Heat Strikes Scouts Awaiting Bush
About 300 Fall Ill While Waiting For No-Show President
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Play CBS Video Video 300 Scouts Treated For Heat CBS News RAW: Roughly 300 scouts were treated for heat-related illnesses at the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.
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Video Nightmare Week For Scouts The National Boy Scout Jamboree is having more than its share of troubles. Tragic events this week have left four men dead and scores of scouts sickened. Sharyl Attkisson reports.
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Army and emergency personnel load an unidentified person onto an Army medical evacuation helicopter, Wednesday. (AP)
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An unidentified Boy Scout takes a break as some adult leaders check on him, Wednesday. (AP)
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Interactive Jamboree Tragedy The Scouts' national gathering is marked by death, crippling heat and, in the end, a visit from President Bush.
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Photo Essay The Art Of Cool Here's a look at how some people around the U.S. beat the heat in 2005.
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Photo Essay Cool At The Zoo Animals get some help in dealing with summer heat.
About 300 people, most of them Scouts, suffered from dehydration, fatigue and lightheadedness Wednesday — just days after four Scout leaders were killed at the national Jamboree while pitching a tent beneath a power line.
Temperatures at Fort A.P. Hill, an Army base where the 10-day event is being held, reached the upper 90s and were intensified by high humidity.
“This is hot for me,” said Chad McDowell, 16, who lives in Warrenton, Ore. “Where I'm from if it's 75, we think that it's a heat wave.”
Half of the 300 who fell ill were treated and released from the fort's hospital. Dozens more were sent to surrounding hospitals, where they were in stable condition Wednesday night, Jamboree spokesman Gregg Shields said.
The more than 40,000 Scouts, volunteers, and leaders attending the event had been standing in the sun about three hours when word came that severe thunderstorms and high winds were forcing the president to postpone his appearance until Thursday. Mr. Bush's spokesman said Thursday that the visit would instead happen Sunday, at the Scouts' request.
The illnesses came as many were still reeling from the deaths of four Boy Scout leaders from Alaska.
On Thursday, CBS News Senior Producer Robert C. Dries, who was attending the jamboree, reported everything was back to normal.
“The weather is nice, a welcomed relief,” said Dries. “The Scouts are continuing with their jamboree activities.
Repeated phone calls to the Jamboree press office were not returned.
"The Scouts want to be left alone from the curiosity seekers, they want their privacy to be respected,” reported Dries. “Many of these Scouts, just little boys, have saved their money for months and years to be able to participate in this.
“It is a shame that this tragedy had to happen on the first day, but they want to be able to put the incident behind them. The leaders would have wanted them to move on."
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
