Fire damages Graceada Park play structure

Fire damaged part of the children’s playground at Graceada Park early Monday, but most of it remains in use.

Young families arrived to find yellow caution tape around the damaged portion, which was designed for smaller children. The flames melted a plastic canopy atop a slide. They ruined another slide with roller bars that provided a bumpy ride.

The equipment will be replaced, but the cost is not yet known, city spokeswoman Amy Vickery said.

The fire was reported at 12:12 a.m. and quickly contained, spokeswoman Jessica Smart with the Modesto Fire Department said. The cause remains under investigation.

Crissy Kelly of Modesto brought her son, Jonathan, and daughter, Leah, to the park at mid-morning, unaware of what had happened.

“We just came to play and we noticed the tape up here and that it was burned down,” she said. “We enjoy this park very much and we hope that it gets repaired soon.”

The playground was installed in 1999 as part of a $350,000 renovation of Graceada, which dates to 1907 and is the jewel of the city park system. The structures draw a steady stream of neighborhood children, as well as families that drive from across town.

Graceada also has a number of homeless people, some of them drawing complaints about substance abuse, trash and other problems.

News of the fire lit up the Modesto Bee’s Facebook page.

“Horrible!” Elizabeth Hernandez commented. “This is my daughter’s favorite park.”

Phil Gwin posted, “Used to take the kids there when they were little. Shame to see this.”

City workers taped off the damaged area in the morning and started dismantling the burned equipment in the afternoon. The still-open, much taller portion includes slides, monkey bars, swings and other attractions for older kids.

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Fire damages Graceada Park play structure."