|
|
|
|
|
Scouts at Raven Knob during tornado Monday
by Jule Hubbard
Two Boy Scout troops from Wilkes County weren't among parts of Camp Raven Knob in northwestern Surry County that received the most damage from a tornado that touched down just north of the camp Monday night.
Leaders of Troops 336 and 340 said a few trees and limbs fell near their campsites. Roaring River United Methodist Church sponsors Troop 340 and North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church sponsors Troop 336.
There were close calls but no injuries elsewhere in Camp Raven Knob during the storm.
In the campsite occupied by Troop 752 from Ladson, S.C. (near Charleston), a large sourwood tree limb fell and went through a tent flap less than five minutes after two young Boy Scouts left the tent to play cards with other Scouts in an adjacent tent.
Robin Pittman, a Troop 752 leader, said the limbs landed on one of two bunk beds in the tent. She said some of the tents were blown over. Troop members gathered beneath a white tarp and realized after it passed that other trees fell on the road and elsewhere on edges of their campsite.
Camp Director Keith Bobbitt said that by the time camp staff realized the storm's severity, it was safest to wait until the storm passed to begin checking campsites for damage and moving people with rain-soaked beds.
He said about a dozen tents, all made of heavy canvas and large enough for people to stand in, collapsed. About 2 inches of rain, along with hail, fell from about 9:30 to 11 p.m. Electricity was off for four to five hours. Roads in the camp were covered in trees.
Bobbitt said camp staff transported about 100 Scouts and leaders, including members of Troop 752, to a large camp building for shelter later Monday night. They were provided dry places to sleep at camp that night.
The next day, camp staff collected wet sheets and sleeping bags and had them cleaned and dried at a commercial cleaners in Mount Airy.
Bobbitt said the camp has well established plans for responding to situations like the one Monday night. He praised adult leaders and youths for how well they responded and cooperated.
Except for a few adjustments, camp activities resumed on a normal schedule Tuesday. Cleanup continued through the week.
National Weather Service personnel from Blacksburg, Va., visited the area this week and determined that a tornado touched down just north of the intersection of Susan Lane and N.C. 89 at 9:38 p.m. Monday and tracked south for about 1.5 miles before lifting just north of Camp Raven Knob at 9:43 p.m.
With a path about 100 yards wide and winds about 80 mile mph, it was described by a National Weather Service meteorologist as a weak tornado.
|
|
|
|
|
