Collapsing Tents Damage Cars at Arizona Auction

Organizers of a collector-car auction in north Scottsdale, Ariz., worked to assess damages this past weekend, after an 800-foot-long tent blew onto a nearby freeway, snarling traffic and leaving hundreds of valuable vehicles uncovered in a pounding rainstorm.

Heavy tent poles hit some cars and rain pelted uncovered convertibles at the Russo-Steele Auto Auction. A collector-car insurance executive estimated that damages could be more than $1.5 million.

Russo and Steele said owners were not allowed to inspect their cars until Saturday morning because the Scottsdale fire marshal had not declared the auction site safe.

Drew and Josephine Alcazar, Russo and Steele owners, were hoping to resume the auction Saturday, but there was still a lot of cleanup to do.