Crews look for loose rock at attraction

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) - A rockslide closed down the Cave of the Winds attraction at Niagara Falls over the weekend. Monday, crews are back at the site to check for any more loose rock that could be at risk of falling.

The rocks are the size of basketballs and one, 20 inches in diameter, caused some minor damage on the decking at the Cave of the Winds. It was enough to close down the tourist attraction for the season and call in some help.

Monday morning, scalers were heading down to the side of the falls looking for loose rock. Friday night, loose rock fell onto the deck, breaking through a part of the railing, enough to shut down operations. The Cave of the Winds was originally supposed to close down this Wednesday.

Park officials say it was important to have the scalers go in and check for loose rock now, because Cave of the Wind employees will have to remove all the decking, which is part of closing down the attraction for the winter. They say if they waited until the spring for routine maintenance, it could have been a safety risk for those employees.

Park Director Tom Watt said, “There's one area that is suspect where there is an outcropping next to the spot we believe caused the rock slide over the weekend and we want them to take a close look at that to make sure it's not going to break off."

Washington State Resident Dustin Kapalo said, ‘We came out of the way to hit Niagara Falls and the lady at the motel told us to come to the Cave of the Winds, and then as we came up here we saw erosion or rock caused it to be shut down early. It was depressing but we are going to try and go around to horseshoe bend, to try and check it out.”

If you have a Discovery Pass, you will still be able to use it for the other attractions. You will be able to get a refund for the Cave of the Winds portion.