Collector car auctioneer Russo & Steele is picking up the pieces, drying out and planning to carry on with two days of auctions this weekend after a powerful storm blew down tents and damaged an undetermined number of collector cars Thursday night.

Russo & Steele President Drew Alcazar told Old Cars Weekly Friday afternoon that auction activity would resume Saturday and Sunday, although times and other details still needed to be ironed out. Details will be forthcoming at www.russoandsteele.com.

Two large canopies were ripped from the ground during Thursday’s heavy weather, leaving several hundred collector cars exposed to the elements and the wreckage during some of the worst weather to hit Arizona in recent years.

Remains of one of the tents wound on strewn across nearby Loop 101, forcing highway crews to temporarily shut down one of the city’s main arteries.

No injuries were reported and most of the audience had already been evacuated by the time the tents collapsed.

“The important thing is there are no injuries or deaths, and that’s the best thing in the world,” said Alcazar.

An announcement on the company’s Web site today stated: “The City of Scottdsale Fire Marshall will not declare the auction site safe today due to continued storm activity in the area. This means no access for car owners. The earliest time the consignors might be able to inspect their cars is tomorrow morning, according to the Fire Marshall.”

To read the earlier news story on the weather-related events in Scottsdale, click here.

AUCTION SCHEDULE UPDATE >>