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Colorado Springs Police and the Fire Department rushed to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to help people with serious injuries at the facility from a major hail storm around 3 p.m. The fire department says five people were taken to the hospital by ambulance while 11 others were treated on scene and released.

The zoo is currently closed and will remain closed for a damage assessment Tuesday. Unfortunately, a 4-year-old muscovy duck named Daisy and a 13-year-old cape vulture Motswari were killed by the hailstones.

People at the zoo were told to stay in place as emergency personnel made arrangements for evacuations to Cheyenne Mountain High School for reunification efforts for families and large groups.

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Power outage map after huge hailstorm in Colorado Springs area on August 6, 2018. via Twitter
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A total of seven busloads of people were shuttled from the area to the high school. Evacuation efforts will last until about 6 p.m.

There were 3,400 people in the zoo at the time and almost 400 cars in the parking lot experienced extensive damage. No one was allowed to drive their cars out of the parking lots due to safety concerns.

Authorities reopened the road leading up to the zoo so that guests can assess the damage to their cars or to tow them away. Zoo security staff and Colorado Springs Police will monitor the parking lot overnight Monday.

There's no answer on what the plans are to allow people to return to get their vehicles following the evacuation.

Additional media source: Strange Sounds



colorado hail august 2018