RememberSchiff

June 6, 6:02 PM PDT One scout and two scout leaders have been released from the hospital. One scout remains hospitalized in satisfactory condition. https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/boy-scout-remains-hospitalized-after-mount-baker-rescue/281-562085823

Local LDS Scouters Tasked to Stay Fully Engaged from Moapa Valley Progress, June 6 “We have been instructed, and we are asking all of you now, to remain a fully engaged partner in the Scouting programs for the coming nineteen months,” said President Chuck Burt, a member of the LDS Logandale Stake Presidency. “We are approaching a transition period where it will be up to each of you to set the tone in your units and in the community. We hope that it will be a unified tone.” In a brief instruction session, Logandale Stake High Council member Elwin Brown, who is also the Commissioner of the BSA Anasazi District, laid out a three-point plan for the transition. His first point was a challenge to actually ramp up the Scouting programs over the next 19 months. “Don’t slack off or drop the ball,” Brown told the leaders. “Let’s don’t stop until the commitment is over.” Brown instructed Scout leaders to encourage boys to achieve their next rank advancements, attend BSA-operated camps and continue in full activity rather than allowing them to just relax from the program. Brown’s second point was for the members of the Stake to continue financial support of the Scouting program. This was specifically in regards to the annual council-wide Friends of Scouting fundraiser. “Our challenge now is to send a final message of thanks to the Boy Scouts, and to the Las Vegas Area Council, over the next 19 months,” Brown said. “Let’s make it the largest Friends of Scouting donation ever during the 2018 and 2019 years. So that, when we leave, it will be funded for as long as possible.” Brown’s third point was to address concerns that, after the shift occurs, the Boy Scout program might die out in the Moapa Valley community. “I feel like it is on my shoulders to see that it doesn’t,” Brown said. “There are too many young men who still will need to earn their Eagle or receive the other benefits from this program. I don’t want to pull the rug out from under them or deprive them of that experience.” More details at source link http://mvprogress.com/2018/06/06/local-lds-scouters-tasked-to-stay-fully-engaged/

June 5, 9:53 PDT update The boy scouts and troop leaders are now recovering from hypothermia at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center. The boys are in serious condition in Intensive Care and the two troop leaders are listed in satisfactory condition. Crews from the U.S. Border Patrol and Naval Air Station Whidbey flew in for the search. Navy Lt. Chris Pitcher calls it "one of the tougher missions I've ever had." Pitcher says, "There were multiple thunderheads and other clouds surrounding the mountain. It was a relief to see the top of the mountain and know that it wasn’t clobbered in weather. That at least gave us a chance.” While Pitcher acted as mission commander, Lt. Matt Schwab was piloting the rescue chopper. When the mountaintop cleared, they estimate there was only about a 30-minute window to pick up the stranded scouts. Both Lt. Pitcher and Lt. Schwab were Boy Scouts. Someday you too may need to be rescued by a Scout. Watch the video of Monday morning helicopter rescue on summit taken by Customs and Border Patrol aircraft circling above at story source link which describes other challenges to the rescue. https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/rescuers-describe-airlifting-boy-scouts-off-mount-baker/281-561803361

