The fire started June 28, 2002, inside the East Fork of the Bear River Boy Scout Camp. It blackened 14,200 acres of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest and caused an estimated $150,000 in damage within the Scout camp itself, but the devastation to the Forest and surrounding area was estimated at over $14 Million.
In 2002 while I was mourning the first anniversary of the death of my son Mathew, flames forced evacuation of the Scout camp, nearby campgrounds and caused me and my family to pack up what we could and leave our mountain home. Officials were forced to close most of the north slope of the Uinta Mountains to the public.
Lawsuits were filed against the Boy Scouts of America and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2004. The state of Utah sought more than $600,000 in damages for putting out the fire that spread over state, federal and private lands. The Federal law suit saught $13 million in damages.
So why am I bringing all this up now, so many years later? Because Ray and I decided to drive up to the area where it all began and take a walk today.
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