Two Rivers close to reopening

HUNTINGTON - Animal enclosures at the Two Rivers Wildlife Park bent but didn't break at the height of posttropical storm Fiona. You can say the same about the resolve of the volunteers and staff dedicated to the facility.

The park was pummelled by the Sept. 24 storm that brought countless numbers of trees down and knocked power out, temporarily closing the park and threatening Fright Night - the facility's most important fundraiser of the year.

However, the staff has been working around the clock, joined by dozens of community volunteers, to clean up the mess Fiona left.

"We have some really large trees up through the animal trail so there have been a lot of large trees fall on pens," said Linda Hayes, the special events co-ordinator for the park.

"There's weeks and months worth of repair to be done."

Thankfully, no animals were hurt and none escaped, despite the damage.

"We were really lucky. All of our animals are safe and in good health and we are really happy about that."

Just two of 30 enclosures escaped storm damage with the most visible damage done to Otto the otter's home that was hit by several falling trees.

A stroll through the park shows many fallen trees but many of them have been cleared away from trails thanks to a small army of community volunteers who have volunteered their time, chainsaws and gas to the clearing cause.

Those that weren't cutting and removing trees were cooking for those who were.

"We had people from all over the community come out to help," said Hayes.

"You could barely get into the parking lot the other day because there were so many cars there. It was so nice to see."

Volunteers included park seasonal and overnight campers, friends in the community and past volunteers. The park has been closed since the storm, but volunteer efforts have a weekend reopening in sight.

Hayes managed to take down Fright Night sets before Fiona hit but the hours put into creating those scenes are lost and must be made up in time for the 20th-anniversary edition of the fundraiser to return on Oct. 14.

"We lost that week of putting things up and then this week we have been trying to cut down the trees and deal with the washouts. We still need lots of volunteers to come out and help with that."

Despite the storm, Fright Night is back on track but more help is needed to keep it on track.

"It is our major fundraiser," she said. "This has been such a setback financially, just the gas for the machines and the chainsaws, and not to mention we lost our camping income for this time, and we lost our people coming in for the day. Fright Night will help to feed the animals for the winter."

In the meantime, the park still needs volunteers to clear and cut the animal trails. Fright Night volunteers will be needed to decorate, animate and act. Prop building, sewing, and painting skills are in demand, too.

As for tickets, storm issues hindered sales over the past week but they are now available at most sponsor locations.

"Even our vendors don't have power, so they have not been open. We don't have internet or power at the moment, but as soon as our internet and power are back up, we will be answering phones and selling tickets."

Phone 902-727-2483 for more information or go online to https://www.tworiverspark.ca/.