@-BoyScout- welcome to scouter.com

16 years ago. "..The June 1, 2002 staff banquet usually held on the lawn of the Villa, had to be moved inside due to lightning storms. In Ponil canyon a bolt of lightning dramatically changed everyone's summer. That lightning strike and others nearby, started what came to be known as the Ponil Complex Fire. Valiant efforts by 1,342 fire fighter personnel, 13 water dropping helicopters, 31 engines, 24 dozers, and 12 water tenders contained the fire by June 17th, but not before it encompassed 92,000 acres (143 Sq. miles). About 28,000 (42 Sq. miles) of those were part of our beloved Philmont Scout Ranch, with 14,000 acres actually burned. The fire burned in the North Country above highway 64 from the Dean Canyon area into the Valle Vidal and neighboring ranches. But none of our historic buildings were lost as the crews wrapped the buildings with a fire-resistant foil material. Philmont responded quickly, rerouting crews and modifying programs to keep the magic of the Sangre de Cristos alive for the thousands of summer campers. The fire was extinguished, but a lot of work still needed to be done to mitigate erosion, replace millions of trees, repair trails and rebuild campsites. As a result of this fire, Philmont created the PHILBREAK Program that ran from 2003 through 2009. PHILBREAK was a 8-9 hours/day for seven day program in all types of conditions. The program takes place during three separate weeks during March (College spring break). Upon arrival at Philmont, participants meet their trained staff and immediately begin project orientation. Work crews perform meaningful service projects for Philmont and build their understanding of wilderness conservation and the outdoors. Participants also have an opportunity to take a ski break at Angel Fire. Participants are required to be a registered with the Boy Scouts of America in their local council, be between the ages of 18 and 26. The Order of the Arrow usually provided a large number of the participants through its Philbreak recruiting efforts." http://www.philmontm1.com/page5.html http://philmont.wikia.com/wiki/Philbreak

I believe @qwazse first informed the forum of the link some months ago, otherwise I would have not known. Date, location, leader training background, responders , and a cross-reference to the original report(s) would be helpful. Safety information vs legal liability.

BSA has Incident Reviews. I agree those one paragraph reviews could have more details. https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/incident-report/incident-reviews/

June 4 : Searchers have found two 13-year-old Boy Scouts and two adult troop leaders who separated from the main group of 12 hikers and went missing Sunday night on 10,781-foot snow-covered Mount Baker (Washington). They spent the night in a snow cave. "Mount Baker is about 15 miles from the Canadian border, and all climbing routes up the snow-capped peak in the Cascade Mountain range are technical climbs on glaciers with varying degrees of difficulty." A Navy helicopter airlifted the four off the mountain due to hypothermia and transported to a Bellingham hospital in serious condition. Watch the video to see conditions and rescuer comments. Scout salute to rescuers, http://komonews.com/news/local/2-boy-scouts-2-adult-trooper-leaders-missing-on-mount-baker http://kgmi.com/news/007700-boy-scouts-and-leaders-rescued-at-summit-of-mount-baker/ https://www.heraldnet.com/northwest/2-boy-scouts-2-troop-leaders-rescued-from-mount-baker/

June 3 evening update. Successful burnout operations on east and south flanks along with Sunday rain helped. 23% containment. Charred acreage recalculated at 36, 083 acres. https://nmfireinfo.com

@Trail_on welcome to scouter.com.

Was the Press invited to the Annual Meeting? I have not found any independent media coverage of this event, just press releases from the BSA.

@Terasec welcome to scouter.com

"From today on we (Philmont) will be posting updates each day prior to noon at PhilmontScoutRanch.org and scouting newsroom. We will post photos periodically on the Philmont Facebook. Please look at these sites for information from us."

Santa Fe New Mexican has photo of Philmont Staff members camped at Colfax County Fairgrounds. http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/ute-park-fire-grows-to-acres-evacuations-remain-in-place/article_87507b23-5d8d-5e30-9aa5-04d6ae9c557a.html

Sunday 7:40am ET update Ute Park mandatory evacuation last night (Saturday). Fire has now covered 31,930 acres. 0% contained. "There are increasing chances of showers and thunderstorms Sunday and Sunday night. Forecasts are calling for a severe storm with large hail, high winds, heavy rain, and lightning Sunday starting at noon into Sunday evening. Flash flooding is a concern. While the increase in moisture has the potential to decrease the fire activity, outflow winds associated with thunderstorms can overcome the moisture with increased winds around the fire. Lightning also increases the risk of new fires. " https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5820/ https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/breaking-large-wildfire-in-new-mexico-prompts-park-closures-evacuations/70005103

Congratulations. Are you our first Eagle? That is, the first member to earn Eagle after joining scouter.com?

