50-Foot Gorilla Statue Worth $10,000 Burns

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A fire visible from a mile away consumed a massive gorilla statue at the entrance to the Wild Water Rapids Water Park Tuesday, authorities said.

“It burned and blacked his face, hands and hair,” Fire Department Capt. Michael Brown said. “I’ve said ‘house fire,’ ‘structure fire’ and ‘car fire.’ But this call was a new one: ‘Fully involved gorilla.’

“It was like a 50-foot guy totally engulfed in flame,” Brown said. “It took us about 15 minutes to put it out, and it smoked another couple hours.” He estimated that the 4,200-pound statue, with a steel frame, Styrofoam body and fiberglass covering, was worth $10,000.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.