Mick was there when this went down today!
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One of the main tents took off and they had to close the 101 to retrieve it!
Severe weather punishing the American West struck Scottsdale, Arizona with full fury this afternoon. During
Russo & Steele's auction of ultra rare, blue chip classic cars--see details of Russo & Steele's offerings this year by clicking
here.
The tents that collapsed were side structures. Thankfully, no one was injured as most attendees were busy watching the action in the main tent. Between 5,000 and 10,000 people were in attendance at Russo & Steele when disaster struck at 6 P.M., according to AZFamily.com.
Russo & Steele Auction was immediately evacuated. Even car owners had to leave without knowing the fates of their valuable classic rides. It is believed that several cars were damaged.
Arizona state governor Jan Brewer declared a state of emergency due to the extensive impact the severe storm has had all over the state.
A huge winter storm slammed into Arizona Thursday, flooding highways and forcing some evacuations, stranding travelers at the Phoenix airport, and prompting Gov. Jan Brewer to declare a state of emergency for the entire state.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety had reports of a tornado touching down near Desert Ridge. The National Weather Service said it touched down at 8:32 p.m.
The Arizona Republic has been unable to independently confirm impact.
A tornado watch was issued until 10 p.m. Thursday for Maricopa, La Paz, Yuma, and Pinal counties as the massive weather system moved east from California, and heavy winds forced the closure of Thursday night of one of the Valley's elite collector-auto auctions.
Brewer declared the statewide emergency after the counties of Maricopa, Apache, Gila, Coconino and Navajo did the same.
Two tents were reportedly blown down shortly after dark Thursday at the Russo-Steele Auto Auction just south of Loop 101 near Scottsdale Road. The Scottsdale Fire Department was on-scene and evacuating the one remaining large tent at the event. One person was reported injured and was being evaluated, but the injury was not believed to be serious.
Russo and Steele officials did not respond to messages left Thursday evening other than to say that they were meeting with police and safety officials. The unpaved auction site southeast of Loop 101 and Scottsdale appeared to be without power and police restricted access into its parking lot.
The 10th annual Russo and Steele was scheduled to auction close to 600 cars, including a 1948 Tucker convertible that some expected could sell for more than $1 million. There was no word as of 9 p.m. on the status of the auction through the weekend.
The Valley-based auction company is owned by Drew and Josephine Alcazar.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety shut down Loop 101 between Scottsdale and Hayden in both directions to clear debris from the road near the auction.
The nearby Barrett-Jackson collector-car auction being held at Scottsdale's WestWorld moved all of its customers out of a large vendors' tent and into the main auction tent as a precaution because of high winds and rain. While company officials expected the auction to continue Thursday night, many of those in attendance began leaving shortly before 7 p.m.
High-winds shook several smaller auction tents at the Barrett-Jackson auto auction at Westworld in north Scottsdale, forcing event organizers to move all of the action under the larger, main tent Thursday night. Larry Howard, of Kansas City, Mo., was waiting for a valet to bring his car as he prepared to leave, even as the auction continued under the main tent. "They're still selling cars,'' he said.
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