Huntington Beach State Park nature center will be rebuilt after devastating fire

The nature center at Huntington Beach State Park will be rebuilt after a fire early Wednesday morning destroyed the building and killed more than 20 animals inside.

The S.C. Parks, Recreation and Tourism department plans to rebuild the center, but it was too early to give details Thursday about the rebuilding project, PRT spokeswoman Dawn Dawson-House said.

“Our priority is visitor service and visitor safety so that’s the mode that we’re in when we decide how we’re going to approach challenges like this. That’s our focus, and that’s where we’re going,” Dawson-House said.

The center would be rebuilt and reopened as swiftly as it could be, Dawson-House said.

“We are going to restore service [at a nature center] as quickly as possible,” she said.

In the meantime, programs previously held at the nature center will continue, but at various locations around the state park, which is at 16148 Ocean Highway in Murrells Inlet. Employees who worked at the demolished center will continue to work on programming and meet other park needs during the rebuilding process, Dawson-House said.

Other parts of the park are operating as usual. The boardwalk, beach access, campground, Atalaya, park office and other areas are open.

Midway Fire Rescue Chief Doug Eggiman said the 911 call about the fire came in at 2:34 a.m. Wednesday, and crews arrived in about five minutes. The fire was under control by about 4:35 a.m., but crews remained on scene for hours putting out hotspots and investigating.

Eggiman said crews from Georgetown Fire and Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire Department helped battle the blaze. It took a backhoe to take down standing walls in the three-story nature center, which opened in 2002.

A lightning strike likely caused the fire, according to Jackie Broach, public information officer for Georgetown County.

Caution tape roped off the remaining burnt rubble Thursday morning and passersby stopped to view the heap.

“The clean up is under way. And when you clean up sites like this you have to meet certain criteria for safe removal, not just for human safety, but for environmental safety, so we’re meeting those right now, and we’re getting that done,” Dawson-House said.

More than 20 animals were killed in the fire, including a stingray, horseshoe crab, jelly fish, two hatchling alligators, nine turtles, five snakes, a glass lizard, frogs, marbled salamander and an undetermined number of other types of marine animals and marine life in aquariums, Dawson-House said.

Kathy Gasque, Murrells Inlet resident, stopped by the center site Thursday after seeing news of its destruction on social media. She often visited the center and engaged in its programs with her grandchildren when they came to visit her.

“It’s incredibly sad. My grandchildren have loved a lot of the programs here when they come down for summers. It’s just kind of hard to believe,” she said as she snapped photos of the center’s remains with her cellphone. “But I’m amazed looking at this how they were able to save the trees and even the walkways,” she said as she surveyed the center’s surroundings. “The firemen did an amazing job.”

Campers Ben and Kay Maynard were visiting from the Rock Hill area with Kay’s sister Kathryn Peterson who brought along her two grandsons: Joseph Peterson, 4, and Damien Peterson, 2.

“We’ve been coming down here for years and Joseph particularly loved the nature center and being able to pet the animals,” Ben Maynard said.

The family camps there often and frequented the nature center whenever they stayed at the state park. The children had just been to see all the animals at the nature center Tuesday afternoon before the fire ignited early Wednesday.

“We can just hope we’re going to have a bigger and better nature center next time,” Ben Maynard said.

The animals lost in the fire came to be housed there through a variety of means, including donations, rescues from illegal pet trades and purchases, as well as being caught through programs offered at the park, park manager Brenda Magers said.

The stingray, horseshoe crab and other animals in the nature center’s touch tank were among the most featured and favored by visitors, Magers said.

Officials met Thursday to discuss moving forward. Programming at the nature center will resume Monday, but scheduling could be modified. Magers aims to have a list of program details available on the park’s website and at areas within the park, she said.

Park staff are channeling their emotions about the loss into the rebuilding process, she said.

“We’re saddened by the loss. ... We’re working hard on moving forward,” Magers said.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Huntington Beach State Park nature center will be rebuilt after devastating fire."