Sad day - Boy killed at summer camp

[LauraT7]

An 11 yr old scout was killed this week and another seriously injured when a tree fell on his tent during a violent storm at camp.

 

news article :

 

http://www.dailyherald.com/community/archive_story.asp?intID=3747033&zone=aht

 

All precautions were followed, and this was a freak accident - the tree was a live tree, not deadwood and no one could have predicted it falling - but i am sure the camp staff, troop leaders and members, and families are all having a tough time dealing with this.

 

I do not know Ricky or his troop. But my heart goes out to them - it could just have easily been one of my troop's boys - or my own son. Our troop was at this camp this summer, and it is one of the best, well-run camps I have ever seen in my 30+ yrs of scout camping. they have plans for millions of dollars in improvements (not repairs- the camp is very well maintained) and have put alot of thought into their site and program.

 

My heart just aches for the families, friends and scouts involved.

 

Ricky's funeral is today. I'm sure some heartfelt prayers for his family, and Steven's and their troop would be welcomed.

[eagle90]

Our council is adjacent to this boy's council, and our summer camp, which we just returned from last week, is about 2 hours north of Camp Napowan. I had the same reaction of sadness. I am happy to hear that the families are in no way claiming negliegence (so far) on the part of the leaders, camp, or council. I don't know how my troop or I pesonally would react to such a situation. I just hope we all never have to deal with that.

[acco40]

My heart goes out to the Amundsen family. One thing I've noticed is that the boys feel safe inside their tents as opposed to out in the open. Even though a tent really provides no structural safety, the appearance of four walls around them conveys security. They may provide shelter from the rain but little else. I know hindsight is always 20/20, but when high winds appoach, head for low ground, not your tent!

 

A similar incident happened when my older son crossed over from Wolf to Bear at our Pack's crossover. About half the pack decided to spend the night at a local county park. I knew thunderstorms were in the forcast but was not overly concerned. About five in the morning, the rain and high winds kicked in. I got my family out of the tent and into the mini-van. Later a Park Ranger came by and forced everyone to either leave the park or go to the park shelter. The storm was violent and quick. It was all over in about 30 minutes but trees and power lines were knocked down, tree limbs fell in great abundance. There were unconfirmed tornado sightings. Luckily, nobody was hurt from our group. Later that day, it was sunny and calm and crossover proceeded as usual. We were lucky.