JoeBob Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 That line of storms blew through here earlier. https://www.ajc.com/news/local/breaking-deadly-incident-newton-county-boy-scouts-camp/tVwr8m3HqQE8KN7moES4DK/ Bert Adams was aggressively thinning the trees when I was last there. It's mostly towering pine trees 100's of feet tall. I can vouch for the fact that cutting 90% of the trees makes the remaining 10% of trees more susceptible to wind damage. Without the rest of the grove to dissipate some of the wind speed, the single trees get whipped around by the full force of the air. What's the solution? No trees? No shade? Dang, that's hot! Heartfelt prayers for the family of the 14 yo Texas scout and all involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashmaster Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 RIP, prayers for his family, friends, and troop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwazse Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 So sad. You can second-guess forever. Tall stands of old pine drop limbs on calm days. Thinning them is the only way to curb that. The balance between preventing one calamity while still avoiding the other remains in the hands of the Almighty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69RoadRunner Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 This is my greatest fear at the camp we attend. Rainstorms are frequent and trees come down. Just awful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awanatech Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 I was at Lawhorn Scout Base south of Atlanta this past week when we heard about this tragedy on the east side of Atlanta. We also had serveral trees down throughout camp, along with several large limbs. Fortunately, no injuries from them. Some were in campsites, but no tents damaged and no one hurt. Along with the camp maintenance staff, we did help cut down several dead trees that could be immediate threats throughout the campsites. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMSteve Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 My troop was there. There were 60-some-odd trees downed during this storm. Some trees were uprooted, but a number were sliced in two some 20-30 feet up. There were two oaks that were uprooted and fell on either side of this poor Scout's tent, but the oak standing between the other two that actually fell on the tent had been lopped off midair. For reference, it takes 94+ mph winds to shear a tree like this. It was a microburst that came almost out of nowhere, though the hard shelter alarm was sounded a few minutes before the accident. There were a lot of boys wanting to go home that day and the next couple of days, let me tell you, but aside from the affected troop most stayed and, I believe, ended up being glad they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberSchiff Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Jan 8, 2019 Update: His parents filed the wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday in State Court in Cobb County where the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America has its headquarters. Knight was crushed by a tree that fell on his tent during a thunderstorm on June 25 at Bert Adams Scout Camp. Knight and about 100 Boy Scouts from his Texas troop were camping at the 1,300-acre Covington camp, which is run by the Council.Representatives at the Council were not immediately available for comment Tuesday. more details at source https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/cobb-county/family-sues-atlanta-boy-scouts-after-son-killed-by-tree-while-camping/901143418 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sentinel947 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 (edited) It's happened at both of my council's camps in 2016 on the same night. One tent was unoccupied. The other had a Scout in it. His patrol mates jumped into action and got help, and he made it through well, and he can still walk, play sports and is involved in Scouting still. We are very fortunate and grateful. My council has since aggressively targeted dangerous trees that are near campsites for removal, but as @JoeBob stated, that can have some unintended consequences. A buddy of mine sent me a shot of the tree that landed on the unoccupied tent. I've included an article about the Scout that was struck and survived. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/06/15/boy-scout-survives-tree-fall/399519001/ Edited January 9, 2019 by Sentinel947 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwazse Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 This story was on my mind as a storm bore down on the wooded valley we were camping in one evening this fall. It didn't help that what was left of a three-year-old blowdown hung on the opposite sides of a wider portion of the valley. To lose a scout would be soul-shattering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotteg83 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 We had a tree come down this last season during a storm that destroyed a councilors cabin (small one). Luckily the camp was following the Hazard Weather procedures, and were in storm shelters (mess hall, rec hall, etc). They used this as a big learning experience as those 2 staffers were complaining the week prior that they would have rather stay in their cabin then being in the mess hall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberSchiff Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 (edited) @scotteg83 Was that Camp Hinds, Maine? Source https://www.pressherald.com/2018/08/08/tree-falls-on-unoccupied-cabin-at-scout-camp-in-raymond/ Edited January 9, 2019 by RememberSchiff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotteg83 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashmaster Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 wow. The tree looks like it exploded. I can't say I blame the parents for suing. I don't know all the details and am not interested in diving into the details here but there certainly could be negligence in forest management that led to this. But I don't know the camp, the way it was maintained, and whether or not the weather was bad enough that they should have followed weather hazards protocols. It is a very sad situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotteg83 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 4 minutes ago, mashmaster said: wow. The tree looks like it exploded. I can't say I blame the parents for suing. I don't know all the details and am not interested in diving into the details here but there certainly could be negligence in forest management that led to this. But I don't know the camp, the way it was maintained, and whether or not the weather was bad enough that they should have followed weather hazards protocols. It is a very sad situation. That tree on the cabin is a different camp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashmaster Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 3 minutes ago, scotteg83 said: That tree on the cabin is a different camp I understand that part. I was just shocked at the picture. I was commented about the fact that the family filing a law suit isn't necessarily unreasonable and that I am not an expert on the situation. I lived in the Seattle area and have seen what happens when a freak wind storm sweeps through. 100' fir trees slice through 2 story houses like a hot knife through butter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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