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| Yosemite Rim fire |
(Scroll down for video) A Jewish camp lost one of its building to a large wildfire, which is burning out of control in California, according to a report by JN1 TV.
The huge wildfire, which began burning in the Stanislaus National Forest west of Yosemite National Park in northern California, has destroyed at least one building that belongs to a Jewish summer camp. The fire currently covers more than 144,000 acres, and is considered one of the largest wildfires in California state history.
As the fire in Yosemite Rim fire approached Camp Tawonga, officials decided to evacuate the Jewish summer camp, which has been around since 1922.
However, before the Camp Tawonga building burned down, camp counselor Sam Quintana managed to save a Torah scroll that dates back to the era of the Holocaust, which came from a remote Czech village. The Torah scrolls was sent over to the camp's office in San Francisco, California. So far, no injuries have been reported in the camp.
This was not the first Jewish camp this summer to suffer a fire. As we reported earlier, several children were injured after a fire broke out in a camp for cancer stricken children, according to emergency workers in New York.
New York Fire officials said that a fire broke out Saturday morning in a camp located in Glen Spey. The camp was identified as Camp Simcha run by Chai Lifeline, a summer camp for cancer stricken children.
The fire caused damage to property, and five children were injured from smoke inhalation.
The fire broke out at 4:30 am in one of the sleeping facilities of the camp. A counselor woke up after choking from smoke, and within a few minutes, staff members were able to evacuate all children from their beds into a nearby parking lot. Several children, who cannot walk on their own, were carried by staff members to safety.
Medical staff, who are employed by the camp, checked each child to make sure that they were in good condition. Five children who suffered from smoke inhalation, received medical treatment.
The fire completely destroyed two bunkhouses, leaving sixteen children and staff members, without beds.
The camp director said that the fire was caused by an electrical short-circuit.
Fire officials said that it took more than an hour to bring the fire under control, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.