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(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
KSL team coverage
Be Prepared: It's part of the Boy Scout motto, and it's being credited for saving dozens of young Scouts during the tornado that ripped through their camp in Iowa.
That tornado came with very little warning; Scouts say they had only two or three seconds to take cover. After talking with local Scout leaders about the weather and wilderness threats here, we learned "take cover" is one of the first things Scouts are taught everywhere.
The Iowa disaster has been felt all around the country. "It hits home because we have so many boys at our own Boy Scout camp that we're concerned about," said Steven Royster, head of the Boy Scout's Utah National Parks Council.
Matt Monroe, with the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), said, "Basically in Utah, a couple of things that we're concerned about are, obviously, severe storms like lightning, thunderstorms, other microburst type of things."
When those storms hit, Scouts here know to take cover, it's one of the basics taught in scouting around the world, says Monroe. He also says, "Well all Boy Scouts are expected to participate in first-aid training."
And before leaders take any group into Utah's wilderness, they complete hazardous-weather training. But most would admit there's some weather in which all the training in the world can't save you.
Four Scouts were killed during the tornado in Iowa, but 89 others survived. Kay Godfrey, with BSA in Utah, said, "It's wonderful to know the training that they had been given could be applied in such a fashion that saves lives."
"Well, scouting's motto is 'Be Prepared', and so we try to take a proactive stance to all of these things, whether it be weather, whether it be wildlife," Monroe said.
Bears are considered another threat. Scout leaders have worked closely with the Division of Wildlife to address that issue at Utah camp sites. "In order to bear-proof Camp Steiner, we've invested in bear-proof food lockers," Monroe said.
Monroe also says Scouts are properly oriented, depending on what camp they're visiting and the risk involved there. And though tornadoes aren't a major threat to any campsite in Utah, Scouts would be prepared if it was. "We can't out-guess Mother Nature, there's no way we can do that, but we do what we can to be prepared," he said.
On the Boy Scout Web site, there's a list of 10 different weather scenarios and the best ways to 'Be Prepared' for them. Anyone is welcome to view the site and learn what they can from it.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
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