Texas Parks and Wildlife is assessing hurricane-damaged parks and aiding affected employees. Almost a month after Hurricane Ike hit the Texas Gulf Coast on September 13th, 2008 Sea Rim State Park and Galveston Island State Park which were destroyed are in the process of damage assessment and decisions being considered regarding their future. Brazos Bend State Park, located southwest of Houston reopened on October 10th, 2008. Lake Livingston, Martin Dies Jr and Village Creek are expected to reopen by November or sooner. San Jacinto Battleground and the Battleship Texas should reopen within the next two weeks. Mission Tejas State Park that suffered fire damage in the headquarters building should open by November 01, 2008.
Posts Tagged ‘Hurricane Ike’
Hurricane Ike Targets Texas, Texas State Park Closures Update
Saturday, October 11th, 2008
Hurricane Ike Targets Texas, Texas State Park Closures Update
Friday, September 19th, 2008As of Friday the 19th of September, 2008 four Texas State Parks in northeast Texas have restored power and three have fully reopened. They are Atlanta, Caddo Lake and Martin Creek State Parks. Daingerfield State Park is open for day use only until further notice. 13 Texas State Parks remain closed until further notice. They are Battleship Texas, Brazos Bend, Fanthorp Inn, Galveston Island, Huntsville, Lake Livingston, Martin Dies Jr, Mission Tejas, San Jacinto Battleground & Monument, Sea Rim, Sheldon Lake, Village Creek and Washington on the Brazos/Barrington Farm.
Hurricane Ike Targets Texas, Texas State Parks Damage Summary
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008As of Wednesday morning the 17th of September, 2008 22 Texas State Parks remain closed due to damage from Hurricane Ike, down from a high of 37 closures. 5,828 evacuees have been sheltered at 63 Texas State Parks during the Hurricane Ike storm period. Two coastal parks, Galveston Island State Park and Sea Rim State Park suffered catastrophic damage. San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site and 6 other Texas State Parks sustained significant damage. Note: Closures are now updated to 18 Texas State Parks remaining closed due to damage from Hurricane Ike. UPDATE: As of Thursday September 18, 2008 17 Texas State Parks remain closed.
Hurricane Ike Targets Texas, Texas State Parks Damage Assessment
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008As of Monday, September 15, 2008 23 Texas State Parks remained closed, down from 37. 5,315 evacuees had been sheltered at 59 Texas State Parks. Galveston Island State Park sustained heavy beach erosion, the headquarters building was swept away during the storm along with the restrooms and shelters. Sea Rim State Park near Port Arthur which has been closed since Hurricane Rita in 2005 was heavily damaged. Structures and facilities are reported to probably be a total loss. Seven other parks and the La Porte regional office suffered significant damage. They are Lake Livingston, Huntsville, Martin Dies Jr, Daingerfield, Martin Creek Lake, San Jacinto Battleground sustaining significant damage from storm surge flooding and wind, Battleship Texas reporting the well house destroyed and the park store and restrooms flooded as well as Mission Tejas losing it’s 1,000 sq ft headquarters building to fire on Sunday morning possibly to to an electric generator catching on fire. This was not a historical building. Four parks reporting moderate damage include Brazos Bend, Village Creek, Sheldon Lake and Caddo Lake. Others with light damage are Goose Island, Mustang Island, Washington on the Brazos, Tyler, Stephen F Austin, Fairfield lake and Atlanta State Parks as well as the Fanthorp Inn.
Hurricane Ike Targets Texas, Texas State Parks Shelter Evacuees
Sunday, September 14th, 2008Texas Parks & Wildlife Department reports that more than 5,000 evacuees from Hurricane Ike have been sheltered at more than 53 different parks throughout the state of Texas. One Texas State Park in particular has hosted many more evacuees thatn the others and that is Garner State Park in North Uvalde County. Garner State Park has long been a popular summer vacation spot for South Texans so when disaster struck many naturally headed in this direction. Of the 2,000 evacuees at Garner State Park countless numbers are from the Houston and Galveston areas. According to the park officials they started showing up on Wednesday and by late Thursday were arriving in droves. Texas State Parks is extending free tent and RV or trailer camping to the evacuees many of whom were in tears as they gratefully accepted help from fellow Texans. Park personnel worked diligently to help the evacuees settle in and divert themselves if just for a short time of the storm devastated region they will soon return to. They swam and floated in 10 miles of the clear spring-fed Frio River, camped in the shady sites and on Saturday night 200-300 gathered at the park concession building to dance as the juke box cranked up for the first and only time since Labor Day Weekend. Park officials report that people began to leave late Saturday for the return home as the storm had passed through the coast. By Sunday maybe 500 or so were left. Garner State Park is named for John Nance Garner of Unvalde, known as Cactus Jack.