Several sea turtles were being treated for smoke inhalation Thursday after a lightning strike sparked a fire at the Sea Turtle Recovery hospital in New Jersey’s Turtle Back Zoo.
A lightning bolt hit the roof of the turtle hospital around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday, as thunderstorms raked parts of the state, Sea Turtle Recovery wrote in a Facebook post Thursday.
Alerted by zoo staff, the West Orange Fire Department was on the scene almost immediately, the hospital said.
“The sea turtles were exposed to heavy smoke, so we immediately moved them to a safe building inside the zoo for triage,” the recovery center staff said. Of special concern was a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle named Pickles, who had been hospitalized with a respiratory infection.
“During his emergency exam, his heart rate dropped dangerously low,” the staff said, though he rallied after being placed in an “emergency pool to stimulate deeper breathing.”
In total, the hospital stabilized a loggerhead, a green sea turtle and three Kemp’s ridleys, and drove them four hours to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society in Hampton Bays, N.Y., where they’ll remain until the New Jersey facility is back up and running.
“Our day has not stopped, and we have been up without rest,” Sea Turtle Recovery staff’s statement said. “The turtles are now safe, and they are being monitored closely.”
Sea Turtle Recovery is a nonprofit located within Turtle Back Zoo that rehabilitates sick and injured turtles for release into the wild. It is now seeking donations to help with the extra costs of accommodating its charges in their temporary home and repairing their facility.
“We were blessed for so many circumstances that followed this initial lightning strike,” the staff said, noting they have not had time to assess the damage. “So many things that could have gone wrong, did not. Grateful cannot express it.”