Contact Information 4-H Extension office 520-621-3623 Susan McGinley College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 520-621-7182

A UA-sponsored teen leadership program cut its annual session short when its piney retreat space lay in the path of the Chediski wildfire in east-central Arizona.

The 110 campers, volunteers and staff of JOLT, a Cooperative Extension camp for teenagers held each year at Camp Shadow Pines near Heber, were evacuated to Holbrook on June 21, the day after the Chediski fire began.

The JOLT adult staff already had concerns about the Rodeo fire 20 miles to the east as the camp began on June 17 and were in constant communication with the Camp Shadow Pines director and fire officials. Their concerns were minimized at first largely because the Rodeo fire was moving away from the camp.

Plans changed when they were notified early on June 20 that they needed to be ready to evacuate quickly if called.

Camp officials quickly devised a plan to contact families of the campers through the Arizona 4-H office in Tucson. They also gathered essential records and documents and made sure that every person in the group would have a seat in a vehicle in an evacuation.

On the morning of June 21, the group was ordered to nearby Holbrook High School as the new Chediski fire threatened the camp. The urgency of the evacuation warning forced campers to take only their vital possessions. Camp officials counted heads as they arrived in Holbrook and registered the group with the Red Cross.

The State 4-H Office was constantly informed during the evacuation, and helped notify parents. All of the campers are home now and firefighters have since bulldozed a firebreak on the west side of the camp

Pictures and more first-hand information about the JOLT camp evacuation can be found at http://ag.arizona.edu/extension/joltevacuation