Footage Shows Popular 'High Anxiety' Waterslide Engulfed in Flames
A waterslide at a popular New Jersey resort caught fire on Tuesday, resulting in an alarming blaze.
The attraction, called "High Anxiety," lived up to its namesake, though perhaps not in the way park officials intended. The incident comes just days before Mountain Creek, a four-season resort that offers "skiing/snowboarding, ziplining, [a] waterpark, [and] mountain biking," in Vernon Township, New Jersey, is set to reopen to the public, on June 19. Officials confirmed the fire in a Tuesday Facebook post, noting that, luckily, the park was empty at the time.
"First and foremost, we are thankful that the park was closed and there were no reported injuries," they wrote. "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."
They added, "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. We want to thank all that have reached out with their concern and support. We look forward to celebrating the start of another great season with you this weekend."
The picture posted included with the statement shows glimpses of flames peeking out from behind billows of dark smoke erupting from the waterslide. Video footage from the scene, posted to social media by other news outlets, show the fire consuming the attraction.
Mountain Creek is located at the site of Action Park, which became notorious in the 1980s for being one of the world's most dangerous amusement parks, with six people having died on its attractions over the course of its 18-year history. In 2020, HBO Max released Class Action Park, a documentary exploring Action Park's "shocking" history, which included fake insurance, underage drinking and several safety issues. Drawing on the site's legacy, Mountain Creek renamed itself Action Park in 2014, but the decision was short-lived and reversed soon after.
Even with today's safety regulations, dangers can sometimes still present themselves at amusement parks: Last month, for example, a woman in Australia encountered a serpent while on a toboggan ride. The post went viral on TikTok and soon amassed over 77,000 views. However, many Australians in the comments section pointed out that pythons, like the one featured in the video, are typically harmless due to their lack of poisonous venom.
