Oaks Amusement Park will open Saturday, one day after an “extreme” pendulum ride at the park malfunctioned, trapping more than two dozen people upside down for about a half-hour and marring opening day festivities.
The park will open from noon to 8 p.m., but the AtmosFEAR ride, which stalled Friday afternoon at what park officials called its “apex position” with 28 belted-in riders aboard, will be closed until further notice.
Portland Fire & Rescue officials said in a news release late Friday that its high angle rope rescue team participated in an evacuation drill for the AtmosFEAR last year — and that that helped emergency crews respond safely around 3 p.m.
“This training opportunity provided a strong working relationship and background for all involved as well as established a good pre-plan,” the press release stated. “As a result, PF&R and Park staff were able to manually override the system and safely return the ride and all riders to the ground. The ride was reported to have returned to the ground about nine minutes after this manual process began.”
— Beth Slovic is a deputy editor on the public safety and breaking news team. Reach her at 503-221-8551 or bslovic@oregonian.com.
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Read More: Oaks Park to open Saturday; AtmosFEAR ride that trapped 2 dozen for 30 minutes will remain
