PHOENIX — One of the Valley’s most beloved holiday traditions is back. ZooLights returned to the Phoenix Zoo on Wednesday night, just weeks after a destructive microburst threatened to derail preparations.

The zoo typically has its displays ready by Halloween, but October’s severe storm set the team back nearly two weeks — even knocking down a 50-foot floating Christmas tree. After weeks of repairs, visitors said they couldn’t tell anything had ever been damaged.

“That’s amazing that they did this. They did a fantastic job," said Nancy Cooper, a visitor from out of town, when she heard about what the area looked like just weeks prior.

“They did an incredible job getting it back up and looking like there wasn’t even a storm here," said Gilbert resident Eric Gravbrot.

Hundreds of famil

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