Hunting Island to refund $1 million in camping reservations
The final cost of Hurricane Matthew’s damage to Hunting Island isn’t yet known, but the state will absorb at least a million-dollar hit in the coming weeks.
The park will remain closed until at least next spring, and the oceanfront campground sites will be closed at least through next year.
Those who reserved inland campsites through May 21 will receive refunds, and all the oceanfront site reservations next year will be refunded. In all, the park will give back $1.1 million in camping fees, state parks spokeswoman Dawn Dawson-House said Thursday.
“It’s a jewel, and we’ve always known that,” Dawson-House said. “It’s like a child of ours.... It’s important we recover and restore as quickly as we can.”
Notices will go out to those with reservations Friday. The refunds could take about two weeks to process.
People who made reservations will have the chance to transfer the reservation to another state park for a 15 percent discount.
The north end of Hunting Island, including the lighthouse, could reopen to visitors sometime this spring, Dawson-House said. The nature center and part of the fishing pier reopened in October.
Park officials hope to have the inland portion of the campground open before Memorial Day weekend.
But the oceanfront sites will be closed at least until the spring of 2018. Matthew’s surge erased the dune protecting the campground, covering the sites with sand and destroying two bath houses.
Park officials are still calculating the total cost of the damage.
Hurricane Matthew caused widespread damage to the 5,000-acre park. Sand filled restroom buildings, damaging septic and electrical systems.
Trees fell on bathroom facilities and the park store.
The park could be reconfigured when visitors next see it to prevent similar damage during future natural disasters.
Camping reservations at Edisto State Park are being refunded through August 2017. The park will reopen Nov. 19.
The state still plans to demolish and remove a cottage on pilings over the water known as “Little Blue” or “The Last Cabin Standing. The demolition was expected to happen by the end of the year.
State Parks, Recreation and Tourism director Duane Parrish said last month the timeline might be delayed by the storm but that the structure will still come down. He called the cottage a navigational hazard.
Nov. 28, 2015 When "Little Blue," one of Hunting Island's last cottages, disappears, it will also mark the end of an era for Beaufort County. | READ
Oct. 21, 2016 Those who didn't evacuate for Matthew tell us about their night. | READ
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Stephen Fastenau: 843-706-8182, @IPBG_Stephen
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This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Hunting Island to refund $1 million in camping reservations."