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CNN Live Today

Interview with Dean Meyer

Aired September 03, 2002 - 11:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, we want to check in Wisconsin, the day after Labor Day, people in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, are working to clean up after a tornado. One person there says that she hid in a closet after hearing a terrible roar. She wasn't hurt, but dozens of other people were. Many of them were home at the time because of the holiday. A state official says at least 60 homes and buildings were damaged or destroyed. Wisconsin's governor is declaring a disaster in the area.
We have with us now Rusk County Sheriff Dean Meyer. He is on the phone with us to talk about what happened -- sheriff, good morning. Thanks for joining us.

DEAN MEYER, SHERIFF, RUSK COUNTY: Thanks for having me.

KAGAN: First of all, most important, it seemed -- it appears there was no loss of life which is just incredible when you look at these pictures.

MEYER: Oh, it absolutely is. We were just fortunate with the type of tornado, the severity of the tornado, and the time of day it came through the city, yes, we are just absolutely fortunate that we did not have any fatalities.

KAGAN: Yes, talk to me about the timing, not just time of day, but the fact that this was Labor Day.

MEYER: Well, in a way, it was a blessing for us because normal workday, 4:15, 4:20, 4:30 in the afternoon, we would have had many more people within the city, the business district, people just arriving home from work. So you know, that day, that afternoon, a lot of people were out and about and away from their homes, so really it was a blessing for us. Had we had more people in the business district area with the little warning that we had, it could have been -- would have been, most likely, much worse.

KAGAN: Yes, and I understand with this that no sirens went off as a warning.

MEYER: Well, the sirens were activated, but not until the dispatcher in our communications center was actually told that the tornado was on the ground. We had no early warning of the tornado, either from the National Weather Service or from people -- weather spotters that we had west of the city at the time. It was just not that type of weather system that we would expect this type of damage.

KAGAN: Hey, sheriff, where were you when this happened? MEYER: I was at my house, about 8 miles west of the city.

KAGAN: And what was it like? Could you hear it?

MEYER: No, not at all. Again, it was not -- as part of our protocols, I received a call, notified of a severe thunderstorm warning. That was it. At that time, the front that was moving through the area where I lived, it was heavy rains, moderate winds, but again, not very humid, not very warm-type day, so again, it is not the type of weather front that you would expect this type of tornadic action.

KAGAN: And I heard right afterwards the biggest concern was gas leaks. Has that all been accounted for?

MEYER: Yes, we had, I believe, four or five areas identified within the city with confirmed gas leaks. Our local gas company moved quickly to get personnel into the affected area, and I think would be safe by saying an a hour and a half after the incident, we had the gas shut down, and it was fairly safe to move in and about the area.

KAGAN: And your biggest concern right now, I guess, is rebuilding, which will be a long process.

MEYER: Oh, absolutely.

KAGAN: Well, we wish you well there in Rusk County.

MEYER: Thank you, we appreciate it.

KAGAN: Sheriff Dean Meyer from Rusk County, Ladysmith, Wisconsin. Thank you so much.

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