Mataguay Fire Meets Match
Boy Scouts Show Mettle In Face Of Danger
by Jim Evans

Be Prepared" has been the Boy Scout motto since British General Sir Robert Baden-Powell founded the World Scouting Movement in 1908, but it became more than just a guiding principle for scouts at Camp Mataguay during the recent "Mataguay Fire."

Approximately 300 Boy Scouts and 50 staff members demonstrated their real preparedness when they were forced to evacuate the camp on Tuesday afternoon, July 14, as the fire closed in on their position.

Dubbed the "Mataguay Fire" by fire officials, the fire was apparently started by someone firing bottle rockets into the dry grass near Lake Henshaw earlier in the day and destroyed 8,870 acres before it was extinguished at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 19, according to CDF officials.

"We lost four outbuildings," said camp director Ron Schoenmehl, a 42-year scouting veteran, "including a latrine, a storage shed, a program shed, and a chapel structure that had been inactive for several years, but otherwise, we suffered minimal damage.

"Our business manager first saw the fire as she was leaving the camp and called back to inform us, and then one of the parents saw flames in the distance and alerted us to the situation too," Schoenmehl added. "However, we had experienced previous fire alerts in the two previous years, so we were well prepared for the situation, and everyone remained calm."

"About 1,300 firefighters... equipped with 62 engines, four air tankers, seven helicopters, a spotter plane, 10 bulldozers, and eight water trucks" were eventually on the scene to contain the fast-spreading fire (KFMB.com, July 14, 2004).

"The CDF and law enforcement officials were just great," said scout leader Mike Moore of Troop 668 from Escondido, who was attending the camp with his two sons. "And it was really something to see how our older scouts stepped up to calm some of the younger boys."

Moore was part of the lead group — consisting of five vehicles, 31 boys, three adults and 10 staff members — to first vacate the camp, led by a sheriff’s deputy.

"After we had made it out of camp, we stopped to wait for some of the other vehicles," Moore said. " As we were talking with the deputy, the wind suddenly picked up, and the fire broke out in front of us, so we jumped in our cars again and headed back to camp.

"However, the flames at the entrance to the camp forced us to turn back again, so the flames were behind us and ahead of us."

CDF personnel had cleared a path by the time Moore and his group returned to their original stopping point, and they were able to continue their safe evacuation to the parking lot at nearby Warner Springs High School to await the others. Although Moore’s oldest son was with him in the lead group, his youngest son was still in camp with the remaining scouts.

"Naturally I was concerned," Moore said, "because I couldn’t understand why the rest of the cars hadn’t followed us right away. But the deputy explained to us that the staggered exit was an intentional strategy so that the procession of vehicles would not become unwieldy, such as when we had to turn around and head back for camp. If all of the cars had exited at the same time, they would not have been able to easily turn around or change direction if necessary."

Moore’s was the only cell phone that functioned in the remote area of the camp, so he was able to communicate with his wife during the evacuation. However, "many of the parents did not find out about the imminent danger until after we had all safely evacuated," said Paul Cohen, committee chairman for Troop 288 out of Glendale.

Cohen was attending his first camp along with 36 scouts and 8 adult leaders.

"It was obviously a serious situation," he said, "but the camp staff, firefighters and law enforcement officials handled everything very calmly and professionally. We could not thank them enough."

The overall consensus of all of the camp attendees was very positive.

"I would extend my accolades to all of the CDF firefighters, camp staff, and sheriff’s deputies," Moore said. "They really knew what they were doing."

"There was absolutely no panic," added Bill Rhodes, Assistant Scoutmaster, who was attending the camp with two scouts from Troop 53 in Yuma.

"It was even more remarkable to see how all of the adult troop leaders willingly accepted direction from the young camp staff members — some as young as 14 — without any qualms whatsoever. We had complete confidence in the camp staff. They were calm and reassuring and seemed to have all of the contingencies covered."

"All the staff and the troop leaders did an outstanding job of keeping things calm," said Scoutmaster John Scarborough of Troop 308 from La Mesa, who was one of the first to return to the camp to retrieve equipment and personal gear on July 17, after the danger had passed.

"The overwhelming impression...is an incredible admiration for the job done by the CDF."

"We were pleased, too, that the CDF was able to save the Indian burial ground on the campgrounds, because it is such an important part of the camp’s history," Schoenmehl said. "They worked meticulously to save all of the crosses and other markers."

However, contrary to earlier news reports that claimed there were no homes destroyed or damaged, the local tribe did suffer the loss of approximately 600 acres on their reservation, according to Brandy Taylor, vice chair of the Santa Ysabel Tribal Council.

"Tribal members Francis Romig and Paul Gonzales both lost their homes to the fire," said Taylor, "and Harvey Leo lost a well and
his waterline."

No fatalities were reported from the fire, and displaced residents were allowed to return to their homes within hours. Many of the scouts will be returning to camp this year — all with a better understanding and appreciation for their scout training. Baden-Powell must be smiling somewhere.