Auction struck with windstorm!!!
Posted by portlandon On 2010/1/22 13:02:22
by Peter Corbett - Jan. 22, 2010 10:23 AM
The Arizona Republic
Russo and Steele officials were assessing damage Friday after an 800-foot-long auction tent blew onto the Loop 101, blocking traffic and leaving hundreds of valuable collector cars uncovered in a pounding rainstorm.
Heavy tent poles struck some cars and uncovered convertibles were damaged in the ongoing storm that has blown through the state this week. An insurance executive estimated damages to the cars could run at least $1.5 million.
slideshow Cars damaged at Russo and Steele Collector Automobile Auction Drew and Josephine Alcazar, Russo and Steele owners, said they planned to make sure the site was safe before allowing car owners to assess damage to their vehicles.
The Alcazars said they hoped to resume the auction Saturday, but there was still a lot of cleanup on Friday.
"By no stretch of the imagination are we down for the count," Drew Alcazar said early Friday as tent crews worked to clear away the damaged tents.
Public safety officials cleared out people from Russo and Steele's two display tents late Thursday when the high winds threatened the structures, and the auction continued in the main tent, Josephine Alcazar said.
High winds lifted the north tent high off the ground about 6:15 p.m. and it crashed down on the freeway east of Scottsdale Road, she said.
Russo and Steele shut down the auction and cleared the site. The south tent then blew over, but did not go onto the roadway.
Chuck Favour, Hagerty Insurance vice president of claims, said his company has insured about 125 of the cars at Russo and Steele.
After viewing the auction site from the Loop 101, he estimated that as many as half the 600 cars on the lot were damaged with dents and scratches from tent poles and debris.
Favour expected the claims would average about $5,000 per car.
That works out to claims approaching $1.5 million.
He said he would be surprised if Russo and Steele was able to resume the auction.
Other Valley auctions continued on Friday. Barrett-Jackson had to move everyone into its main auction tent as a precaution Thursday night, but otherwise the event continued without major disruption.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety closed the eastbound on-ramp to the Loop 101 at Scottsdale Road on Friday morning because of the cleanup efforts at Russo and Steele.
The freeway was closed in both directions between Scottsdale and Hayden roads for several hours after the tent landed on the roadway.
Russo and Steele, a Valley-based company, is in its 10th year of holding car auctions in Scottsdale Original article link. News Video of carnage.This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=45634