Seitz Update - 14 August 2011

Hi Gang –

All our other activities of the week pale in comparison to the events that unfolded Saturday night at the Indiana State Fair.  By now, most of you have heard the news stories or seen the amateur videos of the collapse of the elaborate four-story rigging above the main concert stage that ended up killing five persons and injuring dozens of others.  I’ll provide our story, although it’s not particularly dramatic because Linda and I chose to exit the grandstands before the full brunt of the storm hit.

Enjoying State Fair before concert

Linda and I drove to the Indiana State Fair on Saturday afternoon and parked in the infield of the horse track.  We were pleased that we were able to secure a spot within easy walking distance of the grandstand where we would be watching the country duo, Sugarland, with Sara Barielles as the opening act.  To enter the main fairgrounds, we had to go down through a  concrete tunnel beneath the dirt race track and then enter onto the main street of the Fair.  The large grandstand area is located on one side of the street and several large exhibition buildings are located on the other side (The Pepsi Coliseum, the Blue Ribbon Pavilion, and a host of other large brick structures).

There was a huge crowd at the Fair enjoying a picture perfect day with sunny skies and moderate temperatures in the low 80’s.  Linda and I wandered through several buildings and enjoyed some fair food…Linda is a sucker for the big snow cones and gyros.  We found a shady spot and watched people and enjoyed the parade of antique tractors.  We jokingly compared the parade to the annual Homecoming parade that we would attend with Flossie – the only thing that was missing was the oppressive heat and the melting asphalt roads in Emden J.

Around 7pm we wandered back to the grandstand.  We found our seats and waited for Sara Barielles to take the stage.  The sun was still quite bright and I was glad that I had my baseball cap and sun glasses.  While we waited, I played my usual game of ‘I wonder how many people are here?’  I estimated the seating capacity of the grandstand to be approx. 12-14,000 people with another 1,000+ person standing and sitting in the preferred area on the dirt track directly in front of the elaborate stage.  We sat fairly close to the track – five rows up- and at the far left of the stage, section 8 out of 9 sections.   The seating in the grandstand is very tight and we were pretty squished in the middle of the section which had approx. 40 seats between the aisles.  We had to crawl over lots of people to get to our seats.

Sara Barielle’s concert was terrific.  She is an incredible talent.  A great songwriter, a talented musician, very personable and also easy on the eyes.  Sara performed eight songs and the crowd was in a very good mood enjoying the beautiful evening.  During the opening act I kept my eyes to the West and monitored a distant cloud bank in the far off distance.

There was a long intermission before the Sugarland portion of the concert to allow the stage hands to set up a variety of video screens and lighting on the stage.  It was fascinating watching the small nimble crewmembers climbing in the overhead structure working with the spotlights. 

In the meantime, the cloud bank got progressively darker and many people in the stands began to watch the approaching radar on their smart phones.  I looked over my shoulder and saw one radar screen that showed an approaching line of storms in full color…not a green radar picture which suggests light showers…not yellow which suggests some intensity…but a screen full of red.  I told Linda that the director of Public Safety had to be trying to figure out what to do with the large crowd.  The far-off lightning represented a real threat. 

Stage just before winds hit.

I eventually told Linda that we needed to go.  I wasn’t concerned about getting wet…Heck, I absolutely love getting caught in a rain storm.  But I really didn’t like our position in the event of a hail storm or lightning strike.  I wanted to avoid being in the middle of a packed grandstand and a frenzied crowd if the weather really got nasty. Linda initially protested but I think her reluctance was based more on the fact that we were going to have to climb over so many people to get to the nearest aisle.

By the time we had climbed the stairs to the middle of the grandstand before descending back down to the Main street a local radio station employee had just started to address the crowd.  I told Linda that I thought he was going to announce the cancellation of the concert…but, in fact, he just told the audience that they were monitoring the storm and that in the event of inclement weather, that people should take shelter in the buildings on the other side of the road.

There was still no rain but the sky was pitch black.  Linda and I walked briskly toward the tunnel that would return us to the infield parking lot.  As we descended the steps, an incredible wind rushed through.  The dirt of the track rose into the air to create an incredible dust storm.  Linda looked across the way and witnessed the sight of the large awning coming down.  The concrete tunnel instantly filled up with dust from the wind and people began to instinctively place their shirts over their mouths to avoid ingesting too much dirt.  Linda and I continued to the other side of the tunnel and had to sidestep many people that seemed paralyzed with fear.  Why they would choose to remain trapped in a dust filled tunnel is a mystery to me. 

We ascended the steps and hustled to our car and were able to quickly get out of the fairgrounds.  As we got onto Fall Creek Parkway, the rain began to hit and the sounds of emergency vehicles filled the air.  We were fortunate to get out when we did.  The Fairground officials quickly put their emergency plans in place and prevented any visitors from leaving so that ambulances, fire trucks and police cars could quickly get onto the grounds.  The response of the emergency vehicles was absolutely incredible.

Concert goers assisting with rescue efforts

Injured rushed off to area hospitals.

When we got home we watched the local news coverage with obvious interest.  Many of the early media reports were inaccurate (e.g. officials had not begun evacuations before the rigging collapse, and people in the grandstand were never in imminent danger).  The images documenting the quick rescue actions by the concert goers and security personnel on the track near the twisted structure are inspiring, and the pictures of the many injured persons have been sobering.

So…Linda and I now have a story to tell for many years. 

Today, my Dad asked me what caused Linda and I to leave the grandstand even though there wasn’t an evacuation order.  I dunno…I like to think we were a little more observant than others…but I’m sticking with the story that my Spider senses were tingling.