Waterslide Catches Fire In Sussex County’s Mountain Creek Park

VERNON, NJ — The Mountain Creek resort is still readying for opening day on Saturday, but will do so without its “High Anxiety” water slide, which was damaged in a fire on Tuesday afternoon.

Mountain Creek wrote on its Facebook Page after 9 p.m. Tuesday, that there were no injuries reported, with the park closed when the fire broke out.

The origin of the blaze on the slide that’s been at the park since about 2008, is not yet known yet, the New Jersey Herald reported.

“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,” said Brian Lowe, a spokesperson for the park.

“While we are certainly disappointed that we won’t have High Anxiety available for the foreseeable future, we know that our resilient team is ready to welcome guests back this weekend for our season opening as planned this Saturday, June 19th,” Lowe continued.

The Glenwood Pochuck Volunteer Ambulance Corps wrote on Facebook that it was there “within seconds of the initial dispatch" and gave a shout out on Facebook to fire departments that responded including Vernon Township Fire Department Company #1, McAfee Fire Department, Pochuck Volunteer Fire Department and Highland Lakes Fire Department, thanking all of the mutual aid departments that helped.

“Thank you to the mutual aid departments for covering the township while we operated as well as EMS for rehab purposes,” Vernon Township Fire Department Company #1 also wrote.

The video below features aerial footage during Tuesday’s fire.

Mountain Creek’s website describes the slide — geared for riders at least four-feet-tall — “of mountainous proportions,” that kicks off in a tunnel leading to a raft ride through a funnel, before riders plunge into a 45-degree drop.

Read more here at the New Jersey Herald.

Questions or comments about this story? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.