Fire damages Blue Streak roller coaster

CONNEAUT LAKE (AP) — A fire at a northwestern Pennsylvania amusement park has damaged a wooden roller coaster built more than eight decades ago.

WICU-TV says reports from Conneaut Lake Park late Tuesday afternoon indicated that a controlled burn near the carousel got out of hand. The fire spread to nearby buildings and structures, including part of the Blue Streak roller coaster, the station reported. No injuries were reported.

The coaster was built in 1937 and has been opened and closed a number of times over the years. It didn’t operate last year due to the need for a structural evaluation, officials said.

Conneaut Lake Park has operated as an amusement park since 1892, when it opened as Exposition Park, but has been closed a number of times during years of financial difficulty. The park didn’t operate in 2020 during the pandemic but reopened for a shortened season in July.