Colorado Gator Farm plans soft reopen this weekend, return to regular hours May 1 after devastating fire; fundraiser helping with rebuild
MOSCA, Colo. (KRDO) -- After a devastating fire that claimed the lives of more than 100 animals, the Colorado Gator Farm is looking to reopen soon -- even while the staff struggles with grief and cleanup.
"That's how we started our day Thursday," said general manager Jay Young. "We had a grief counseling session. We're also giving the animals that perished, a proper burial. They were more than just animals. Each one had its own name and personality."
Tuesday morning, crews responded to the Gator Farm in Alamosa County after a fire broke out around a breaker panel in the reptile barn.
According to officials with the farm, most of the rescued snakes, lizards, tortoises, parrots, and cats died.
"At some point, I'll have to go back and dig up the pythons so that I can rearticulate the skeletons for colleges or museums to use. It took me 500 hours to rearticulate one skeleton that was destroyed in the fire."
The Mosca-Hooper Fire Department was able to save eight tortoises, eight turtles, and three dwarf caimans, including Phoenix the caiman lizard, the only lizard to make it.
However, other animals survived -- including more then 300 alligators and crocodiles.
"The firefighters even helped us save some of them," Young recalled. "There were three South American dwarf camian alive in a large tank. The firefighters actually helped me catch them and move them. They easily could have been bitten, lost a finger. It's been a nightmare trying to deal with it all, but we're getting through it. I've received hundreds of calls, texts and emails from family, friends and others offering their support."
The farm is now planning to reopen on May 1, and hopes to do a limited opening this upcoming weekend "if things work out," as the staff posted Thursday on its Facebook page.
Officials with the farm thanked the community for its patience during this difficult time, and for more than $36,000 in donations to the farm's GoFundMe account.
"About half of the facility burned, including the reptile house," Young said. "We'll have to demolish it and rebuild it. This place has been here since the 1980s. We'll be set up to have the experiences that we've always had."
And because so many parents have asked, he added that kids will be allowed to bring flowers or express other ways of paying respect to the animals that perished.
"I understand the need to grieve," Young said.
