Harker Heights skating rink considered total loss after fire breaks out

HARKER HEIGHTS, Texas (KWTX) - A staple of the Harker Heights community is now considered a total loss after catching fire Thursday afternoon.

Fire crews responded to a fire at the Texas Skateland skating rink in the 200 block of Cox Drive in Harker Heights.

After putting out the fire, the building has been deemed a total loss.

The skating rink has been around since the 1960s and has been in the Morken family since 1981.

One member of the Morken family, Steven Morken, lives in an apartment attached to the business and as he was getting ready to leave noticed the fire.

“I was coming up front when I heard this loud popping noise and I turned around and saw a big fire,” Steven said. “It was bright orange.”

Steven’s sister, Natalie, has helped her parents make the skating rink a home for everyone, even making major life changes to help keep the legacy going.

“I was in education for 18 years and I left my job at KISD to come run the skating rink with my brother,” Natalie said.

Steven says the skating rink has been paid off for years and they have been putting every dollar into making the place better.

“We’ve been doing a ton of new work inside,” Steven said. “Got all new skates a couple of years ago, new air conditioning.”

The family says this is one of their strongest years yet and they plan to keep that strength by continuing the legacy for years to come.

“Our business will always keep going. We’re not quitters, we’re not going to give up.”

The skating rink was closed Thursday because of the Fourth of July holiday.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.

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