Area communities watchful, prayerful after terror attacks
By Steve Powell
Herald Writer
If you spent the day with a knot in your gut, you are not alone. Likewise, if you had a heavy heart or got angry or wanted revenge, you are not alone.
But in a positive sign, there were also displays of patriotism and prayer all over Snohomish and Island counties Tuesday.
It was an emotional day across the nation and around the world.
Sept. 11, 2001.
That’s the day two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, sending the 110-story building crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust, killing thousands of people. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing many more. Terrorists are suspected.
Local officials reacted in a variety of ways. A wrap-up of the historic day locally follows:
Two members of Congress representing parts of Snohomish County were shocked by the attacks.
Reps. Rick Larsen and Jay Inslee, both Democrats, moved their daily operations to private residences in the Washington, D.C., area. Both offered sympathy to the families of the thousands of victims.
They also vowed to find the culprits.
"What happened today is a tragedy for America, and these acts of violence against the United States shall not go unpunished," Larsen said.
| Essential personnel
Only essential military and civilian personnel should report for duty today at Naval Station Everett and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, the Department of Defense announced late Tuesday. Navy bases throughout the Northwest are operating under the highest level alert, Force Protection Condition Delta, until further notice.
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A member of the House Armed Services Committee, he added: "What happened today is a shock to everybody. This was a coordinated, multifront effort by some individuals. We are going to find out who they are and bring them to justice."
Inslee compared the attacks to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
"To paraphrase (President Franklin D. Roosevelt), Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 is a day of infamy," Inslee said. "It’s below the Pearl Harbor attack because victims were civilians."
Inslee also said Congress needs to work with the airline industry to prevent hijackings.
Jan Jorgensen, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, said officials there were coordinating with county and state emergency management officials.
The sheriff’s office beefed up security at several sensitive sites in the county.
Two deputies were stationed at Culmback Dam, where the gates were locked following news of the East Coast attacks, Sheriff Rick Bart said. The dam holds back Spada Lake in eastern Snohomish County and is the source of water for roughly 75 percent of the county’s population. It is also a source of water that generates power for the Snohomish County PUD.
Security was also increased at the Navy Support Complex at Smokey Point, where things such as the commissary and recreation facilities are located, and a naval radio station in north Snohomish County, Bart said.
Snohomish County Fire District 4 chief Bob Merritt said the district’s firefighters are preparing for mobilization to fill in for other firefighters from the area who might be called to participate in rescue efforts elsewhere.
"We would be ready to fill in for them here locally," he said. "And we are ready in the case that there is another (airline) event in our area."
All U.S. Navy facilities in the Puget Sound area went on high alert. Long lines of vehicles waited outside Naval Station Everett and Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, while armed guards searched vehicles and checked the identification of occupants.
Regional spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Kim Marks said military security was heightened.
"We’re taking all precautionary measures throughout the region," she said, although she refused to expand on that.
Three ships assigned to the Everett Naval Station, the destroyer USS Fife and frigates Ford and Rodney M. Davis, made unscheduled trips to sea Tuesday, apparent efforts to disperse the fleet.
Marks called that a precaution.
The Davis, which has air-defense capability, is operating in Elliott Bay off Seattle.
Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, like all federal agencies, are taking appropriate measures to safeguard the nation, said Virginia Kice, Northwest regional spokeswoman for the INS.
Kice would not say what those measures were, however.
Contrary to what some television and radio stations were reporting, "The borders are not closed," Kice said.
State Department of Transportation officials reported heavier than normal traffic on I-5 in the vicinity of McChord Air Force Base and the Army’s Fort Lewis, as all military personnel reported to duty.
U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer 2nd Class Sarah Foster said her agency was on heightened alert, with vehicles being stopped or searched at all installations.
Gov. Gary Locke said:
"I’m shocked and horrified at today’s appalling terrorist attacks against the United States of America. My heart goes out to all the victims of today’s senseless attacks… .
"We must all remain vigilant. More importantly, I urge you to keep the families and friends of the victims and rescue workers in your thoughts and prayers."
The city has opened its Emergency Operations Center to "place the city in a state of readiness," Mayor Ed Hansen said.
"Certainly, we’ve got to take these things seriously," Hansen said. But he said he was not aware of any specific threats to the city.
