Severe Storm Interrupts International Pathfinder Camporee
August 7, 2024 | News
GILLETTE, Wyoming (Aug. 7, 2024)—The first day of the International Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming, started off hot, dry, sunny, and windy. By evening, a more alarming scene was playing out in the skies above as a severe thunderstorm threatened the safety of nearly 60,000 people camping on-site at CAM-PLEX. Not long after Camporee and county officials decided to cancel the highly-anticipated inaugural evening program, campers were directed to find “hard shelter” after the National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the county.
Wyoming’s notoriously unpredictable weather imposed wind gusts of at least 44 mph (up to 70 mph, according to some reports), heavy downpours, claps of thunder, and multiple lightning strikes upon the Adventist youth gathering. Thousands evacuated into the few large buildings. Multiple people described the scene inside as loud and chaotic. Videos posted on social media showed rooms packed with campers, while outside, the storm flattened and flooded entire campsites. While many fled into the buildings at CAM-PLEX, none were capable of holding all the attendees. Others found shelter in their cars, at nearby off-site gas stations, and despite the directive to seek refuge, some chose to ride out the storm in their tents and makeshift dwellings.
According to a North American Division press release, the “International Village” was among the most damaged areas. The release further indicated that “at least 40 percent of the international club campsites were wiped out, largely due to flooding.” The area is one of the biggest concerns for Camporee administration. “There are more than a hundred countries represented here — Brazil, Ghana, Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, and so many more, and they don’t have the resources that others do. The affected clubs will need to replace tents, sleeping bags, and other equipment,” said Ron Whitehead, executive director of the International Pathfinder Camporee. The NAD release further assured that no injuries had been reported due to the storm.
After the storm passed, a double rainbow arched across the temporary campground and surrounding community. As Pathfinders returned to their campsites, some greeted by flooding, slippery mud, broken tents, and wet belongings, the Camporee posted an upbeat message on Facebook. “A double rainbow has appeared over Cam-Plex after the storm… Let this rainbow be a reminder that God has never and will never leave us or forsake us.” Yet, as nightfall darkened the now clear skies, the mood of many campers began to morph into frustration. Soaked clothes were hung on temporary clotheslines. Flattened tents, mangled and ripped, were tossed into dumpsters, and the local Walmart contended with a sudden influx of shoppers, and ran out of tents.
Back at CAM-PLEX, vehicles drove in and out of the camping areas, even though traffic was supposed to be halted inside the camping area that afternoon. In the massive parking lots surrounding the Camporee, cars and vans clogged traffic arteries as they got stuck in slick mud. In parking lot five, no traffic was allowed to enter or exit. As people were turned away from the parking lot, hundreds of cars parked along Fox Park Avenue behind CAM-PLEX, even as local residents and Camporee administration urged attendees to avoid parking in that area.
Multiple clubs in the Mid-America Union camping area left the Camporee entirely. The College View Trailblazers, from Lincoln, Nebraska, had to find offsite lodging due to flooding, according to Outlook magazine. Some clubs based in the Dakotas and Rocky Mountain conference area returned home, such as the Pathfinder club based in Casper, Wyoming. Some Rocky Mountain clubs moved to a local church. Ray Dabrowski, communication director for the Rocky Mountain conference, described visiting the Rocky Mountain complex after the storm. He likened the wet conditions of the area to a lake and said that in many campsites, only the metal skeleton frames of tents stood where fabric-covered edifices once provided shelter for Pathfinders. Dabrowski also said that one club found four inches of standing water in their tents. “It was just pandemonium here,” he said.
Still, Dabrowski said morale and resolve among campers remained high. “There were smiling faces. They said, ‘We will overcome. Let us concentrate on rebuilding ourselves.’” Situations like these, he noted, help Pathfinders build their trust in God.
Sanitation is an increasing concern as Pathfinders recover from the storm. Hundreds, if not thousands, of portable restrooms dot the landscape around CAM-PLEX. Multiple people indicated that toilet paper was rarely found stocked inside the blue plastic temporary toilets. Some, such as Mike Messer from Ithaca, Michigan, said some porta-potties were overflowing. Messer described entering one such unit, where waste and litter had completely filled the toilet. “Defecation was smeared across the seat,” he said, speaking as he walked along a muddy trail in the Lake Union camping area. In space for the Indiana Conference, which is hosting 743 campers, only three porta-potties were functional during the night. Work has been taking place to remedy the situation; trucks worked late into the night to empty litter-filled toilets, and in some cases, place new units.
The storm and its ensuing aftermath provoked a diverse response to the crisis.
