We are starting a fundraiser for the victims of the Wells earthquake, for the next months there will be various musical events and poker runs with the proceeds going toward the American Red Cross efforts in Wells.
The day the earth shook
6.0 quake strikes northern Nevada, southern Idaho
Thursday dawned bright and cold in Wells, Nev.
Children readied for school. People drove to work.
Then the earth moved.
Houses rattled, pictures fell, chimneys crumbled and people panicked.
In Jackpot, 68 miles from Wells, Twin Falls resident Scott Palmer said he and some friends had just settled into gambling at Barton's 93 Club. Slot machines began to sway and walls rippled, he said. Gamblers ran from the building into the streets.
"It felt like we were on a treadmill, kind of," Palmer said.
In Burley, 85 miles from Wells, the quake rocked the brick-foundation home of Barbara Gorringe and threw tools out the front of a nearby woodshed.
"I grew up a cowgirl," she said. "It was like being on a bucking bronc."
Many Wells residents couldn't find words to describe the quake. Mike Bennett, a teacher at the town's junior high, was driving to work at 7:16 a.m. when the 6.0 magnitude quake hit. He didn't feel it, but he knew something was wrong when he reached downtown and saw the flashing lights, the crumbled buildings and residents in tears.
"There were two or three people who just walked up to me and needed a hug," he said. "Everyone was extremely upset. A lot of people didn't feel safe in their houses because things were flying off the walls."
Nearly every building in town, about 700 structures, sustained damage. At least one building collapsed. Many others are threatening to fall.
Downtown, especially, resembled a war zone moments after the quake. Bewildered residents wandered out of homes and businesses, where bricks littered the streets and debris jutted from snow-covered sidewalks. A white sedan on Lake Avenue had been crushed by concrete chunks fallen from a nearby building. Roof shingles were everywhere. Fractures splintered across the walls of some buildings, like cracks in porcelain bowls.
The sounds of ringing telephones - people frantically trying to reach their relatives - echoed over the police sirens.
"We're asking residents to put signs in windows telling us they're OK," said Tom Turk, a regional forester with the Nevada Division of Forestry and the public information officer at the scene.
Elko County Commissioners quickly declared a state of emergency, and officials urged people to avoid doing business.
At most stores, employees spent Thursday cleaning up.
"We have beer and wine all over the floor and pallets leaning and about to fall over," said Heidi Schant, an employee of Great Basin Beverage. "The office is a mess."
At least three water main breaks prompted authorities to shut off water service in the town of 1,300. Late Thursday, power outages were widespread. Schools were closed for the day.
Interstate 80 and Highway 93 remained open, but off-ramps into the city were closed to non-residents, Turk said. Identifications will be checked by law enforcement positioned at off-ramps.
Amazingly, no serious injuries were reported, said Wells Mayor Rusty Tybo. At least one person broke an arm, and several residents were treated for head wounds.
"It shook everything pretty good," he said.
The 6.0 magnitude quake appeared to have been caused by a fault line about 12 miles east of Wells, said John Bellini with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Denver.
The bulk of damage occurred in Wells, but the quake awakened residents, spooked pets and sparked first response crews into action in neighboring states, including Idaho.
Local agencies reacted exactly as they should have, said Jackie Frey, Twin Falls County's director of emergency services. "This is the kind of thing we plan and prepare for," she said.
Public utilities and state agencies began inspecting power lines, bridges, roads and dams just moments after the quake.
By 10 a.m., about three hours after the initial rumbling, the Idaho Department of Transportation declared the Perrine Bridge and other infrastructure had suffered no damage. Idaho Power Co. reported no major harm to electric lines and systems.
The Idaho Department of Water Resources reported a computer model showed no likely damage at southern Idaho dams from a 6.0 quake. But the department ordered inspections of 16 southern Idaho water facilities after the model showed possible damage from an 8.0 magnitude quake. By early afternoon, most dams had been declared safe.
By mid-morning, Frey had received only one southern Idaho damage report: a cracked ceiling.
Cleanup continues today in Wells, however, where some reeling residents are afraid to return to their damaged homes. Shelters have been established for the displaced, officials said.
Aftershocks continue to threaten buildings. At least 14 aftershocks had been registered in the first six hours after the quake, said Sgt. Kevin McKinney of the Elko County Sheriff's Office, which is limiting access to damaged structures. More aftershocks could strike in the coming days.
"Most of the buildings are so old, they might never be structurally sound again," McKinney said.
With the exception of books tossed around and some shelving toppled, Wells Elementary School, which was used as the central evacuation center for the American Red Cross and the overall command post for the disaster, suffered no structural damage. The same can't be said for the building housing grades 7 through 12. The gymnasium is likely to be condemned and various other damage has rendered the school closed indefinitely. Elko County Sheriff Dale Lotspeich said a rough estimate to replace the building would be upward of $40 million.
Elko County Superintendent of Schools Antoinette Cavanaugh, assisted by Steve Bowers, supervisor of maintenance and operations for the school district, and spokeswoman Beth Kern, is working on interim plans to resume school for the 135 students who are now displaced. Options being considered include identifying alternate locations within Wells to temporarily hold classes, but this is proving difficult as the obvious choices are also in need of repair to varying degrees.
Wells' buildings, including homes, probably aren't insured for earthquakes, said Ron Bingham, an insurance agent with State Farm in Twin Falls. Standard insurance policies don't cover damage from earthquakes, and most people in the area probably haven't bought special earthquake policies, which can sometimes double premiums. Bingham said he's sold just one earthquake policy in the past 10 years.
Insurance companies usually place a 30-day moratorium on new earthquake policies after an event, meaning it's too late to buy insurance to cover damage from aftershocks.
Officials say the community will take a significant economic blow - a small price to pay, however, for a quake that claimed no lives.
"We're pretty lucky," McKinney said.
