Current event: Swedish County Rejects Building Permits for Roller Coaster

Last April, a Swedish wildlife park known as Kolmårdens djurpark announced plans for a new thrill ride. This roller coaster, known as Wildfire, was to be built by Rocky Mountain Construction, a new player in wooden roller coaster design. Wildfire appeared to be not only the ride of 2016, but the ride of the decade. The coaster boasted a lift height of 187 feet and an 83 degree drop off the side of a cliff. Another highlight of the ride is its three inversions – a Rocky Mountain Construction niche. More information, statistics, and  can be found on Roller Coaster Database: http://rcdb.com/12032.htm#

Wildfire is set in a beautiful area of Sweden (let’s be honest, all of Sweden is gorgeous, right?) Photo credit: Kolmarden, hosted on RCDB

On February 26th, 2015, the Östergötland County Administrative Board overrode approval of the building permits granted by the Municipality of Norrköping. The board cited the lack of a detailed plan from the park. Appeals made by numerous local individuals and businesses stated concern over the ride’s proximity to the habitats in the zoo as well as its proximity to a nature reserve. Many feel that the ride would threaten the natural beauty and wildlife in the area. The original report can be found here: http://www.lansstyrelsen.se/ostergotland/Sv/nyheter/2015/Pages/bygglov-for-berg–och-dalbana-upphavs.aspx

A translation of the above report can be found here: http://forums.coasterforce.com/viewtopic.php?p=921719#p921719

The ride features an 83 degree drop off the side of the cliff, three inversions, and a mess of twisted, low to the ground track packaged into nearly 4,300 feet of track. Photo credit: Kolmarden, hosted by RCDB

If Wildfire ultimately receives approvals in a higher government, it will surely be a hit. Rocky Mountain Coasters has five operating wooden roller coasters – the three that have operated for more than one year have ranked highly on multiple ranking polls due to their special track design (allowing for more extreme maneuvers) and their technologically advanced rolling stock. Their two coasters that opened this past year will surely rank similarly to their other rides when poll results start coming out in a few weeks. Wildfire takes the best aspects from all of Rocky Mountain Construction’s current rides and combines them into one cliff-side roller coaster. The ride is significantly longer than its predecessors and features more elements. Wildfire could very well be considered the greatest roller coaster ever built if the government allows its construction.