Fire destroys main building at Smithwick Christian camp
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SMITHWICK — Firefighters from Burnet and Travis counties battled a blaze at a local Christian camp that destroyed the facility’s main building and sent up a towering plume of smoke that could be seen for miles.
Investigators are unsure what caused the fire that destroyed the office and meeting hall of Camp of the Hills, a faith-based summer camp that caters to inner-city teens from across the state.
No injuries were reported, according to officials with Marble Falls Area EMS Inc., which responded to the scene.
IN PHOTOS: Firefighters from across the Highland Lakes battled an intense blaze at Camp of the Hills off CR 344 near Smithwick. Though no one was injured in the fire, the faith-based camp’s main office building and meeting hall were destroyed. Staff photo by Chris Porter
The blaze broke out just before 4 p.m. at the camp off CR 344 near Smithwick.
Camp of the Hills board member Raymond Whitman said the blaze couldn’t have come at a worse time for the camp, which is preparing for an influx of campers this summer.
"We’re going to have 150 people a week that will need to be fed three times a day," Whitman told The Daily Tribune. "We’re going to have to set up some type of temporary facility, but first we’ll have to determine where to set it up."
Camp Director Mel Bowman said the fire claimed all of the camp’s office equipment, first-aid supplies, kitchen equipment and more.
"We have a fireproof safe, and I guess we’re going to find out if it really is fireproof," he said.
Fire crews poured water onto the burning building, which was lined with cedar siding that made the blaze difficult to extinguish, officials said. Tanker trucks were driven to the shores of nearby Lake Travis, where they filled up with water from the lake to help fight the blaze.
Pedernales Electric Cooperative crews also were called to the scene to cut power to a sparking electric wire that had fallen to the ground.
It took units from Marble Falls, Granite Shoals, North Lake Travis, Bertram and Cottonwood Shores more than an hour to contain the blaze, which consumed most of the wooden structure.
Whitman said the fire left camp officials struggling to determine where to put their campers when summer session begins in a few weeks.
"It may be a true camp experience for them," he said. "They could be eating out of a tent."
Camp of the Hills was started in 1990 to minister to inner-city teens, Whitman said.
"The mission was to get them outside and in a surrounding where they could look at something besides concrete," he said.
Since 1991, the camp has accommodated almost 6,000 boys and girls, according to the camp’s Web site, campofthehills.org. It encompasses 105 acres of land, where activities include swimming, fishing, canoeing, sports, crafts, singing, reading, skits and Bible study, according to the Web site.
During camping season, the facility employes several counselors in addition to regular staff and dozens of volunteers, Whitman said. In addition to the camp’s main office and meeting and dining hall, Wednesday’s fire also destroyed quarters for the counselors and the nurse’s office, he said.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.