HOLLAND TWP. — One week after a devastating fire destroyed a petting barn and claimed the lives of some of the animals inside, Nelis' Dutch Village will reopen to the public.

"We've taken away 11 containers of debris already," said owner Joe Nelis. "Our team has basically been working nonstop since Friday, when we got the OK from the insurance company."

More:Locals rush to save animals during blazing barn fire at Nelis' Dutch Village

Everything at the southern end of the park, where the barn was located, has been "checked out" and deemed safe for Thursday's reopening.

Nelis said the historic amusement park will bring animals back in stages, beginning Friday and continuing throughout the weekend. The park will have two mini-barns for storage and feed, and one tent for animal interactions.

"We won't have the size structure we had before, so it won't be as many animals, but in general, it'll be the same experience," Nelis said. 

The chicken coop will also be repaired. Nelis said many of the park's tame chickens were outdoors at the time of the fire, and bystanders cut the wire to free them.

A group of locals rushed to the aid of animals near the barn when fire broke out shortly after midnight Thursday, June 9. One bystander, John Westra, told The Sentinel he rescued five sheep, three goats, two lambs and a llama.

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According to his son, Westra pulled onto the shoulder of U.S.-31 after seeing the fire, grabbed a bag of tools from his car and attempted to cut through the fence with wire cutters. When that failed, he used his bare hands. Other locals were in the middle of their workouts at Planet Fitness when they smelled smoke.

"We're very thankful, because it could've been so much worse," Nelis said. "There's just been a fantastic outpouring of support from the community and that's been so helpful. I'm extremely appreciative to all these folks."

Nelis and his brother, co-owner of the business, hope to rebuild.

"The tent and mini-barns are currently our plan for this season," Nelis said. "It'll take a while to get through the process with insurance, and we need to know how much money we have to work with. But, in general, I think we've decided, if we can pull it off, we want to try to restore the barn as close to the original as we can."

Learn more about attractions and hours at dutchvillage.com.

— Contact reporter Cassandra Lybrink at cassandra.lybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Instagram @BizHolland.