Wind, rain collapse tent at fair
More than 100 trapped
By Reed Williams - Daily Progress staff writer
August 29, 2003
Dozens of fairgoers were trapped Thursday night when a large tent at the Albemarle County Fair collapsed under the force of driving rain and gusting winds. At least three were reported injured at the inundated fairgrounds.
Beneath a rolling barrage of lightning strikes, more than 100 people struggled to escape the fallen arts and crafts tent, some screaming in terror - although the injuries appeared to be light. One man was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center after he told rescue workers he had been hit by lightning, according to Capt. Crystal Limerick of the Albemarle County police.
Another man was being evaluated at the scene after complaining of a near strike that left a tingling in his arms and legs. And a woman who said she had been hit by a falling tent pole was treated for head injuries at the fair office. There were reports of at least four people missing, and police asked fairgoers to stand under the roof of a pavilion and account for family members and friends. All were eventually accounted for.
Witnesses said that just before 9 p.m., as a crowd waited for a break in the rain so they could leave, water from the heavy rains began rising inside the tent. Then strong winds battered the tent, and one side began to collapse.
“Lights strung overhead began to fall as the overhead collapsed. Mothers and their children were screaming, and we all rushed to try to get out,” said Andrew Shurtleff, chief photographer for The Daily Progress.
Many escaped within minutes, but dozens who were at the ends of the tent and unable to reach the middle where it buckled had to wait for rescue, Shurtleff said. He was at the fair shooting a feature assignment when the storm blew up.
Fairgoers trudged through the marsh-like terrain at the fairgrounds at North Garden, using trash bags or blankets as raingear. Carol Paget-Brown walked with her six children, all covered in tablecloths to keep dry. The family had been in another tent, where children led llamas on an obstacle course, when the brunt of the storm hit. The tent began shaking and nearly blew over, she said. “We were hoping to visit the bunnies before we left,” Paget-Brown said. “But we didn’t make it.”
Responding to the incident were Albemarle police, county sheriff’s deputies and the Charlottesville-Albemarle and county rescue squads, as well as firefighters from Crozet, North Garden and East Rivanna. Foul weather has visited the fair every year since 1999, said Barbara Shifflett, the fair’s executive director.
Last year, rain contributed to a 20 percent decline in attendance compared with 2001. Shifflett said the fair would be closed today. Officials were uncertain late Thursday whether it would reopen Saturday or Sunday.