Meanwhile, Everett High School officials opened the school day with an announcement about the attack, and teachers were told to make sure they were conscious of student needs.
Guidelines were given on how the television would be used.
"We are trying to be sensitive to watching it," said principal Pat Sullivan. "We are not just turning it on and watching it unfold, because we don’t know what is going to happen."
Also, The Boeing Co.’s new headquarters in Chicago was closed as a precaution, as was the company’s Washington, D.C., office.
Company operations around Puget Sound continued under heightened security, according to a prerecorded statement on an emergency phone system.
An employee at Everett said that security checks were more stringent, with all cars being stopped and checked and all drivers being asked to show photo identification.
At nearby Paine Field Airport, director Dave Waggoner said all flights were canceled. No flights were diverted there.
Everett police said there seems to be little cause for concern locally.
"There is no quantifiable or established threat to anything local," said Sgt. Boyd Bryant, an Everett police spokesman.
"Go look at the streets," he said. "They are deserted. People are inside watching TV. Nobody is moving around."
At Providence Everett Medical Center, the county’s largest trauma center, a command center was established Tuesday in case of emergencies in the Puget Sound region.
Staff members watched the news all day and continued to assess the number of available beds and physicians, spokeswoman Cheri Russum said.
The city activated its emergency operations center.
The Marysville Public Safety Building at 1635 Grove St. was requiring all visitors with police, fire or municipal court-related business to provide photo identification and to sign in before entering the building.
Police at city hall were monitoring traffic to and from the building, including recording of license plates.
"While this may cause inconveniences for local residents, it is deemed necessary in the interests of public safety," said Doug Buell, the city’s community information officer.
City officials followed procedures laid out in the city’s disaster plan to ensure that local public facilities such as buildings, reservoirs, lift stations, wastewater treatment plant and bridges are under watch by designated city employees.
City manager Bill McDonald said the decision was made at midmorning that the city’s emergency center would not be mobilized.
"We have sent city officials to inspect all our critical facilities, all public buildings and all bridges," he said Tuesday morning.
Officials, including local police officers and firefighters, looked for anything suspicious, he said, such as abandoned vehicles or unmarked boxes.
One of the first things that was addressed was making sure that no flights took off from Harvey Airfield.
Kandice Harvey, owner of Harvey Airfield, confirmed that the airport was closed at about 9:30 a.m.
"We have canceled all flights and we have blockaded the runways so that no one can fly," she said.
Apparently, most local pilots had heard the news, because the airport was quiet. About 400 planes per day usually take off from Harvey Field.
McDonald said officers were sent to Snohomish-area schools.
"It is our feeling that having officers visible in the schools is something that may help today," he said. "Of course, we are all doing some praying, for those who are personally affected by this and for the nation."
City administrator Bill Verwolf said City Hall business was being conducted as normally as possible, and as many police as possible were put in uniform.
"We’re in a heightened state of security," he said. "We’re trying to be watchful, and yet not overreact."
City administrator Dave O’Leary said city officials are "being watchful and vigilant."
"We have emergency procedures in place that we’ll be able to implement if there is need to," O’Leary said.
Chris Harris, 44, of Lake Stevens, an employee of the Internal Revenue Service, heard about the attacks on his way to work.
Harris said many of his co-workers were afraid to show up.
"I think everybody’s concerned about being a target."
People gathered at the Snow Goose Bookstore in downtown Stanwood to talk about the tragedy.
Chris Satterlund, co-owner of the bookstore, said it was a historic and terrifying day.
"We’ve already had many calls from people to save The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and other papers, including yours," she said.
Rob Putnam, airport manager at the Arlington Airport, said he called the FAA’s flight services telephone line when he heard of the attack.
"All flights are canceled," he said, adding the small airport has 135,000 operations a year.
Mayor Gary Haakenson said the city opened its Emergency Operations Center.
"It is a sad day in our country’s history," Haakenson said. "Flags are being flown at half-staff in honor of those who lost their lives today."
City spokeswoman Joyce Goedeke said the city had activated its emergency operations center at a Level 1, the lowest level, as a precautionary measure.
"At this time, all personnel on duty are ready to go and in our community," she said.
City Clerk Norma Wilds said staffers were "listening to the radio and praying."
Many members of The Herald staff contributed to this report.
You can call Herald Writer Steve Powell at 425-339-3427
or send e-mail to powell@heraldnet.com.
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