Baldwin County was picking up today after wind damage from Sunday’s storms swept through parts of South and Central Baldwin County. Winds, some moving upwards of 50 mph left damage behind in Ft. Morgan, Gulf Shores and Foley.
Dozens of volunteers helped with storm clean up at the Gulf Coast Zoo. Several animal enclosures were damaged and there were a lot of limbs down. Fortunately, no animals were hurt.
After a hectic morning of picking up the pieces, the Gulf Coast Zoo was up and running again by noon Monday.
Close to 30 volunteers pitched in for the cleanup.
“It’s so helpful and so beneficial. We appreciate all of our community and our volunteers. We couldn’t be here without them,” said Marcale Sisk with the Gulf Coast Zoo.
The same Sunday storm rushed through areas of Fort Morgan not far from the zoo. No injuries were reported but some folks were shaken by how quickly the wind and the rain rushed through the area.
In Foley at the city Sports Complex 2,000 pound bleachers were picked up by the strong winds and tossed for more than 25 feet. The softball and baseball fields were being cleared today.
“We’re going to estimate about $20,000. We have to pull everything back in and we got trees that are down and signs that are down and a couple of sets of bleachers, some netting that came down. We are still trying to repair and get everything up,” said David Thompson with the Foley Sports Complex.
At the zoo, officials have their sights on the future as the new facility North of Gulf Shores is taking shape. The plan is make this not only the newest but the safest zoo on the Gulf Coast.
Enclosures and buildings at the new zoo will be able to withstand a Category 5 Hurricane.
“We’re going to be so much better – higher ground, and a much safer and larger facility – so we wont have to evacuate. We will be able to lock everybody down in night houses and they will be safe and sound. The animals here, yes people too, we worry about both,” said Sisk.
The timetable for the new zoo is to move the animals by October and to open the new zoo by late November, just in time for the holidays.
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Sky Line Net Installations Inc. is a 100% independently owned Canadian Company. Specializing in design, engineering, supply and installation of sports and industrial barrier netting systems since 1980, we are considered the leaders in innovative design and performance throughout Canada. Our expertise allows us to match the best pole and line support materials along with the best foundation designs to the finest netting materials for our customer’s requirements anywhere in Canada.
In 2002 we became affiliated with Coastal Netting Systems in California. Coastal is recognized for their excellence in engineering and manufacturing of the finest steel poles for the netting industry in North America. We have hundreds of successful pole and netting systems in place in all types of environments. With decades of design engineering and field experience we stand behind our products and performance with the best warranties available.
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