Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
John Daley ReportingOn this day five years ago, Utahns reacted with shock and anger and sadness. And, everything ground to a halt.
Debbie Dujanovic/Sept. 11, 2001/Before attacks: "It's a lot of fun. Go ahead and take Tia for a run here. And Youranda Shultz is also big into dog agility here."
It was a quiet Tuesday just before 7 am when everything changed.
Terry Wood/Sept. 11, 2001: "We do have breaking news of what appears to be a terrible tragedy coming out of New York City."
Kim Johnson: "We are looking, folks, at a very huge story here."
Altered are the rhythms of everyday life at the airport...
John Hollenhorst: "I think you might describe the mood here as one of low key controlled chaos."
Woman: "I think we're going to drive back. I wouldn't want to get on a plane right now."
...Around town...
"Here we're supposed to go to meetings and we're kind of stupefied."
Stacey Butler: "It's an eerie site, isn't it? Look at Fashion Place Mall. The parking lot is empty at 5:25 on a Tuesday afternoon."
...In classrooms...
Student: "Everyone acts like we're going to war. But if it's terrorists, how do we even know who to go? What do you think?"
...For Utah search and rescue teams preparing to head east...
Firefighter: "I think we're going to see things on a scale that we've never seen before."
...At a Salt Lake meeting of top terrorism experts planning for the Olympics.
Agent: "The thing that surprises me is that this was not picked up by our intelligence assets."
The news traveled fast five years ago. The dominant feeling-- shock.
Man: "I've been shocked, really. We've been kind of upset. We don't know if downtown is going to get evacuated."
Woman: "I feel totally unprotected, really. Like there's not a safe place in this country."
By that evening, we'd learned of the loss of Mary Alice Wahlstrom of Kaysville and her daughter Carolyn from Los Angeles. They were aboard the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center. They had traveled to Boston to take twin daughters to college.
Nate Wahlstrom/ Grandson: "It doesn't make sense. We're all going to go someday, but you're not supposed to go like this."
Margaret Wahlstrom/ Daughter-in-Law: "My mind is just reeling from the senselessness and waste. It's just waste."
Bruce Lindsay: "Utahns with the rest of Americans are realizing that the events of today will change our lives in many ways."
Five years on, that's clearly the truth.
