Ten months after the Carr Fire raged through Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, the future of the park's W.E.S. Camp is still uncertain, but educators promise fifth and sixth graders at Shasta County schools will still get to go to science immersion camp.
They just won’t likely get the overnight experience the camp afforded for half a century.
The unexpected closure of Whiskeytown Environmental School (W.E.S.) Camp after the fire damaged parts in and around the area had educators scrambling to research a viable alternative site students could visit in 2019, Shasta County Office of Education’s director of science programs Nathan Fairchild said. The final choice was Lassen Pines Christian Camp near Viola.
Renting Lassen Pines ate up the office of education’s $250,000 insurance check for the program, a “one-time deal,” so now “we’re just trying to find a way to keep the program going,” Fairchild said. “We’re not going to do a residential program next year. No overnight, no campfires.”
Still, students will continue to have their science immersion programs, he said. The short-term plan is to offer schools a menu of day-long field trips and dates from which each school can choose. Schools can send kids out several days in a row or spread field trips out during the school year.
During day trips, experts will take students into the field, Fairchild said. Possible destinations could be Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve, Lassen Park and Castle Crags State Park.
Long-term, if W.E.S. Camp can’t be restored, Fairchild said he and his department are researching alternative sites. “I have a database of over 30 different places in the county. There are two that I think would work for the outdoor school to move to,” but nothing has been nailed down, so revealing them would be premature.
Alternatively, if W.E.S. camp reopens and there’s money for upgrades, it’s an “opportunity to make the program even better,” Fairchild said.
Starting from scratch could mean rebuilding antiquated cabins — once owned and used by church groups in the 1950s, according to Whiskeytown’s superintendent Josh Hoines —and other facilities like the dining hall and bathrooms.
Watch this video from September 2018 of the historic fruit orchard being damaged in the fire.
Fairchild also hopes to see a second road out of Whiskeytown from the camp for easy access and to ensure there’s a second way out in the event of another evacuation.
Returning to Whiskeytown is the best outcome, he said. W.E.S. Camp was perfect for the annual overnight science and nature camps. “We had free use of it. It was a wonderful setup."
On July 23, 2018,the Carr Fire startednear the historicCarr PowerhouseonHighway 299 by Whiskeytown Lakewhen a trailer tire blew, the rim sparks igniting the fire in dry brush. It spread on July 26, destroying 96 percent of the park before it burned most of the town of Keswickand parts of Shasta and west Redding.
The camp’s cabins still stand, but debris flowing from the creek in the area and other damage closed the site. Heavy snow in February caused further damage.
The office of education won’t clear students to go to W.E.S. Camp until the site is safe and cleared for use, Fairchild said. There’s no guarantee when — or if — that will be. Estimations are “three to five years, to never.”
Camp's fate hingeson geology
National Park Service officials declared the W.E.S. Camp area unsafe because of debris flow from Paige Boulder Creek, not because of structure damage,Hoines said.
Park staff worked to restore much of the area over the past year, he said. “The trees that were destabilized by the snow in January, those have been removed,” but the creek “is laden with boulders.”
Right now, park staff’s priority is to get water-based recreation programs open for summer, Hoines said.
Also, before the park invests a lot of money to restore the area, they want a detailed inspection for geologic hazards, he said. “This summer we’ll have multiple visits” from inspectors. “It probably won’t be until fall that we’ll see a final report. There’s always the possibility it won’t come back (be deemed) safe.”
Taking elementary school children for an overnight trip to W.E.S. Camp is Shasta County tradition dating back about 50 years, Fairchild said. Parents and grandparents tell him how much they loved the program when they were kids, and they want their kids to get the chance to go.
Both Hoines and Fairchild expressed hope long-term alternative plans won’t be necessary.
“I do believe” W.E.S. Camp could be deemed safe,” Hoines said. If that happens, students will be welcomed back “with open arms.”
“If it’s safe, we’re ready,” Fairchild said.
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Jessica Skropanic is features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers lifestyle andentertainment stories, andweekly arts featured.a.t.e. Followher on Twitter @RS_JSkropanicand on Facebook. Join Jessica in theGet Out! Nor Calrecreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
