Olympians tell their stories

The olympian staff

Trapped in elevator

OLYMPIA -- Two people were trapped in an elevator at the Capitol Terrace apartments, 1517 Capitol Way. They were freed by the elevator company.

"I thought the sky was coming down," said Erna Zahler, 76, apartment resident. "I was just going to lie down and take a nap. All my doors came open and started shaking. Just an earthquake. It's my first one this bad."

Zahler has emphysema and uses an oxygen tank. She wants to go to a hotel for the night.

"Everything's just all down on the floor. Otherwise, we're here. That's the main thing."

Zahler is from Minnesota. "We have tornadoes," she said. "I think earthquakes are a lot worse. You don't know what's coming down."

Mostly strains and sprains

OLYMPIA--Susan Kent from Capital Medical Center said they treated fewer than a dozen patients in the hospital's emergency room -- mostly strains and sprains -- none with serious injuries.

Hours after the quake, Kent said that the buildings had stopped shaking. But most South Sound residents hadn't.

Column partially detached, state workers dispatched

OLYMPIA--The earthquake shut down business at the state Capitol, where the Legislature was working to meet today's deadline to get all bills out of committee. The quake caused cracks in several buildings around the Capitol Campus, and a column on the Capitol dome partially detached.

There were no preliminary reports of serious injuries. State workers were kept out of their offices as engineers from General Administration evaluated damage.

Leaders from the House and Senate were considering whether to adjourn the legislative session for the remainder of the week, and were expected to make a decision later this afternoon after meeting with General Administration officials.

"It's pretty early to tell," said House Co-Majority Leader Dave Mastin, R-Walla Walla. "We need to find out if the damages are cosmetic or if they're structural. If they're structural, we're going to have to sit down and figure out a major game plan."

Reports of damage were widespread around the campus. Lt. Gov. Brad Owen said that a lowered ceiling in the reception room of his office caved in, and fluorescent lights anchored to it crashed to the ground.

"Thankfully, the only worker had already headed to the doorway and didn't get hit," Owen said. "We were very lucky -- very fortunate. It would have hurt."

Hundreds of eyewitnesses had stories of watching the Capitol Dome rumble.

Members of the Senate Democratic Caucus were meeting when the quake hit.

"We all had good earthquake training, apparently," said Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Olympia. "We got next to the wall, under tables, under door jambs. Then we filed out in an orderly fashion."

The greatest damage was to the John L O'Brien office building, where most members of the House of Representatives have offices.

"There was smoke, and then the sprinklers came on and then there was water running down the marble steps," said Rep. Gigi Talcott, R-Tacoma.

Water tank broke

OLYMPIA--The Capitale building on Capitol Way was tagged with a yellow card, which means people can enter the building but they can't stay.

Capitale Espresso Grill co-owner Lela Pross described the damage:

"The building started to shake. We tried to get everybody out; it was pretty scary," she said. "A lot of the wine bottles fell off racks."

A water tank on the fifth flooor broke and the water trickled onto an espresso machine, coffee maker and grill.

"That's probably the worst damage," Pross said.

A burner flew off the counter, heavy potted plants fell down and alarms were still going off Wednesday afternoon.

Cathy Rexford, who lives on the Capitale building's second floor, said she will probably stay at a friend's house. She was at the doctor's office when the quake started.

"It was just kind of shaking and then it did the one big jerk," she said. "People were kinda freaking out."

Flying bricks fray resident's nerves

OLYMPIA -- Carol McGraw kicked the bricks away from her 1999 Ford Contour and shuddered.

"I've never been so scared in my life," she said, holding back tears.

Wednesday morning's earthquake sent bricks from the eaves and overhang of the American Legion Building, 219 Legion Way S.W., crashing to the street. McGraw's car was parked behind the building on Water Street.

McGraw, who works at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, was in her office during the earthquake. She made it through OK, although one window in the firm wasn't so lucky.

As McGraw made her way to her car about an hour after the quake, she saw it covered in dust with broken fragments of bricks surrounding it on all sides. Beyond a few nicks and dings, it appeared unharmed.

But McGraw, a native of England, wasn't in the greatest shape.

"Oh God, this was a shock," she said. "This sort of thing doesn't happen where I come from."

Trains stopped

OLYMPIA--Two passenger trains were stopped between Olympia and Tacoma after the earthquake hit and all Amtrak routes through Southwest Washington are cancelled for the day.

Wally Fisher, volunteer at the East Olympia Amtrak station, said it's policy for trains to stop during an earthquake and wait for an all-clear before continuing.

Amtrak is trying to lease buses to move passengers past the areas where tracks are closed, Fisher said this afternoon, but buses are in short supply.

"The No. 11 Coast Starlight (southbound) was 22 miles north of the Olympia station when the quake hit," Fisher said. It will be sent back to Tacoma, where passengers will wait for buses, Fisher said.

The northbound train left Olympia at 10:30 a.m. It stopped just before entering a tunnel near the Tacoma Narrows, Fisher said.

The northbound train due from Los Angeles at 6:12 p.m. has been terminated in Eugene. Passengers will be transported to Portland on Amtrak equipment, Fisher said. Passengers will be bused north from Portland as buses become available, he said.

There's extensive track damage near Lake St. Clair and the Nisqually River, Fisher said. Repair estimates are changing as inspections take place.

Fisher was at the Olympia depot when the quake hit.

"I felt like my legs were giving way on me," he said. There was no damage at the depot, he said, but he has a chimney to replace when he returns home.

High school student wanted to phone home

OLYMPIA--Katie Guggenmos, a freshman at Olympia High School gave this account of what it was like to be at school today.

During the quake, part of the floor elevated between halls 1 and 2. And some cracks appeared in stairs to the second floor.

"The worst part was after about an hour, they let everyone back in," Guggenmos said. "They wouldn't let anyone call home, or allow calls in."

Computers fell over in the science building. And her friends said glass beakers were falling out of cabinets.

"When we (went) out on the field, a lot of parents came and picked up kids," she said. "But it was chaotic after we got back into the school."

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