More than 200 campers, mostly Scouts, evacuated

Eric Leake

Friday, June 24, 2005 | 11:02 a.m.

As he looked to the sky above Camp Potosi, Boy Scout Steven Heimark knew Thursday's fire alarm was not a drill.

"The sky was bright orange. It was pretty hard to see anything too far from you. The smoke was getting heavy in some parts of camp," 16-year-old Heimark said.

"You could smell it. It kind of smelled like a very large campfire."

The Goodsprings fire forced the evacuation of more than 200 campers, Boy Scouts and others from two youth camps in the juniper and pinyon forests below Mount Potosi Thursday.

All campers were reported safely evacuated.

Frank Hutchings, director of Boy Scout support services, said he noticed a little smoke over the mountain Thursday morning at camp. Then, around 12:45, the call came to evacuate.

"Being prudent as we need to be, we put our emergency plan in effect," Hutchings said.

He said 172 Scouts and 85 Scout leaders and staff left the camp without problem. By 4:30 p.m., all had returned home safely or were en route.

Only the camp ranger, who was also part of the local volunteer fire department, remained, Hutchings said.

Heimark, who is a Life Scout, said the Scouts regularly practice emergency drills at the camp and left according to plan.

"Some of the younger Scouts were frightened," he said. "Overall it was a calm situation."

The camp entrance is about 1.5 miles south of State Route 160 just before Mountain Springs. Hutchings said he knew of no previous instances of evacuation.

He described Camp Potosi -- part of the 1,120-acre Kimball Scout Reservation -- as vital to local Scouting programs.

"It's very important," Hutchings said. "It's also the camp that's most used. Almost every weekend people are there."

Among those reported evacuated Thursday were 10 members of a Boy Scout troup from Twentynine Palms, Calif. Hutchings said they were provided rooms at the San Remo.

The fire threat also brought an abrupt end to activities at the Potosi Pines United Methodist Camp.

Phyllis Murray, the camp site director, said 39 children, from first through sixth grade, arrived at camp Thursday morning only to be forced to leave later in the day.

The evacuation was handled smoothly and the children did not appear to be frightened, Murray said.

"They were more sorry that we ended camp than they were scared," Murray said.

Murray said smoke, but no fire, was visible as people left camp. She said ash had begun to fall.

"Everybody got off the mountain safely and we're thankful for that," Murray said. "We're now hopeful and looking forward to returning to camp."

The Potosi Pines camp neighbors the Boy Scout camp near Mountain Springs. Murray said that in 11 years at the camp she has never had to evacuate.

The camp conducts programs for local schools, churches, and nonprofits. Among the campers evacuated Thursday were some on scholarship with the annual Las Vegas Sun Camp Fund.

Murray said the campers would have stayed through the weekend for an arts and science camp.