A New Jersey waterpark slide called High Anxiety erupted in flames on Tuesday, just days before the park is scheduled to open for the summer.
It’s unknown how the popular attraction at Mountain Creek Water Park in Vernon Township, New Jersey, caught fire. Firefighters responded “within minutes,” dousing the flames before they could destroy the slide. As the park has not opened to the public yet, no one was caught in the fire.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause.
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“First and foremost, we are thankful that the park was closed and there were no reported injuries,” Brian Lowe, spokesman for the park, told ABC 7 Eyewitness News. “We are grateful to the Vernon and other local responding volunteer fire and EMS departments, as well as the Vernon Police, who responded within minutes to help extinguish the fire.”
Although the slide will be out of action for the foreseeable future, the water park is scheduled to open as planned on Saturday, with the other 16 attractions fully intact.
High Anxiety is described on Mountain Creek’s website as “a water slide of mountainous proportions. This one-of-a-kind water slide begins in a dark tunnel and a full 45˚ drop, accelerating riders into an immense funnel that propels your raft to jaw-dropping heights and a moment of weightlessness.”
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Mountain Creek Waterpark is located on the grounds of one of America’s first modern waterparks, Action Park. The infamous previous park’s atrocious safety record, witnessing at least six fatalities, was subject to a 2020 documentary called Class Action Park, the contemporary nickname of the park. Following its shutdown in 1996, the park’s new owners revamped its image and safety standards, re-christening it with its current name.
The fire on Tuesday is the first notable safety failure of the park.
