Storm of ‘disbelief’
The local police chief said that this event has generated as much public interest as a hurricane. In a city ravaged by Rita in 2005, that is immense concern.
The concern built from residents’ strong ties to the park. Thousands of Lake Charles citizens hammered and sawed the Millennium Park into reality in 2000. Since that time many more have spent hours climbing the network of towers, flying the plane, sailing the seas, and swinging to the sky on the park’s imaginative “Shiver me Timbers” equipment. Once the January 9 fire that destroyed half the park was ruled arson, emotions swelled to hurricane strength proportions.
As part of our coverage, I spent several hours talking with residents as the visited the park to see the damage first hand. We ran the full responses as a special “On the Street” section and I created a montage of reactions highlighting the most voiced reactions of park visitors.
