The Salt Lake Tribune from Salt Lake City, Utah • 1

11 ti hi ii at im -v i Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871 THURSDAY AUGUST 12 1999 Volume 253 Number 120 1999 The Salt Lake Tribune 143 South Main Street (801)237-2800 Salt Lake City Utah 84111 i SJ' Jtf' it'tX'yl" A 8 I i i 4 ft Vicious tornado hit Salt Lake City without warning killing one but toll could have been much higher BY JIM WOOLF and MICHAEL V1GH THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE A freak tornado with winds between 113 and 157 mph ripped a "surgical line" through downtown Salt Lake City and parts of the Capitol Hill and Avenues neighborhoods Wednesday shortly before 1 pm One person was killed and at least 85 were treated for injuries Between 12 and 15 of the injuries were considered serious Most of the injuries occurred in a display tent being assembled northwest of the Salt Palace for the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market The tent was torn apart by the savage winds scattering pieces of canopy and twisted metal beams for blocks The Delta Center and six other downtown buildings were heavily damaged by the churning black funnel cloud Dozens of other buildings had broken windows At least 121 homes in the Avenues were damaged 34 of which were uninhabitable A temporary shelter was set up for displaced residents at Bennion Elementary 429 800 East "We were very lucky" said Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Corradini "It could have been much much worse" Robert Pfister The immensity of the F2 tornado that touched down in Salt Lake City on Wednesday afternoon fills the late-summer sky behind the Delta Center 0 V-'xls Ja Ji Even so Salt Lake City police Sgt Ken Hansen on Wednesday offered a preliminary damage estimate of $75 million to $120 million Gov Mike Leavitt later flew over the twister's path describing it as a "surgical line" sliced through the city's heart He declared an emergency Wednesday afternoon activating the state's emergency-response system He also requested damage-assessment aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which had four employees in Salt Lake City for unrelated meetings Wednesday A special FEMA disaster team flew in from Denver late Wednesday President Clinton issued a statement saving: "I want to express my concern for the people of Salt Lake City who are suffering the effects of a devastating tornado that tore through their city this afternoon I was particularly saddened to learn that the tornado left at least one person dead and dozens injured" "The burden of recovery will be heavy" he said "But it is a burden that the people of Salt Lake City need not carry alone As tbey begin the difficult process of mourning healing and rebuilding our nation stands steadfastly behind them" It is "extremely unusual" to have such a large tornado in Utah said William Alder meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service office in Salt Lake City "We've never had a killer tornado here before" Alder classified the storm as an "F2" which means it had wind speeds between 113 and 157 mph It touched down at 1 2:46 pm and cut a 3-mile-long swath through the city before retreating around 12:55 pm The tornado's path was less than a half-mile wide The weather service issued a "severe thunderstorm warning" for Salt Lake City about the same time the tornado hit Larry Dunn science and operations officer for the weather service said he knew "something special" was developing but did not expect a tornado "You don't think about tornadoes here" Dunn said Funnel clouds also were reported Wednesday near Willard Bay and Nibley in Cache County but none touched down The first evidence of wind damage was near 200 South and 1000 West in Salt Lake City The storm then rumbled east toward the downtown area damaging two private clubs and the Utah Transit Authority bus barn on 200 South and COO West Serious problems started when the storm slammed into the west side of the Delta Center "I heard boom boom boom and it hit the Delta Center peeling the roof off like an orange" said Robert Stock with Blue Water Climbing based in Georgia who was in town for the Outdoor Retailer show Long sections of the roof on the arena's west side were torn away and glass was shattered on several sides Inside water damaged the court of the WNBA's Utah Stara and other parts of the arena's ground level Delta Center manager Scott Williams said the arena will be closed at least six weeks for repairs forcing the Stara to play their find two home games of the season at the Dee Events Center in Ogden Winds then slammed into the Wyndham Hotel 215 South Temple breaking numerous windows and damaging cars In an adjacent parking lot HartmannThc Salt Lake Tribune Tree-removal crews and residents begin the daunting task of clearing fallen trees from the tops of cars on Street between Ninth and 10th avenues Outdoor Show Wfll Go On With Retailers Forced to Share Space But exhibitors inside ravaged tents now have nothing to display rA See TORNADO Page A-2 South Temple east of the Triad Center would be closed for three days due to the dangerous structural conditions left by the storm Products and displays inside those tents may not be retrieved but fire marshals may bring them to a central location sometime during the show "We need to get creative and think of this as a gathering" said Tremp "This is not about making big bucks but about pulling together" Exhibitors scheduled to display In the tents are being asked to be at the Salt Palace lobby starting at 7 am today so they can be assigned new spaces' inside the building The Outdoor Retailer Summer Mar- ket brings 18000 visitors 860 exhibitors and 2550 booths representing 50Q cities and 12 countries At each of the semiannual shows the latest innovations in human-powered outdoor recreation are unveiled to a cadre of in- ternational buyers and media Paddle sports climbing backpacking aol camping are some of the most popular activities represented at the summef show Rick Davis of the Salt Lake Convnv lion Visitors Bureau said Outdoor Retailers is the Salt Palace's largei customer The group's two shows resent 20 percent of the Salt Palace BY TOM WHARTON THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Perhaps no group of conventioneers knows more about the power of nature but Gore-Tex and hip waders were no match for the elements this time The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market which brings 18000 people to Salt Lake City for Utah's largest convention was in a shambles Wednesday afternoon Despite the death of at least one participant and the destruction of thousands of merchandise samples organizers were banding together to carry on Most company representatives who held booth space inside the Salt Palace left relatively unscathed by the tornado seemed willing to share it with competitors whose displays were destroyed "We expect people to share booth space" said Outdoor Retailer show director Dieter Tremp "Many are stepping forward on a voluntary basis" But those retailers whose displays were inside the tents outdoors will have to rely on words to sell their products and services because most of their materials are buried under the rubble of the shredded pavilion For some manufacturers who sell at the show the convention represents more than 50 percent of their business for the year Tremp said the pavilion area on 1 INDEX Rru CalbrmllbTlM Salt Uk Tribune A man wanders through the tomadc-ravaged remains of a canvas tent at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market at the Salt Palace on Wednesday Movie Ann Landers Obiturii Puulr rt D-10 "t4 Aiimw Bridge Buiin Comics EdiloriU Sports SUr Gtuwr M4 TV Programs i-i A-2 A-2 A-2 6-2 B-3 C-1 D-1 The victim: Vegai exhibitor was first confirmed death Science: How nature wreaks Its fury History: Twister Is second worst In state Areas hit: The path of the storm Transportallon: Removing those In the center Hospitals: Healttvcare facilities flooded with victims businesses: Police evacuate malls office buildings Delta Center Devastation closes facility for six weeks The OrymplCS: Tornado crosses proposed medals plaza DtUUs: IO WEATHER: Partly sunny Oiiipioiei See SHOW Ps-fi A-a i a- 1- A.