County Scouts Unharmed as Storm Rakes Jamboree

A spectacular electrical storm with 40 m.p.h. winds blew down tents Friday and sent debris swirling through the campground of the 16th Boy Scout World Jamboree. Forty youngsters were reported injured.

Forty-eight scouts and eight adults from Orange County in California are attending the jamboree, but none of them were injured, officials in Costa Mesa, Calif. said Friday.

“We heard by telephone from one of our directors, and he said the scouts from the western region (all of California) fared very well. A lot of people got wet, but they are all warm, dry and safe now,” said Don York, director of support services for the Orange County Council of Boy Scouts of America.

“The storm was very dramatic. There was lots of hail and heavy rain, and the temperature dropped from 100 degrees down to freezing. It was very unusual for the Southern California Scouts. That had never seen that kind of weather before.”

‘Cuts and Bruises’

Most of the injuries were minor, jamboree officials said.

“They were mainly cuts and bruises from flying debris and tripping over tents in the dark,” said Jay Rossiter, spokeswoman for the jamboree, being held south of Sydney.

Rossiter said two Scouts suffered broken arms and were taken to Wollongong Hospital for treatment because the camp has no X-ray facilities.

“We were very lucky,” she said. “The kids were more concerned about their mates. The storm blew down a lot of tents, but the camp really suffered only superficial damage. It was a spectacular storm.”

Officials could not give a breakdown of nationalities for the injured.

‘Complete Havoc’

An ambulance service spokesman said: “The storm just ripped through the camp and took the tents with it.”

“There are about 7,000 tents in the park, and the storm created complete havoc,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There are tents everywhere.”

In Sydney, gale-force winds driving heavy rain ripped roofs from houses and knocked down power lines and trees.

The 10-day Jamboree, which ends Sunday, attracted 16,000 scouts from 71 countries and is the first held in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the first major event of Australia’s bicentennial.

Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, began the tradition of the Jamboree.