HOLLYWILD ANIMAL
PARK IN WELLFORD, SC CLEARED BY THE USDA IN AN ELECTRICAL FIRE THAT KILLED 27
PRIMATES ALMOST THREE WEEKS AGO
Hollywild houses
about 500 animals in a 100-acre park that opens to the public in Wellford. It
became a nonprofit in 1999. Forty animals were housed in the primate barn when
it caught fire overnight Jan. 9. A malfunctioning overhead light sparked and
caught a portion of the metal barn on fire, said Holly Springs Fire Department
Chief Brent Blackwell. The fire put itself out, Blackwell said, but not before
the barn filled with smoke and more than two dozen animals died.
January 26, 2015
WELLFORD, SOUTH CAROLINA:
Hollywild Animal Park was given an all clear after a
U.S. Department of Agriculture visit to the park Monday.
The USDA visit came more than two weeks after an
electrical fire in the park’s primate barn killed 27 animals. An electrical short in one of the florescent
overhead lights caught part of the barn on fire and filled it with smoke. The park is staffed 24 hours per day, but it
was a worker just arriving at the park who discovered the barn fire on January
9, 2015.
The majority of the fire was out by the time
firefighters arrived.
The USDA visit was a required part of the investigation
after the fire because the department oversees Hollywild.
“The report says ‘no non-compliant items were found,’
which is what we expected, and are now pleased to confirm publicly,” said Kim
Atchley, spokesperson for Hollywild.
Atchley said the areas cited in USDA investigations in
February and March of 2014 have long been corrected, and that any items cited
as needing improvement at any point during the USDA’s inspection process have
been addressed.
The park will move forward with plans for its 2015
season, scheduled for weekends in March and opening daily beginning April 1.
“We continue to invite the public to share in
celebrating all that Hollywild offers, and the countless supporters and
advocates who have come forward during a very difficult time,” Atchley said.
“We look forward to our 2015 park season and sharing the heart of Hollywild
with each and every visitor.”