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LOS ANGELES: Fire destroys 15 buildings at diocese's Camp Stevens
The fire, which may have been caused by trespassers who lighted an illegal campfire, burned about a third of the 260-acre property of oak and pine forest located near the former gold mining town of Julian in the mountains northeast of San Diego.
No one was hurt in the blaze, which destroyed a retreat house, two guest cabins, a pump house, the camp's chapel, and most of the A-frame cabins and a bathroom used by summer campers.
Electrical power and water have been restored at the camp, but telephone and internet service are still out. The property was insured, and officials will make assessments of the damage in the next few days.
Much of a meadow in the central area of the camp was burned, but associate camp director John Horton says the staff expects that area to regenerate quickly.
The camp's dining hall -- built in the 1960s and dedicated to the memory of entertainer and prominent local Episcopalian Nat King Cole -- and a conference center building and all staff housing, including several newly completed structures, are all undamaged, according to the camp's executive director, Canon Peter Bergstrom. Much of the forest undergrowth of manzanita and other low shrubs has burned, but the older oak trees will probably survive.
Firefighters believe that the blaze was started by young people from the Julian area who were trespassing on camp property and started an illegal fire.
Groups that have reservations at Camp Stevens in coming weeks will be contacted in coming days by camp staff, who will discuss alternatives. "The camp will be functional," said Horton, "but we'll have to make some adjustments." He says that the staff expects that next summer's youth camps will proceed as usual, because the burned A-frames were simple structures without plumbing or electricity, and can be replaced quickly.
In response to those who have offered help in cleaning up the property, Bergstrom and Horton said that the staff will need to plan such operations for best efficiency, and that they will make information available about post-fire work days as soon as possible. Access to the area is restricted until fire crews and investigators finish their work.
Contributions to a rebuilding fund for the camp may be made payable to Treasurer of the diocese and noted "Camp Stevens Fire Recovery" and mailed to: Treasurer of the Diocese, Cathedral Center of St. Paul, P.O. Box 512164, Los Angeles, CA 90051.
Camp Stevens was founded in 1952 by the late Rev. Paul Lax and the late Rev. C. Boone Sadler as a facility of the Diocese of Los Angeles, which at that time covered the entire Southern California area. Since the formation of the Diocese of San Diego in 1976, the camp has continued to be a shared ministry of the two dioceses. In addition to its extensive summer camp program for young people and year-round retreats and camps for church and non-church groups, Camp Stevens is known as a center for ecological stewardship and "green" practices, and serves as the "Stewardship of All Creation" center for the Diocese of Los Angeles. Camp Stevens is accredited by the American Camping Association, and is a member of Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers.
The camp website at www.campstevens.org will be updated with photos and further information in coming days.
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