Jolt light, but don't tell air passengers

Jackie Blanchard was already nervous Wednesday morning when she boarded a plane in Tennessee.

She doesn't like flying and didn't like leaving her family behind. She came west to help her mother through open-heart surgery - another cause for worry.

Her day got considerably worse when the pilot announced midflight that the Seattle-bound plane would be landing in a place called Spokane because an earthquake had hit Seattle.

"It was all supposed to work out, but it's not," said Blanchard, in tears, as three strangers pressured her to decide quickly whether she'd share the cost of a rental car to drive across a state she's never seen.

"I don't have the money" for her share of the rental, Blanchard said. "I mean, I do, but it's all I have."

Hundreds of air travelers found themselves unexpectedly in Spokane after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Seattle and temporarily closed SeaTac International Airport. Some, from places like Chicago, Nashville and Kansas City, were preparing to spend the night in hotels. Others were lucky to get flights into Seattle Wednesday evening.

Elsewhere in Eastern Washington, the earthquake was more novelty than concern. It rattled the chandeliers in Luminaria, a Spokane lighting store. It brought notes from the doorbell chimes in Helen Paulsen's ninth-floor Spokane home.

But as far as anyone could tell Wednesday, the quake did not damage Eastern Washington bridges, dams or roads. It didn't knock any china or crystal from displays at the Bon Marche. It didn't break any eggs or upset the hens at National Food Corp. in Deer Park.

A mountain range away from the quake's epicenter, many people didn't even notice the rolling of the earth. Others weren't sure what they were feeling at 10:54 a.m.

"At first I thought I was having a dizzy spell," said Sue Doll, clerk at Chelan County District Court. "I could see the coffee swirling in my cup."

"Oh man, is someone moving furniture?" wondered Nicole Zawadzki at the federal building in Richland.

First- and second-graders in Craig Day's classroom spotted cardboard letters dancing on the wall. Day said he felt dizzy as he turned his attention from the students to the letters. "I have a very rambunctious class, and it created a moment of silence," said Day, who teaches at Keller School on the Colville Indian Reservation.

Spokane County officials set up a command post shortly after the quake, just in case they had to draft a disaster plan. But the temblor did little or no damage, said David Byrnes, deputy director of emergency management.

The sewage treatment plant, trash incinerator, Upriver Dam and the city's 38 bridges were checked and declared safe, said Roger Flint, operations manager for the city of Spokane.

At least 10 planes that were supposed to be headed for Seattle were forced to land in Spokane, said airport director John Morrison. Some were able to complete their journeys when SeaTac reopened Wednesday afternoon. The others created unexpectedly brisk demand for hotel rooms and rental cars.

Reaction from passengers aboard diverted flights ranged from resignation to anger to frustration. Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, American Trans Air and Alaska Airlines were among those affected.

"In Chicago, we have airports shut down all the time, and they just bring you a cot," said Mary Cotey, who was impressed that ATA was paying for her family to spend the night in a motel.

Still, the delay had Cotey worried. She's supposed to be in Tacoma today, to attend her niece's funeral.

With telephone service disrupted on the West Side, many of the stranded passengers were unable to contact family and friends who were supposed to meet them at SeaTac.

Southwest Airlines customer service agent Lynette Lawson did her best to comfort customers, and gained praise from many.

Lawson may have been the luckiest person at the airport on Wednesday. She recently relocated from Seattle to Spokane, telling friends that the Puget Sound region was due for a disaster.

"I just went back to Seattle (Tuesday) to clean out my apartment," Lawson said.

This sidebar appeared with the story:

FOR INFORMATION

Call Red Cross

The American Red Cross can help Spokane-area residents get information about friends or family members who might have been affected by the earthquake. Call 509-326-3330.

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.