Mountain Creek fire tears through High Anxiety ride days before opening

NEW JERSEY - An investigation was underway into the cause of a fire that damaged a water slide at an amusement park in Vernon, New Jersey.

Fire engulfed the High Anxiety raft water slide Tuesday around 7:30 p.m. The ride was slated to open along with the park, located off Route 94, on Saturday.

Video shows flames and smoke rising from the ride. No one was injured.

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"We can confirm that there was a fire at our water park today that affected our High Anxiety attraction. First and foremost, we are thankful that the park was closed and there were no reported injuries,"  Mountain Creek Spokesperson Brian Lowe said in a statement.  "We are grateful to the Vernon and other local responding volunteer fire and EMS departments as well as the Vernon Police, who responded within minutes to help extinguish the fire.  While we are certainly disappointed that we won’t have High Anxiety available for the foreseeable future, we know that our resilient team is ready to welcome guests back this weekend for our season-opening as planned this Saturday, June 19th."

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High Anxiety has been open at the park for about 13 years and propels riders on a raft through a dark tunnel before they drop 45 degrees into a funnel, according to the Mountain Creek website.

The park's other rides were expected to be opened for the new season.

Mountain Creek is located about an hour from New York City.  The sprawling site offers skiing and tubing in the winter and a water park and downhill mountain biking and other activities in the summer.