LENAWEE COUNTY, Mich. — The Lenawee County Fair reopened Wednesday afternoon following a severe, but brief, storm system that moved through the area.
"It got scary really quick," Fair Office Manager Heather Downs said. "The weather pretty much came out of nowhere. We pretty much asked everyone to shelter in place. We did decide to close the rides down. We closed the gates for a little while, for everybody's safety."
Leadership made the decision to close down the fair while severe weather rolled through. Downs said her office received plenty of calls throughout the day.
"The phone has been ringing since this morning, since the weather actually hit, wanting to know what our plans will be for this evening, for the day if the weather gets bad," Downs said. "It has been pretty frustrating. However, we made it through."
People at the fairgrounds said it's not the first year severe weather rolled, through.
"We're looking up at the sky and we're like 'oh, this is going to be a little scary,'" dairy feeder board member Zachariah Stephens said. "We've had some big storms here. It's not a fair if you don't have a storm. A lot of people just went into the barns. 30 minutes we were in there. The weather blew over and everyone's back out here enjoying the fair again."
Downs said the fair could stop for severe weather again, which is why they're taking a wait-and-see approach.
"We're playing it by ear, so as of right now, we're open. Come out and enjoy the fair," she said.
If there is any more severe weather, officials will have people shelter in place again. The fair runs through Saturday.