TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation (NRPR) is announcing the reopening of Agua Caliente Park.
Agua Caliente Park is scheduled to reopen on Monday, Nov. 28 after closing on Sept. 28 following a lightning strike which set hundreds of palm trees on fire.
“We are pleased that crews have been able to work so efficiently and quickly,” said Vic Pereira, NRPR Director. “To be able to open during the holiday season is beyond expectations.”
After the fire, NRPR evaluated the damage and finished the clean-up.
Nearly 225 palm trees, 40 mesquite trees and various shrubs were evaluated by a contracted arborist.
This arboriculturist says 40 palm palms had to be cut down because of safety issues or because they were too badly burned to survive.
The NRPR intends to reuse the palms for an erosion project at Bar V Ranch rather than throwing away the leftovers.
The fire also damaged other park infrastructure, such as two interpretive signs, four picnic tables, two trash cans, a bike rack, and numerous internal and external irrigation systems.
Over the course of the following year, the NRPR intends to replace and repair damaged infrastructure in phases.
While workers continue to repair fire damage, the spring, stream and former grass area alongside the entrance road will remain gated off from public access. The public can use the park's remaining areas at their leisure.
“It could have been a lot worse, and we are grateful that it wasn’t,” Pereira said. “Agua Caliente is a jewel in our park system, and we are ready to see it filled with visitors once again.”
The restoration work will continue; it's likely it won't be finished until some time in 2023.
Anyone interested in contributing money to the restoration effort can do so through the Friends of Agua Caliente.
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Bivian Contreras is a real-time editor for KGUN 9. Bivian graduated from the University of Arizona School of Journalism with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Broadcast and is currently pursuing a degree in Broadcast Operational Meteorology. Share your story ideas and important issues with Bivian by emailing bivian.contreras@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
