Fair officials in Elkhart County played it safe Thursday when they ordered the evacuation of the grandstands just ahead of the night’s storm.
They say they were concerned about the lightning.
You'll remember in August of last year the stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed during a storm, killing 7 people and injuring more than 50.
We asked the fair emergency director if the collapse played a role in the decision to evacuate. Phil Wogoman tells us most of the fair's emergency procedures were in place before that happened...but the accident did play a role in one change.
The Elkhart County Fair now uses a private meteorological service to monitor weather. That was one of the recommendations an investigative commission made for the State Fair.
“I'd rather have people in their cars getting out of here…and nobody gets hurt, than we delay,” said Wogoman.
Wogoman isn't sure how many people were in the grandstands at the time of the evacuation, but it holds up to 6,000 people.
Photo courtesy: j_arred@Flickr
