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How hot is it right now? 'Water park catching fire and burning down' hot

It's a Jersey thing, you wouldn't understand

A New Jersey water park has had to modify its summer reopening plans after one of its star attractions caught fire and partially burned down.

The 'High Anxiety' waterslide lived up to its name when it was engulfed in flames on Tuesday night, as you can see below.

Youtube Video

The attraction at Mountain Creek Water Park in Vernon, NJ is described on the park website as having a thrill level of 'Moderate', although that rating may have been elevated somewhat during the blaze.

It featured a steep, 45° drop and could be ridden by up to four people at a time on special inflatable rafts. The park's description explains:

Jump on your raft and get blasted through a dark tunnel with a full 45° drop into an immense funnel, getting flown to jaw-dropping heights and moments of weightlessness! High Anxiety is a classic favorite of ours and a definite must-ride.

This advice should be tempered by the fact that fire damage to the ride's plastic structure is likely to mean any drop is now very sudden and closer to 90° in terms of angle.

Youtube Video

The feelings of weightlessness will also be more extreme, but will end very suddenly.

The fire occurred at night, while the park was closed, so there were no reported injuries.

Park spokesperson Brian Lowe said: “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.”

Despite 'High Anxiety' being out of use, the park still intends to reopen as planned on Saturday, July 19.

It's not as though New Jersey folk are strangers to theme park danger. The Garden State was home to (Class) Action Park, a notorious amusement park that saw six fatalities between 1980 and 1987, and more injuries than they bothered to count, thanks to bonkers rides and a very hands-off form of management. ®

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