CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Reconstruction has begun at the Metro Richmond Zoo in Chesterfield for buildings that were destroyed by a large fire in June.
On Thursday, June 29, a crew began laying cinder blocks for the exterior walls for a new workshop and zookeeper service area, according to a post on the zoo’s Facebook page.
At around 10 p.m. on Sunday, June 4, Chesterfield Fire and EMS crews responded to the zoo, located on Beaver Bridge Road in the Skinquarter area of Chesterfield County, for a report of a fire.
When they got there, the crews found several buildings on fire. It was later detemined that the fire began in the zoo’s workshop and spread to the animal hospital, feed storage room and zookeeper service area, also damaging part of the fence surrounding the zoo’s kangaroo enclosure.
One animal, a meerkat who was receiving care in the animal hospital, was killed during the fire.
After the fire, more than 150 volunteers showed up to the zoo to help sort through the rubble, shovel debris, scrub soot and move equipment.
The zoo is open with regular hours as the destroyed buildings continue to be rebuilt. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
