KUSA — Sixteen people were reported injured by falling hail at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs Monday afternoon, the Fire Department there said.
Five people had to be taken to nearby hospitals and 11 others were treated and released, according to a spokesperson for the Colorado Springs Fire Department. A duck and a vulture were killed at the zoo by the hail storm.
Photos: Softball-sized hail pummels Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
None of the 3,400 people who were at the zoo on Monday when the storm hit were allowed to drive their cars and were instead bused to nearby Cheyenne Mountain High School to a Red Cross Evacuation Center.
According to a spokesperson for the zoo, about 300 cars are not driveable due to the hail that fell - some reaching up to 4 inches in diameter (about the size of a softball).
Guests at the zoo mainly took shelter on their own under whatever was nearby, the spokesperson said.
While a pair of animals are confirmed dead, the zoo is still checking the other animals in its exhibits for potential injuries as of Monday evening. Staff there acted quickly to shelter and protect as many animals as they could.
Several children who were attending the zoo camp on Monday weren't hurt, according to a tweet from the Fire Department. The children were taken to the evacuation center at 1200 Cresta Road. The Red Cross asked that anyone coming to pick up the many zoo patrons head there and not to the zoo.
A zoo spokesperson said the zoo sustained severe infrastructure damage due to the storm and will be closed on Tuesday. At this point, it's not immediately clear if the zoo will be able to reopen on Wednesday.
Quite a few skylight and windows in many buildings were destroyed.
Buses were taking people from the zoo to the high school and as of 5:45 p.m. about three busloads of people remained at the zoo waiting for evacuation.
