Scout Motto: Be Prepared. Oregon's reaction: Thank you!
Boy Scouts put out a wildfire started by an abandoned campfire in the Waldo Lake Wilderness this past weekend. "They carried water with pails from a nearby lake and worked the incident for over an hour," the Willamette National Forest said on Facebook. "This is an example of a fire that was stopped before becoming a bigger incident." (USDAFS)
WALDO LAKE, Ore. - "Be Prepared" is the Scout Motto.
"Thank you!" is Oregon's response.
"We would like to publicly thank and recognize Boy Scout Troop 50 from Stayton/Sublimity, Oregon that discovered and put out an abandoned campfire that was on its way to becoming a wildfire near Moolack Lake within the Willamette National Forest," the Oregon Department of Forestry said Tuesday.
The Scouts from Troop 50 were on a 3-day, 25 mile backpacking trip - the first backpacking trip with the Troop for the group of 6 scouts.
On the second day of their trip, the group headed to Moolack Lake to fish.
One of the adult leaders scrambled down from the trail to the lake to scout for a spot to fish.
The Scouts took action.
When one of the adults in the group got down to the lake he noticed an escaped campfire creeping along the ground. He went back up to the trail and got 4 of the scouts and 2 more adults.
They grabbed their water bottles, bear box and small hand shovels to start back down the slope to the fire. Two other scouts stayed at the trail to be lookouts and watch the backpacks.
Once they all got to the fire they started a bucket brigade shuttling water to the fire. They poured about 150 to 200 gallons of water on the fire that had grown to about 200 square feet in size.
The fire had been burning in a root system, some brush and a stump beneath a log. The scouts scratched in a small line around the fire, stirred up the areas where they poured the water and made sure it was cold. They said they worked at least 2 hours on the fire.
Great Job! Also a great reminder to follow fire season rules and regulations, including keeping campfires in approved campgrounds and fully putting them out when finished.
When possible, people should report forest fires from a safe distance to 911.
But it's not unheard of for groups to encounter small wildfires - and keep them that way.
In 2014, members of two snowmobile clubs were performing trail maintenance and picking up trash near Timpanogas Campground when they witnessed a lightning strike spark a fire. The group took action to stop the blaze.