Elliot Copen, 17, was worried the Scouting America camp he had visited dozens of times in an undeveloped canyon of the Santa Monica Mountains would feel empty.
The Palisades fire roared down the canyon 11 months ago, destroying the historic lodge and its Hogwarts-like interior (albeit without the “flying balls,” Copen noted), a smattering of cabins and the trading post where Scouts would buy candies and memorabilia. Weeks later, heavy rains sent mud and debris careening into the canyon, burying sections of the camp in feet of dirt.
Copen, an Eagle Scout with Troop 67 in Santa Monica and a leader in the Scouts’ honor society Order of the Arrow, had seen the videos online of what the disasters had done to the camp where he had made so many memories. “It was just weird,” he said. “It felt wrong.”
On Saturday, he was one of about four dozen Scouts, parents and regional Scouting leaders that headed to camp for the first time since the fire, picked up some tools and got dirty. It was a humble and cautious start: remove some of the invasive species that were taking advantage of the open soil and dig out the camp’s veterans memorial that the mudslides had partially covered.
It was also a much-needed moment for the Scouts to mourn their loss, spend time with their peers and give back to the land that has given them so much.
Camp Josepho is one of three camps Scouting America’s Western Los Angeles County Council owns and operates. While their Catalina and Sequoia sites are certainly breathtaking, Josepho — which is just minutes from the city — was an accessible haven from the hustle and bustle of algebra tests, essay deadlines and school drama.
Since the 1940s, the 110-acre camp has served as a second home in the wild for thousands of Scouts. The land was gifted by Ganna and Anatol Josepho — a silent film star and the inventor of the photo booth, respectively. Its centerpiece was a hangar-like lodge built out of redwood by the aircraft manufacturer Donald Douglas, which is listed as a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument. Over the years, the camp has hosted the Scouts’ Order of the Arrow induction ceremonies, service weekends focused on projects like brush removal and many good old-fashioned camping trips.
When Copen entered the camp, he felt relieved. It was no longer the fire-stricken wasteland he saw in the videos, but in fact quite green. Yes, some of the green was invasive species, but some was made up of native grasses and shrubby chaparral plants. Many of the towering sycamore trees and elder oaks — probably far older than even the adult Scout leaders — still blot out the midday sun with new, green leaves sprouting from their charred trunks.
Noah Rottner, an Eagle Scout with Troop 777 in West Hills who is also in the Order of the Arrow, said he had hoped to “help rebuild most of the stuff that’s been burnt and get most of the memories back.” But as Rottner, 15, talked with his peers, “we were just deciding, maybe we could start new memories in it, and start a new journey.”
The Scouting council likely won’t try to reconstruct all of the camp’s facilities. Lee Harrison, 54, chief executive of the council, acknowledged that since the Palisades fire likely won’t be the last to burn through the land, a smaller footprint at the site is ultimately more sustainable.
Copen fondly remembers a weekend before the fire, when his group spent the entire time at a fairly isolated campground on site. They played cards, cooked by the fire and learned how to whittle.
“When I look back on it, it brings me joy,” Copen said. “I’ll always look at the camp as a very happy place, because practically all my memories here are happy.”
More than 100 Scouting families lost their homes in the January fires, Harrison said. Scouts from the burn areas are now scattered across L.A. and beyond. The fires destroyed Scouts’ uniforms and alumni’s Eagle awards. Malibu’s Cub Scout Pack 224 lost its pinewood derby track — the testing grounds for a highly anticipated annual Scouting tradition.
But in an organization built on service and community engagement, second nature quickly kicked in.
“Leadership, citizenship — that is built into the structure of the program,” Harrison said. “Even the Scouts that lost pretty much everything, many of them went out and helped other families.”
The Scouting council replaced all of its members’ lost uniforms and awards and dished out gift cards to pay for new camping equipment. It also hosted a Catalina trip for those who lost their homes to help families take a breath and experience a few days of normalcy. One troop that was significantly affected by the fire provided counselors to help kids work through the trauma. Culver City’s Cub Scout Pack 18 hosted a pinewood derby workshop for the Malibu pack and brought its brand-new track out to a Malibu elementary school so the Scouts in that area could still experience the competition.
One Scout used her Eagle Scout service project to create ash sifters, which the Scouts donated to fire stations in the Palisades and Altadena to help homeowners find valuables in the rubble. Others assembled care packages for families who lost their homes.
At lunchtime, Copen admired the work his group had accomplished. Large piles of ripped-out invasive plants dotted the campground; the sunlight finally hit the memorial’s foundation, which the adults there noted they hadn’t seen in decades.
“The Scouting program and this camp makes a difference in so many people’s lives,” Copen said, with dirt smeared on his face.
“We might not have the physical structure, but this is still that camp,” Copen added. As far as he’s concerned, “that legacy is going to keep moving forward.”
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