The fire, its cause still unknown, was reported around 2 p.m. Thursday (May 31) on private land in Ute Park and on the Philmont Scout Ranch. Land managers have spent the last three weeks tightening fire restrictions in hopes of preventing just such an incendiary from starting. The nearby Carson National Forest had already banned campfires. Santa Fe National Forest announced it was closing completely Friday (June 1) after campers ignored a similar campfire ban and lit up at least 84 over the Memorial Day weekend. ... Philmont Scout Ranch had already pulled all of its back country staff back into headquarters and Friday afternoon they made the decision to move all non essential personnel off the ranch to the Colfax County Fairgrounds in Springer due to air quality issues. There are about 1100 employees on the ranch at this time in preparation for the arrival of boys scout for the summer season. ... Staff from the Philmont Scout Ranch, who had evacuated earlier Thursday, were camped out in rows of tents at the Colfax County Fairgrounds. Governor Susana Martinez flew into Crews Field Friday evening and visited with a couple of evacuees at the Whittington Center before moving on to Springer where she visited with evacuees from Philmont Scout Ranch. She has pledged that all of the state resources will be available to the village of Cimarron and the surrounding area. She went on to ask that people please obey the warnings and not build campfires or cut wood with electrical saws that can cause sparks especially in light of the extremely dry conditions. Governor Martinez (5:00-5:45 in video) http://krtnradio.com/2018/06/01/ute-park-fire-friday/ https://www.taosnews.com/stories/cimarron,48673

National Weather Service forecasts rain no sooner than Sunday (tomorrow) for Cimarron, NM Sunday Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Some storms could be severe, with heavy rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Sunday Night Showers and thunderstorms likely before midnight. Some storms could be severe, with heavy rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. South wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=36.5109&lon=-104.9195

Agree with what you describe is the intended Adult Association. My observation of some existing units and a prediction of things to come is units will become an Adult or now Family Outing Club with adults running the show. Sure adults will do skill instruction, but will they allow scouts time to try and fail and learn - the benefit of scouting, when the family eats at 6 and has to be on the road by 9? My $0.02

Welcome to scouter.com @Philmontchick

Fire map Map shows the location of the Ute Park Fire at 2:23 a.m. MDT June 1, 2018. Wildfire Today. http://wildfiretoday.com/2018/06/01/ute-park-fire-spreading-very-rapidly-in-northeast-new-mexico/

Mandatory evacuations in Cimarron. The Ute Park Fire, in northern New Mexico, has grown to 16,500 acres. The fire is burning in Ute Park, just east of Eagle Nest. As of 2:30 p.m., the fire is zero percent contained. https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/fire-in-ute-mountains-forces-evacuations/4931270/

A wildfire raced across a swath of tinder-dry forest in northeastern New Mexico on Friday, destroying about a dozen empty buildings on the Boy Scouts’ storied Philmont Ranch and threatened about 150 homes, officials say. The flames were first reported Thursday and ballooned quickly in a part of New Mexico hardest hit by a severe drought gripping the American Southwest. Officials said no scouts were at the ranch and all staff members were accounted for. Employees who live in the nearby community of Cimarron were allowed to leave to care for their families. Authorities ordered residents in Cimarron and surrounding areas to evacuate Friday as the smoke drifted east. At the historic St. James Hotel in Cimarron, the phone went unanswered after the popular tourist destination had emptied out along with the rest of the town. More at source link https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/wildfire-burns-empty-boy-scouts-buildings-in-dry-new-mexico/2018/06/01/44d75000-65d5-11e8-81ca-bb14593acaa6_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9306887417d4

Maybe a separate Backpack Cooking within Cooking.

FYI, Dog Scouts of America (DSA) already exists. DSA Mission & Vision To improve the lives of dogs, their owners, and society through humane education, positive training, and community involvement. We envision a future where dogs remain in happy, lifelong homes with responsible owners. In this vision, all dogs are seen as a useful and welcome part of the community, because people take responsibility for socializing, training, containing, and caring for them. http://dogscouts.org/base/