Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Supported by

Historic Camp Lodge Among Devastation In Nevada Wildfire

ELKO, NV (AP) — Firefighters battled a wildfire Tuesday that destroyed a 79-year-old camp lodge and devastated thousands of acres of wilderness in a glacially-carved canyon in one of the most popular recreation areas in northeast Nevada.

 

More than 300 crew members and 11 aircraft were on the fire lines about 30 miles southeast of Elko and 100 miles west of the Utah line.

Sponsor Message

 

The fire broke out Sunday near a private shooting range in Spring Creek. The official cause remains under investigation.

 

Eight campers and a deputy were trapped at the top of Lamoille Canyon Sunday night before authorities escorted them to safety down a mountain road with flames burning on both sides.

 

Sponsor Message

As of Tuesday morning, the fire had burned about 13 square miles in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and is estimated to be 10 percent contained, Forest Service officials said.

 

Forest Service spokeswoman Erica Hupp said there are no reports of homes destroyed but several structures have been lost. That includes the Lions Club's Camp Lamoille, which the Boy Scouts of America first built as Whipple Lodge in 1939.

 

A lack of cell coverage has slowed efforts to determine the extent of structure damage.

Sponsor Message

 

Mountain peaks topping 11,000 feet surround Lamoille Canyon, known for its wildflowers, wildlife and scenic views in the Ruby Mountains known as Nevada's Swiss Alps.

 

Thousands of acres of aspen, juniper and mountain mahogany burned along with brush and grass on both sides of the scenic byway.

 

"Most everything is blackened now," nearby resident Susie Sandoz told the Elko Daily Free Press.

 

Regina Hopkins, a waitress at O'Carroll's Restaurant in Lamoille, said locals crowded in to get updates on the fire.

 

"It's been talked about all morning," she said. "Everyone is devastated."

Chuck Stout, Lions Club chairman for Camp Lamoille, was on his way Sunday to winterize the facilities when he heard the fire had started. He

said little remains of the facility.

 

"The historic lodge is completely gone," he said. "It was really the heart of the camp."