These Brave Scouts Stopped a Wildfire
A wildfire might not be a normal part of a hiking experience, but every year, thousands of Scouts go hiking, and, while they don’t always know what they’ll encounter on those hikes, a good Scout knows it’s important to be prepared.
Scouts talk about stopping a wildfire while on a hike (photo: NBC KING 5 News)
Such was the case for several Scouts from the Boy Scouts of America Chief Seattle Council. They were on a multi-day hike through the Central Cascades when they came upon a wildfire. When the Scouts saw the wildfire, the flames were small, but they were beginning to spread and had an ample fuel source of dried brush and wood nearby.
The Scouts knew that, in this remote area, if they didn’t act quickly and carefully, the wildfire could spread and damage a much larger area.
“The fire was very close to a heavily treed area with a lot of flammable material,” said one of the Scout’s fathers who was on the hiking trip. “If they would not have found this when they did, it could have been much worse.”
The Scouts grabbed items from their packs that would hold water, and they started a bucket brigade to carefully transfer water from a nearby stream to help put out the fire.
“Plan for the worst; hope for the best,” said Jesse F., the Scout troop’s historian. “The Scout’s motto is: be prepared. Luckily we had lots of pots.”
It took the Scouts and their leaders nearly two hours of steady water to extinguish the flames. As they did so, one of the leaders from the group used a satellite phone to call for additional assistance from forest rangers.
Two firefighters hiked into the forest the following day to help ensure that the wildfire was completely extinguished and had not spread.
To learn more about how these Scouts acted bravely to help prevent a fire from burning more of the forest, be sure to see the full story from NBC KING 5 News.
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