Besides the broken tree limbs, damaged homes and vehicles, a family that is known for operating Reptile Adventure Camp on its property in Rutherglen has suffered serious losses as a result of fire amid Friday’s wind storm.
After losing power as a result of the storm and a generator not working properly, a fire lit in a wood stove resulted in smoke and flames in the garage, killing over 70 animals. They include macaws, lizards, turtles, tortoises and snakes.
Steve Featherstone, family and staff run the reptile camp that focuses on conservation efforts for the animals while providing educational opportunities at camps hosted on site and other events such as children’s birthday parties. The animals had been kept in buildings located on the Rutherglen property.
Featherstone, who was out of the country on vacation, says “the person watching over the property was asked to light a fire in the wood stove in the garage.” After tending to other matters in the house, the fire started less than 10 minutes later, say staff at the scene. Fire crews arrived Saturday and stayed through the night working to knock down the fire.
Through all of the chaos, two alligator snapping turtles and an American alligator named Mojo survived. Little Rays, a similar reptile camp where Featherstone once worked, is watching the survivors while repairs are being made. Featherstone says, “Animals that live inside the house will be used for the reptile programs and no shows will be cancelled.”
Beyond the loss of the animals, Featherstone says 20 years of work, including irreplaceable skulls and a natural history collection, a variety of equipment, and eight kayaks that were stored on the garage have been lost due to the fire.
A GoFundMe page was created to help the family with the upcoming costs. The goal was $5,000, and in one day, over $11,000 has been raised.
