L.A.'s Scouting troops lost their camp in the Palisades. Now they're working to heal the land

Elliot Copen, 17, was disquieted the Scouting America campy helium had visited dozens of times successful an undeveloped canyon of the Santa Monica Mountains would consciousness empty.

The Palisades occurrence roared down the canyon 11 months ago, destroying the historical lodge and its Hogwarts-like interior (albeit without the “flying balls,” Copen noted), a smattering of cabins and the trading station wherever Scouts would bargain candies and memorabilia. Weeks later, dense rains sent mud and debris careening into the canyon, burying sections of the campy successful feet of dirt.

Copen, an Eagle Scout with Troop 67 successful Santa Monica and a person successful the Scouts’ grant nine Order of the Arrow, had seen the videos online of what the disasters had done to the campy wherever helium had made truthful galore memories. “It was conscionable weird,” helium said. “It felt wrong.”

Cruz Vegas, 14, right, and Jules Keough, 13, with his begetter Ian Keough, each with Scouting America Troop 108, wide mudflow from the amphitheater astatine Camp Josepho.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

On Saturday, helium was 1 of astir 4 twelve Scouts, parents and determination Scouting leaders that headed to campy for the archetypal clip since the fire, picked up immoderate tools and got dirty. It was a humble and cautious start: region immoderate of the invasive taxon that were taking vantage of the unfastened ungraded and excavation retired the camp’s veterans memorial that the mudslides had partially covered.

It was besides a much-needed infinitesimal for the Scouts to mourn their loss, walk clip with their peers and springiness backmost to the onshore that has fixed them truthful much.

Camp Josepho is 1 of 3 camps Scouting America’s Western Los Angeles County Council owns and operates. While their Catalina and Sequoia sites are surely breathtaking, Josepho — which is conscionable minutes from the metropolis — was an accessible haven from the hustle and bustle of algebra tests, effort deadlines and schoolhouse drama.

Since the 1940s, the 110-acre campy has served arsenic a 2nd location successful the chaotic for thousands of Scouts. The onshore was talented by Ganna and Anatol Josepho — a soundless movie prima and the inventor of the photograph booth, respectively. Its centerpiece was a hangar-like lodge built retired of redwood by the craft shaper Donald Douglas, which is listed arsenic a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument. Over the years, the campy has hosted the Scouts’ Order of the Arrow induction ceremonies, work weekends focused connected projects similar brushwood removal and galore bully old-fashioned camping trips.

Eagle Scout Ryan Brode, 21, with Troop 50, tries to work the occurrence charred plaque that lies astatine the ft of a hiking trail.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

When Copen entered the camp, helium felt relieved. It was nary longer the fire-stricken wasteland helium saw successful the videos, but successful information rather green. Yes, immoderate of the greenish was invasive species, but immoderate was made up of autochthonal grasses and shrubby chaparral plants. Many of the towering sycamore trees and elder oaks — astir apt acold older than adjacent the big Scout leaders — inactive blot retired the midday prima with new, greenish leaves sprouting from their charred trunks.

Noah Rottner, an Eagle Scout with Troop 777 successful West Hills who is besides successful the Order of the Arrow, said helium had hoped to “help rebuild astir of the worldly that’s been burnt and get astir of the memories back.” But arsenic Rottner, 15, talked with his peers, “we were conscionable deciding, possibly we could commencement caller memories successful it, and commencement a caller journey.”

The Scouting assembly apt won’t effort to reconstruct each of the camp’s facilities. Lee Harrison, 54, main enforcement of the council, acknowledged that since the Palisades occurrence apt won’t beryllium the past to pain done the land, a smaller footprint astatine the tract is yet much sustainable.

Scouting America subordinate Nolan Ironhill, 18, spends a infinitesimal with his thoughts portion taking a breather from clearing mud from the basal of a World War II Memorial.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Copen fondly remembers a play earlier the fire, erstwhile his radical spent the full clip astatine a reasonably isolated campground connected site. They played cards, cooked by the occurrence and learned however to whittle.

“When I look backmost connected it, it brings maine joy,” Copen said. “I’ll ever look astatine the campy arsenic a precise blessed place, due to the fact that practically each my memories present are happy.”

More than 100 Scouting families mislaid their homes successful the January fires, Harrison said. Scouts from the pain areas are present scattered crossed L.A. and beyond. The fires destroyed Scouts’ uniforms and alumni’s Eagle awards. Malibu’s Cub Scout Pack 224 mislaid its pinewood derby way — the investigating grounds for a highly anticipated yearly Scouting tradition.

But successful an enactment built connected work and assemblage engagement, 2nd quality rapidly kicked in.

“Leadership, citizenship — that is built into the operation of the program,” Harrison said. “Even the Scouts that mislaid beauteous overmuch everything, galore of them went retired and helped different families.”

The Scouting assembly replaced each of its members’ mislaid uniforms and awards and dished retired acquisition cards to wage for caller camping equipment. It besides hosted a Catalina travel for those who mislaid their homes to assistance families instrumentality a enactment and acquisition a fewer days of normalcy. One unit that was importantly affected by the occurrence provided counselors to assistance kids enactment done the trauma. Culver City’s Cub Scout Pack 18 hosted a pinewood derby store for the Malibu battalion and brought its brand-new way retired to a Malibu simple schoolhouse truthful the Scouts successful that country could inactive acquisition the competition.

Aaron Kupferman, seat of Natural Resources with Camp Joseph Task Force, stands connected factual steps adjacent to occurrence ravaged conifer trees. The steps, which led to cabins astatine the camp, were the lone happening that remained.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

One Scout utilized her Eagle Scout work task to make ash sifters, which the Scouts donated to occurrence stations successful the Palisades and Altadena to assistance homeowners find valuables successful the rubble. Others assembled attraction packages for families who mislaid their homes.

At lunchtime, Copen admired the enactment his radical had accomplished. Large piles of ripped-out invasive plants dotted the campground; the sunlight yet deed the memorial’s foundation, which the adults determination noted they hadn’t seen successful decades.

“The Scouting programme and this campy makes a quality successful truthful galore people’s lives,” Copen said, with ungraded smeared connected his face.

“We mightiness not person the carnal structure, but this is inactive that camp,” Copen added. As acold arsenic he’s concerned, “that bequest is going to support moving forward.”