's chief
meteorologist. Manti was hit by one in 2002, in fact.

But city twisters are a different matter, although
Eubank does remember one hitting Salt Lake in 1968
that touched down in Pioneer Park, picked up a car en
route to the First Security Bank building and then
lifted over the old Hotel Utah, making the flag on top
of the hotel stand "straight up in the air."

But that didn't prepare him for the twister of 1999.

"I never thought one would touch down and for that
much damage to happen," Eubank said. "It exploded. It
happened so fast."

What probably happened, he said, was the result of a
couple of gusting thunderstorms that collided and
created "tremendous upward movement" and "caused it to
go crazy" in the right place at the right time (or the
wrong place at the wrong time, if you will).

"Almost anywhere can have a tornado," Eubank said,
referring to places like mountain cities, as well as
Los Angeles, Portland and Las Vegas. "They're rare and
unusual, but (those places) are not immune. People in
Utah should not be complacent."

A warning, of course, that many Utahns five years and
one day ago might not have believed.