Hundreds of people commented on Facebook posts on the Camporee’s page. Many commented that their club needed new tents after the storm destroyed their equipment. Others criticized how the crisis was handled by the Camporee staff. “They told everyone too late!!!” said one commenter, Audrey Ramirez. “Shame on everyone in charge! … Thousands of us are without signal,” she said, zeroing in on a common inconvenience as Gillette’s cell phone infrastructure has been overloaded. “Do better…we want OshKosh [sic] back!” Another commenter, Marlon Garcia, urged the Camporee to evaluate if Gillette is the best area to host future camporees, especially because many children come without their parents. The severe weather conditions, he said, are “highly dangerous.” “We need to think about SAFETY FIRST. Adults, we can take care of ourselves; children can’t. Prayers for this team. Hoping they will do the right thing in the future.”
On Instagram, Jeremy Velazquez, a student at Southern Adventist University, said the lack of “safe spaces for people during the storm was also very dangerous, not to mention the fact that the only in-person warning we got was a gentleman running around camp telling people to find shelter.” He described seeing “many lost and confused campers” seeking shelter, even as some buildings that house activities and exhibits had been closed for the day. “I was fortunate enough to receive a notification through my phone, but I’m sure many out there did not receive any information on the storm coming due to there being almost no [cell phone] service in many parts of camp.” Velazquez said that while he trusts God, “we must also fulfill our own part.”
Many others offered their support for the Camporee’s response and indicated they were praying about the aftermath. “God takes care of His people,” Patti Jorgensen commented on Facebook. “Believe the Promise! He parted the Red Sea.” She said that instead of “blaming people, we should put our energy into praying.” “God is faithful!! The rainbow is a promise,” another person commented. A running theme throughout many online engagements expressed thankfulness to God for protection. Still, as a pre-recorded version of the canceled evening program was posted online, many complained that they were unable to watch it because cell reception was spotty and unreliable.
Despite all the chaos, people found ways to help their fellow Pathfinders. In the mud-filled parking lot five, groups of teenagers chanted, “Push! Push! Push!” as they helped tired drivers unstick a variety of vehicles— small Toyota sedans to large Mercedes vans from—the mud and guided them through a circuitous, drier route. Others who fared better loaned out sleeping bags, tents, and blankets, and even offered their camper trailers to those who were still unsheltered.
David Ottati, president/CEO of AdventHealth (West Florida Division), used his golf cart to help transport campers to shelters. After the storm, he helped shuttle people who had difficulty walking to their campsites and took others to receive medical attention. “The mud creates a number of issues for everyone if you’re not prepared,” he said. Furthermore, Ottati noted the “human spirit is alive at Camporee.” “There are a lot of people helping others around here. Everywhere you look around, you’ll still see these joyous faces of people helping each other in any way they can.” Ottati observed multiple clubs sharing tents and helping dry clothes. “I haven’t seen and heard one single complaint from the people I’ve talked to,” he said. “They’ve indicated that this is something that could not be helped.”
The community surrounding CAM-PLEX and the Camporee also offered assistance. Dabrowski said a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offered to host up to 600 displaced campers. The Surf ’n SUDS laundromat in Gillette stayed open all night. As Walmart ran out of tents, residents offered to donate their tents, sleeping bags, and camping supplies.
As the sun rose on August 7, the day after the storm, the sky was clear, just like the previous day, painted with little hints of pink and orange and small fluffy clouds. The damp campground has yet to fully recover from the damage of the storm, but many are pitching in. In the International Village, the recovery has been particularly slow. None of the campers there have vehicles or ways to move their trash. Because the trash kept piling up, threatening the ability to camp there, others stepped in to move it. Oscar Halverson, youth director for the Manitoba-Saskatchewan conference in Canada, gathered trucks from their small contingent of around 200 Pathfinders to help.
“It was mounting up, and we were told if we don’t deal with the garbage here at the camp, we may not be able to have camp here because it’d be an issue,” he said. Halverson has been driving around CAM-PLEX on his golf cart, shouting an appeal for extra tents since many of the International Village’s tents were destroyed. “We gave all of our conference’s [tents] away already, and now we’re coming around asking everyone else we can if they can give them a tent or two.”
While off-site activities, such as community service projects, went forward as planned today, all on-site activities were canceled for the morning as the cleanup from the storm continued. The large stage, while not significantly damaged during the storm, is undergoing an engineering review to ensure the integrity of the structure. If no further weather disrupts the Camporee, Pathfinders will gather at a newly constructed outdoor amphitheater to watch the evening program and Moses-themed stage drama at 7:45 p.m.
Images by Samuel Girven for Spectrum.
