Abandoned Manitoba water park nears end of the ride

A Manitoba fire chief is hoping an abandoned water park that's been at the centre of safety concerns will be demolished before winter.

• ​Wet 'n Wild waterpark should be demolished: mayor
• Manitoba fire chief wants abandoned water slides demolished​

A backhoe has been at the old Skinners Wet 'n Wild water park in Lockport, Man. in recent days and while seven storeys of water slides are still standing untouched, Ken Peacock, the fire chief for St. Andrews, hopes they'll be taken down before snow arrives.

"There's a lot of kids going in there and they're partying in there," Peacock said Sunday evening.

The once popular family attraction has been sitting empty since 2005 and has been a hotspot for teens who like to frequent the abandoned site, which used to have a maze of twists and turns, pools, bumper boats and miniature golf.

On Sunday, shortly after speaking with a CBC reporter, Peacock paid the site a visit and found a family and kids at the site. One girl was on top of the slides taking photos.

Peacock worries about the stability of the structure.

Bittersweet to see them go

"How strong is everything that's sitting there still? All the fibre glass tubing, the stairs everything that people are walking on."

A fire at the old water park sparked safety concerns in June after someone lit a gazebo on fire at the site. The site is owned by four developers with Santa Fe Developments.

CBC has made requests for information about the future of the slides in recent days. Santa Fe Developments hasn't yet responded.

 Peacock said while he'll be happy to see the slides finally taken down, it'll be bittersweet.

"I remember going there as a kid. Going down the slides having a blast on the weekend."