Fire and Emergency crews were called to the old water slide facility in Chestermere at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, where the main building, which would’ve been the old office areas, was fully involved in fire,” said Chestermere’s fire Chief Brian Pomrenke.
Firefighters did remain on the scene throughout the day Saturday to monitor the site for hot spots.
Pomrenke said an investigation will be launched into the cause of the fire, and they are working with the property owners to determine where to go to from here.
The water park, which used to be called Chestermere Camp ‘N’ Water Park closed several years ago after being shut down by the department of health because of sewage encroaching on campsite areas. The city had previously issued a clean-up order to the owners of the property. At that time, a clean-up of the property was done.
The park owners promised to clean up the park and reopen, but satisfactory remediation never happened and the park continued to fall into more and more disrepair.
The campsite was very popular with transient workers during the 2007 building boom. Many came west for the many employment opportunities, only to find they could not find affordable housing and ended up in campsites like this one
When some of us moved here in the early eighties it was a popular place for families, as people could set up their campers and relax while children enjoyed the water slides. It closed for a while then reopened in the early nineties when some of the children of Anchor Media staff worked there for part of the summer before it one day unexpectedly closed, never to reopen.
Many Chestermere residents on site watching the fire department clean up commented that over the last decade the site has become an eyesore and a dubious hangout for teenagers, and is described as an unsafe area and should be demolished.
Other residents commented the park would be an asset to community recreation and employment if it was rebuilt as a campground facility.
