Zip line destroyed in 2017 fire reopens at Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center
One-by-one the brave launched themselves into the air, gliding over a large crack in the earth below.
Even Wild Wing, the Anaheim Ducks mascot, took flight.
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They were there on Friday, Feb. 1, to tryout the zip line that has been restored at the Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center with the help of a $200,000 donation from the hockey team.
Joining Wild Wing were scouts from seven local troops and their families and three members of the Power Players, the Ducks official ice sweepers.
The 2017 Canyon Fire 2 burned down the previous zip line as it scorched more than 9,200 acres of foothills in Anaheim, Orange and Tustin, including parts of the education center and surrounding Irvine Regional Park.
The rebuilt zip line now features four lines – two more than before – new take-off and landing platforms, new breaking technology and is wheelchair accessible.
“You get nervous at first, but when you start doing it over and over again, you start liking it and you want to come do it again,” said 12-year-old Caleb Vidal, a member of Boy Scout Troop 1134 in Huntington Beach.
The unveiling of the newly completed zip line represents the first phase of reconstruction of the 210-acre education center’s Adventure Hill, also home to a climbing wall and a challenge course.
Between scouts, church and school groups, the education center serves about 40,000 Orange County children annually, said Devon Dougherty, director of philanthropy for the Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the facility’s owners.
Construction of the $200,000 climbing wall, which will be 47-feet high and feature eight climbing routes with varying degrees of difficulty, is scheduled to begin in a week, Dougherty said.
Construction of the challenge course, which tasks participants with navigating a series structures – both low and high – made with ropes and poles, is expected to begin in September and cost $500,000.
The Boy Scouts hope to get sponsors and donations to fund the remaining construction, Dougherty said. “We hope the community will come forward to help us.”
Friday’s unveiling coincided with the welcoming of girls into the 108-year old organization. Members of Troop 7272 out of Rancho Santa Margarita were on hand to experience the zip line.
“It’s been a while since I’ve gone zip lining so it was nice to get out there again,” Scout Sophia Del Rosario said. “I feel like this one seems longer because it goes from up high to down low.”
Arlene Kiani, the troop’s assistant scout master who was zip lining Friday for the first time, said she found “once you get past the exhilaration of the scariness of it and you are just gliding, it feels really great.”
Dea Del Rosario, scout master for 7272, was amazed at the speed with which the zip line was rebuilt.
“It’s a service to allow these kids to really test their bravery and their courage and really learn more about themselves,” Del Rosario said. “So it is a great addition to the scouting program.”