Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Troop 715 has spent the last three days in the Grand Canyon National Park, and until a roadway opens up to allow them to leave, that's where they'll have to stay.
Because of a 58,300-acre forest fire, which began June 8 in the North Kaibab National Forest and has since spread to many areas of the Grand Canyon, the group of Warsaw Boy Scouts currently are trapped after the major highway into and out of the national park, U.S. 6, temporarily closed.
The troop is receiving free lodging while they're marooned in the Arizona park, and hope to leave sometime in the next 24 hours. As of this morning, the wildfire burned 30 miles from the park, but park officials said no visitors were in danger.
Various organizations, including the National Park Service, Arizona Department of Public Safety and Arizona Department of Transportation are evaluating opportunities to evacuate all visitors and employees from the park grounds. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is closed until further notice, with no one allowed to enter or leave the premises.
Troop leader Dick McCleary remained in contact with Warsaw families by calling from a payphone inside the park. Cell phones are not working in the area.
McCleary talked to Laura Sowers, of Warsaw, whose husband is on the trip. He told her breathing is becoming hard inside the park because of smoke and ash from the wildfire. Boy Scouts who slept outside were covered in ash when they awoke, and visibility is becoming limited. Food is still plentiful, and McCleary told Sowers the troop is not in any danger from the wildfires.
The initial fire began after a lightning strike hit inside the park, which spread over the last two weeks, consuming portions of U.S. 6. An estimated 1,000 visitors and employees currently are trapped inside the North Rim.
