My Fox LA

Los Angeles News | FOX 11 LA KTTV

It was just a couple of weeks ago, August 17th, that the wheels stopped turning on one of Southern California’s most iconic roller coasters to make way for a new wood and steel version of the famous Colossus.

It was 1:30pm … firefighters got the call… about 30 were sent out including teams from Hazmat and Urban Search and Rescue. Six Flags officials say workers from AA construction company hired by Magic Mountain were working on disassembling the ride. There was flame, a lot of smoke and, although park engineers didn’t think it was the case, firefighters were very concerned about the possibility of collapse. The center of the fire was on what’s called a lift-hill. So, they decided not to put firefighters up there until after they knew it was safe. They also fought the blaze defensively aiming streams of water to each side of the fire to keep flames from spreading while trying to knock it down.

The old roller coaster is one great big Class A combustable because… it’s all wood! Firefighters say there was every possibility of a big problem here. The good news was the park was closed making it easier for firefighters to do their job. According to LA County Fire Public Information Officer Rick Flores construction workers were on the Colossus renovating the ride making way for a new one called “Twisted Colossus” which is supposed to be a four-minute adventure on steel tracks through the wooden housing of the old ride. “Twisted Colossus” has a feature called “High Five” in which a pair of trains come close enough for riders to feel they could high five each other. The only high-fiving today is most likely from firefighters pleased they kept the fire from spreading any further. The exact cause remains under investigation.

Magic Mountain officials say today’s fire will not affect the opening of their new ride scheduled to open in 2015. The exact cause remains under investigation.