EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH - BREC reports that attendance at its emergency camps has grown each day since flooding resulted in extended closures at area schools.

BREC says it no only provided camps in its own facilities around the parish and at the River Center shelter, but numerous partner organizations were also allowed to operate camps in BREC recreation centers to maximize the number of families that were able to served as recovery efforts begin.

13 camps were offered with more than 500 children per day attending the BREC emergency camps operated by BREC, The Boys and Girls Club, Capital Elementary School and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.

With schools reopening in East Baton Rouge and Central next week, BREC says it is ready to transition away from operating the camps to operating its Youth 360 Afterschool Program at 13 sites around the parish including a new site for teens at Palomino Park in Central.

BREC on the Geaux will end its daily visits to the River Center shelter and other emergency camps and transition back to its normal schedule of serving schools around the parish with structured recess programs.

Despite being short-staffed, BREC’s Park Operations and Capital Improvements crews say they’ve managed to inspect all 184 sites and concentrated their efforts on gutting flooded buildings and making other necessary repairs so facilities can be back up and serving the public as soon as possible.

According to BREC crews, the following flood total were as follows at the most heavily impacted facilities:

Forest Recreation Center (previously under renovation)               16”

Howell Recreation Center and Pool House                                60” to 96”

Baker Recreation Center (previously under renovation)                2”

Church Street (renovation plans previously underway)                   18”

Flannery Road                                                                              18”

Hamilton                                                                                       18”

Lovett Road (renovation plans previously underway)                      20”

Maplewood                                                                                   36”

Sharp Road                                                                                   14”

BREC also provided an update on the status of community parks:

Anna T. Jordan – Park open. Recreation Center closed for renovation

City / Brooks – Park, Tennis Center, Art Gallery, dog park and golf course are all open

Forest – Park, Tennis Center, dog park are all open but recreation center is closed for renovation

Greenwood – Park, golf course, dog park, tennis courts and Waterfront are all open

Highland Road – Park, tennis center are open but lower ballfields on west side of Highland road are closed (some flooding remains)

Howell – Entire facility – park, recreation center, pool and golf course are all closed and need extensive high voltage primary service repairs.

Independence – Park, Theatre, Botanical Garden, soccer fields, recreation center and tennis courts are all open

Jackson – Park is open but splash pad is damaged– new pump is on its way

North Sherwood Forest – Recreation center is open and while most of the park is closed for construction, front basketball courts and parking are open

Perkins Road – Entire park is open

Sandy Creek – Open (undeveloped and mostly trails)

Zachary – Entire park is open

IMPACTED SPECIAL USE FACILITIES

Airline Highway – Ballfields available but facility sustained electrical damage and buildings and air gun range are closed due to flood damage

Bluebonnet Swamp – Open

Burbank Park – Flooded but will be reopened this weekend, dog park re-opened today

Central Sports Park – Flooded but now open

Cohn Arboretum – Open

Comite and Hooper Road Bike Trails - Closed

Farr Park Equestrian Center – Open

Frenchtown Conservation Area – Closed, Education Building severely damaged

Hartley / Vey Sports Park (Oak Villa) – Open

Magnolia Cemetery – Open

Magnolia Mound Plantation – Open

Memorial Sports Complex – Open

Santa Maria Golf Course – Operating as 17-hole golf course until sometime next week

For the latest information about BREC’s operating hours, events and programs, visit brec.org and follow us at facebook.com/brecparks, twitter.com/brecparks.