NAPLES, Italy — Most of the recreational facility at Carney Park has been reopened to visitors after violent wind storms Dec. 26 toppled trees, uprooted fences and tore roofing off some facilities.
The trails, cabins, dog park and other recreational facilities typically open this time of year were available to patrons three days later. The park’s nine-hole golf course opened the following day.
The storm ripped siding and blew off some roofing off the shared Crater Cantina and the Navy Exchange mini-mart facility. No one was inside the building at the time of the storm. The building is open only during the park’s peak season, which runs May through September, said park director Patrick Keaveny.
The facility should be repaired in time to open for the summer, he said.
About 11,000 people typically visit the park in December, about one-quarter of the park’s visitors during its peak season, he said.
On the football field, a “2,000-pound bleacher was picked up and moved about 20 feet,” he said. “That gives you an idea of how strong the winds were. We don’t know if it was a little tornado that picked up and moved it or if the winds blew it.”
Some of the camping cabins also lost roofing, as did the main administrative office building, he said.
About 25 employees were sent home Dec. 27 after the storm for safety concerns because officials didn’t know if any weakened trees might fall, he said.
After public works surveyed the park, the employees were allowed to return.
It’s too early for Morale Welfare and Recreation officials to provide a cost estimate of damage and repairs, Keaveny said.
