African Safari Wildlife Park looks to the future with the construction of new barn

PORT CLINTON, Ohio (WTVG) - It was Thanksgiving 2019 when a massive fire destroyed a barn and killed 10 animals at the African Safari Wildlife Park.

Yet, a new barn is under construction and giving hope for the Wildlife Park’s future.

Director of the park Kelsey Keller has been at the wildlife park for 11 years and she said she reflects on Thanksgiving 2019 often.

“It was something we wish we could rewind,” she said. “We lost a building... but we also lost 10 members of our family,” Keller added. Investigators never found what sparked the fire.

The journey to recovery hasn’t been easy for the staff.

“We didn’t break ground for over a year after that,” she explained. “Part of that was because of COVID. We had staffing challenges, supply chain challenges, and a lot of uncertainty as the world did as well,” Keller said.

Amid the uncertainty, the community poured its heart into the park, providing a donation of $4,000 from a 4th-grade class at Port Clinton Elementary School. In addition, locals provided a memorial at Meadowbrook Marsh.

Keller told 13abc that her staff was very deliberate in regard to allocating the donations.

“All of the donations that we took in, we made a very deliberate decision to donate to giraffe conservation,” Keller said.

Now the brand-new barn is paid for – with the help of insurance and the capital budget – and almost ready for its debut.

The new barn will include an in-building pressure washer system and multiple safety features.

“Each stall will have a camera, and there is a fire monitoring system that does the temperature. There are emergency backup generators to prevent power surges, the lower half of the walls are built out of concrete material, so they are nonflammable,” Keller said.

After experiencing the tragedy in 2019, the park’s staff is excited to do things differently this time.

" The building that burned was built in the 1980s, and a lot of things have changed in zoos and agriculture in general. One of the things that we really took pride in is that we’ve actually built multiple buildings. This is the animal one [building] which is the most exciting one to the public. But, we have actually built a utility storage building as well, and split up all of our stuff,” Keller said this decision ultimately makes the park better prepared for its future.

“If tragedy were to strike us again, we wouldn’t lose all of our things in one swoop. We lost every shovel and every rake, as well as animals too. Having split that [buildings] up has really given us some piece of mind,” Keller said.

The hope is to eventually have the animals inside the barn by this winter. Wildlife Park leaders hope to bring the African Safari Trail next to the barn so visitors can have a closer encounter and feed the animals who will be housed in the barn.

In the meantime, Keller said the park will continue to bring joy and a connection to the community, and the wildlife:

It’s still under construction, but a new barn at the African Safari Wildlife Park is just one of the great things that’s paving the way for future opportunities. KELSEY KELLER has been at the African Safari Wildlife Park for 11 seasons. She the Director of the park now, and when she thinks back to Thanksgiving 2019, she tells 13abc, “It was something we wish we could rewind.” FOR KELLER, November 28, 2019 IS STILL A TOUGH MEMORY. “We lost a building,” she says, “but we also lost 10 members of our family.” INVESTIGATORS NEVER FOUND WHAT SPARKED THE FIRE. BUT FROM THERE, KELLER SAYS REBUILDING WAS A CHALLENGE.

“We didn’t break ground for over a year after that,” she explains. “Part of that was because of COVID. We had staffing challenges, supply chain challenges, and a lot of uncertainty 25 as the world did as well.” SHE SAYS THE COMMUNITY POURED ITS HEART INTO THE PARK, including a donation of thousands of dollars from a fourth-grade class at Port Clinton Elementary School, plus A MEMORIAL AT MEADOWBROOK MARSH.

Keller tells 13abc, “All of the donations that we took in, we made a very deliberate decision to donate to giraffe conservation.”

NOW, the BRAND-NEW BARN, PAID FOR WITH INSURANCE AND THE CAPITAL BUDGET, IS ALMOST DONE, AND IT INCLUDES A WISHLIST FROM THE STAFF. THAT INCLUDES AN IN-BUILDING PRESSURE WASHER SYSTEM, PLUS SAFETY FEATURES. “Each stall will have a camera, and there is a fire monitoring system that does temperature. There is emergency backup generators to prevent power surges, the lower half of the walls are built out of a concrete material, so they are non-flammable.”

And Keller says leaders learned from the tragedy of 2019. “The building that burned was built in the 1980s, and a lot of things have changed in zoos and agriculture in general. One of the things that we really took pride in is that we’ve actually built multiple buildings. So this is the animal one, which is the most exciting one to the public. We have actually built a utility storage building as well, and split up all of our stuff. If tragedy were to strike us again, we wouldn’t lose all of our things in one fell swoop. We lost every shovel and every rake, as well as animals too. Having split that up has really given us some piece of mind. 55 In that we can go forward and move on from anything.”

She adds, “This building really gives us a lot of flexibility. To give them the best life we can.”

The hope is to eventually have the animals inside the barn by this winter. And then eventually, leaders hope to bring the African Safari trail right next to the barn so that visitors can come close to it, and feed the animals who will be housed here. That plan, though, is still in the works, hopefully in the next decade or so.

In the meantime, Keller says the park will continue to bring joy and a connection to the community, and the wildlife:

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