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Tornado Hammers Pasco Jail

News Channel 8 photo by PAUL LAMISON

Early Sunday morning, a tornado ripped through an aluminum-framed minimum-security unit at Land O’ Lakes Jail on U.S. 41.

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE and ANGELA DELGADO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 17, 2007

Updated: 12/17/2007 12:55 am

LAND O' LAKES - The tornado touched down just after 5 a.m. Sunday and headed for the county jail, leaving behind a trail of broken tree limbs and tangled power lines.

Inside the Land O' Lakes Jail, on a rural stretch of U.S. 41, detention deputies were watching local news broadcasts of the fast-moving storm as it charged across the county from the Gulf of Mexico, flooding low-lying areas and shuddering houses with detonations of thunder.

A tornado warning had just been issued.

The main building, which houses about 950 inmates, was safe from the winds. But outside, in two aluminum-framed minimum-security annex buildings, about 225 nonviolent inmates were sleeping in bunk beds, sheltered only by a plastic membrane.

As the winds picked up, Operations Capt. Ed Beckman gave orders to evacuate.

Minutes later, the tornado passed by the northwestern side of the jail, ripping one of the dome-like structures to shreds and partially damaging the other. No one was injured.

"We could have had a real tragedy on our hands," sheriff's office spokesman Doug Tobin said. "If they weren't evacuated, we would have had serious injuries, even fatalities."

Beckman, who gave the evacuation orders from home, arrived shortly after.

"It looked like a war zone," Beckman said. "There was extensive damage."

Tobin said the main jail complex sustained minor damage to the roof, including two air conditioners.

Several county-owned vehicles, including a prison transport bus, were overturned by the heavy winds, he said. One of the vehicles broke an exposed water distribution line.

The jail lost power during the storm. The backup generator took over immediately, and full power was restored to the main complex by Sunday afternoon, Tobin said.

The destroyed building was a temporary structure built by a private company this year to ease overcrowding in the jail, Tobin said. It housed about 125 female inmates.

The second annex, a 7,100-square-foot domed structure, was built in 2000 and housed about 100 male inmates. The building was made of heavy aluminum beam arches that support an all-weather membrane. It was designed to survive winds up to 110 mph.

No Damage Estimates Available

Tobin couldn't put a dollar figure on the damages Sunday afternoon, but the male annex that was damaged cost the county about $1 million to build, according to previous reports.

Both annexes were self-supporting, with a common area where inmates sleep on metal bunk beds, eat their meals, watch television, read, or talk on several pay telephones.

They were considered a low-cost alternative to overcrowding at the detention center for inmates awaiting trial or serving minor sentences for non-violent, misdemeanor crimes.

Tobin said the displaced inmates will be sheltered temporarily in common areas of the detention center's main complex until Sheriff Bob White decides what to do with them.

"We're operating at maximum capacity right now," he said. "We can't keep the inmates in the main complex indefinitely, so they'll have to be moved to another location soon."

The Marion County Sheriff's Office has offered to take some of the inmates, he said.

The sheriff's office also will be reviewing the sentences of nonviolent prisoners and talking to court officials about possibly releasing some people early.

"That's another option," Tobin said. "We haven't decided what to do just yet."

'We Were Expecting Worse'

The tornado was spawned from heavy storms preceding a cold front that combined with the remnants of Tropical Storm Olga and moved into the Tampa Bay area early Sunday morning, according to Paul Close, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

"We've been watching this for several days," Close said. "We were expecting worse."

Close said the weather service has not determined the strength of the tornado or its path.

The storm dumped more than 2 inches of rain in west Pasco County, about 3 inches in Hernando County and less than an inch in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, the weather service estimated.

As it moved east, the storm caused scattered power outages in the Tampa Bay area, leaving tens of thousands of customers without electricity, utility companies reported. Weather-related damage appeared to have been localized in the Land O' Lakes area, according to the weather service.

Power was expected to be restored to those affected by Sunday evening.

The storm also damaged homes in central Pasco and caused minor flooding in low-lying areas west of U.S. 19 in New Port Richey, Port Richey, Holiday and Hudson, according to law enforcement officials.

"We came out relatively unscathed," said New Port Richey police Sgt. William Barrus.

Reporter Jason Geary contributed to this report. Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib .com. Reporter Angela Delgado can be reached at (813) 865-1501 or adelgado@tampatrib.com.

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