All of those programs were canceled after the fire wiped out three of its newest buildings and 70-80 of its oldest trees.
"When something like this happens you start to think about what you lost," said Paul Morrow, Finance Director for the California Inland Empire Council of Boy Scouts of America. "But it also gives you the ability to rethink and strategize."
Within a few months talk of rebuilding began. With the help of volunteers and Scouts working together enough was completed earlier this month to allow the summer sessions to resume for the first time since the fire.
Morrow said one of the major hurdles was the complete loss of the area's water system.
"We had to dig through and replace the entire thing," he said. More than one and half miles of 6-inch pipes were installed, which doubled the volume of water that could be stored at the 90-acre property.
Morrow said it took about three weeks for all the debris from the fire to be cleared out, filling four 40-yard containers to capacity. He said about $30,000 worth of materials was donated to the cause.
"We lost all our program equipment when the warehouse burned down," said Morrow, of Redlands. The lodges that housed the arts and crafts and sports activities were also gone. For this summer's camp, they have been replaced with large tents. Campers are using borrowed canoes because a rack of six was lost when the heat of the fire melted their aluminum shells.
"I was really disappointed about the fires," said Robert Byrne, of Riverside. He said the city of Riverside offered day camps at Fairmount Park last summer so Cub Scouts could get their requirements but they couldn't stay overnight.
On June 13, more than 120 volunteers participated in The Day of the Phoenix to continue helping Camp Helendade rise out of the ashes of the fires.
"We've been to other camps but we like the layout here. This is one of the better camps in the area," said Gil Ruiz said of Camp Helendade. His oldest son Adam is 13 and enjoyed past summers at camp. Ruiz's youngest son Thomas, 8, attended for the first time.
"He would have come last year if it had been open. He was looking forward to it. It's an experience they never forget and it's something they can share with their own kids later on," said Ruiz, committee chair for Pack 176 in Riverside.
"I think it's fun," said first-timer Kenny Byrne, 8. "There's a lot of things you can do here."
Not all buildings have been restored but volunteers are still helping out, under the supervision of Jay Johnson Construction.
"We don't know how long it's going to take to completely rebuild," said Morrow.
"Fire is nature's way of clearing things but we're always going to have places for kids to go."
Source: The Press-Enterprise