Busch Gardens’ Skyride reportedly damaged as weekend storm sweeps through Williamsburg

Sian Wilkerson, Daily Press
Updated ·2 min read

Around 2,500 Williamsburg-area residents lost power due to a storm that passed through the area Sunday evening.

According to Interim Williamsburg Fire Chief Larry Snyder, more than 2,500 customers were without power at the peak of the outages. The most significant damage from the storm, which hit the area around 5:30 p.m., came from several fallen trees, some of which hit power lines.

One tree reportedly hit a cable on the Skyride at Busch Gardens, according to social media accounts. Another downed a power line and caused a brush fire, damaging a footbridge at Redoubt Park.

Fire crews responded to the Williamsburg park at 12:51 a.m. and had the fire extinguished in about an hour. Due to the damage, public access to Redoubt 1 trail is closed indefinitely. The park preserves two redoubts that were built to guard Quarterpath Road during the Battle of Williamsburg in May 1862.

“Other than that, there were no injuries, no deaths,” Snyder said. “It’s lucky, and we’re glad there were no injuries.”

According to meteorologist Mike Montefusco, the National Weather Service office in Wakefield received several reports of stronger winds and damage around Virginia, including in the Colonial Triangle region and the Hampton Roads area.

“We had a cold front move through the region and we had a lot of showers and thunderstorms that moved through,” Montefusco said.

As of Monday afternoon, just 15 residents remained without power, said Snyder, with Dominion Energy onsite working to restore it.

In Colonial Williamsburg, high winds from the storm overturned several tables in Merchants Square as well as causing minor damage to fences and signage in the Historic Area. Colonial Williamsburg employees are cleaning the storm debris today, spokesperson Ellen Peltz said.

At Busch Gardens, a tree reportedly fell on a cable connected to the Skyride, according to photos posted on social media. Busch Gardens did not return messages Monday seeking information about how the park was affected by the storm.

Sian Wilkerson, sian.wilkerson@pilotonline.com, 757-342-6616