Anchorage Daily News

Four Boy Scout leaders were killed in Virginia on Monday, the opening day of the organization's national Jamboree, when a metal tent pole they were holding hit a power line and apparently ignited the canvas tent above them, according to Scout officials and witnesses.

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Officials late Monday confirmed the leaders who died are Ron Bitzer, Michael Lacroix and Michael Shibe of Anchorage and Scott Powell, who moved to Ohio last year.

A fifth Alaska Scout leader, Larry Call, and an unidentified contractor were hospitalized with injuries, according to Boy Scout officials. Call is being treated at a Virginia hospital burn unit, said his wife, Paula Call.

No children were seriously injured, but about 30 Alaska Scouts saw the accident happen some time between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. Alaska time at Fort A.P. Hill, an Army base about one hour south of the nation's capital.

Karl Holfeld, an Anchorage father, said his 15-year-old son, Taylor, witnessed the accident. Taylor was on his cell phone talking to his mother in Anchorage when the accident occurred.

"They all started screaming," Holfeld said. "He said, 'Oh my God, oh my God, the tent is on fire, they're being burned!' And she told him to stay away, to not touch anything, because there could be a live wire."

Paula Call spoke to her husband and others after the accident. The group of men was erecting a large tent, like a circus tent, she said. She didn't know what it was for.

"As they got it up, this pole started to lean and it touched a utility live wire," Paula Call said.

She hadn't heard about the fire but said her husband suffered electrocution burns on his hands, hips and feet. His condition improved during the day and he will recover, she said.

The Calls' son Kendell, 15, saw the accident but is too upset to talk about it in detail, Paula Call said. A second son was also there. Witnesses told her Kendell reacted quickly to help his father.

Her husband "was just concerned about the boys. It was the most horrific thing he knows they will ever witness," she said.

The Scouts were taken from their camp to meet with grief counselors and a chaplain, said Renee Fairrer, director of National News and Media for the Jamboree.

Seventy-one boys and nine adults were traveling with the Jamboree contingency representing the Western Alaska Council of Boy Scouts of America. Bill Haines, executive director of the council here, said others came from Juneau and Fairbanks.

Jamboree leaders are "the cream of the crop," he said. "They were the best we had."

Of the men who died, Shibe had two sons at the Jamboree, and Lacroix, who runs an Anchorage vending machine company, had one son in attendance, Haines said.

Holfeld had known both Bitzer and Shibe for years. Shibe and Holfeld earned their Eagle ranks together in the 1970s.

"We crossed paths at Scout things all the time," Holfeld said. "They were just phenomenally effusive and so dedicated to the youth. They were enthusiastic gentlemen that totally believed in the Boy Scouts and showed that through their efforts and commitment."

Bitzer and his wife, Karen, had recently sold their Anchorage home, and Haines said he believes they were preparing to move to Reno. He worked a couple of years as a Scout executive, Haines said. Bitzer was a retired administrative law judge and an assistant scoutmaster of Troop 129 in Anchorage, said family spokesman Ken Schoolcraft, the troop's scoutmaster.

Bitzer spent years running the Junior Leader Training Conference, a summer event at Camp Gorsuch on Mirror Lake, said Dylan O'Harra, 19, a former Anchorage Boy Scout who went to Bitzer's program.

"He was another guy who was dedicated to spending his time helping Scouts, helping kids advance and appreciate the outdoors," O'Harra said.

Powell was single and retired last year after a career in Boy Scouts. He had moved to Ohio but attended Jamboree at the last moment after a boy was unable to go, Haines said.

Powell had devoted years to Alaska Scouts, including more than 20 years as program director at Camp Gorsuch.

"For every kid who ever went to the camp, Scott Powell was the most inspirational and exciting guy that you've ever met," said O'Harra, who attended and worked at Camp Gorsuch. "When you wanted to be on staff, you wanted to be on staff so you could be on Scott's team. He's the reason a lot of kids came back to the camp as counselors for years and years."

Jamboree is a decades-old event and one of the biggest gatherings of Boy Scouts worldwide. The first, in Washington, D.C., in 1937, drew more than 27,000 people. Scout officials said attendance at this one, the 16th Jamboree, is expected to top 43,000 Scouts and leaders from the United States and 20 countries.

This is the seventh Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, nestled in the rolling hills of Caroline County, Virginia. Scouts swarm 3,000 acres. Within hours on Monday, cadres from various cities and states were expected to stake down some 17,000 tents and put up 3,500 patrol kitchens. The Scouts who attend are at least 12 years old and younger than 18.

Boys at the 10-day event do all things Scout-related -- from biking to archery to kayaking. They earn merit badges and cook many of their own meals. Camp highlights include blow-out opening and closing arena shows that include Army Rangers parachuting in, fireworks exploding, folks singing and dancing. President Bush is scheduled to speak Wednesday night.

Alaska leaders split the kids into two groups: Troop 711 and Troop 712. They spent four days together touring Washington before arriving at Jamboree for opening day Monday.

Several adults from Alaska's group helped put up a large tent. It might have been a mess hall for the group or the sleeping quarters for the leaders, said Mike Sage, an Anchorage father who chaperoned Alaska Scouts at the last Jamboree four years ago.

The tent has a large metal pole as its center support and also poles at its corners. Men were reportedly holding on to those, Paula Call said.

It's unclear how the pole came in contact with the wire.

"They either hit the power line with the pole, or a truck went by and knocked the pole over," Holfeld said. "Either way, the pole hit the power line, electrocuted them, set the tent on fire, the tent fell on them, and they were trapped underneath," with Scouts watching.

In interviews and press releases all day, Boy Scout officials referred to the incident as "an electrical accident."

A statement on the official Jamboree Web site said: "Our prayers and sympathies are with the families of each of the victims. It is a tragic loss that is shared by everyone in the BSA. Counselors and chaplains are at the jamboree and available to any Scout or leader. A thorough investigation into this accident is under way."

Fairrer said Boy Scouts of America is leading the investigation and working with the military.

People have died or been seriously injured before at Jamboree, Fairrer said. But she could not recall a catastrophe of this magnitude.

"And any time there's a death, it hurts all of us," Fairrer said. "Within scouting, we are one big family."

Gov. Frank Murkowski said in a statement early Monday evening that he was "very saddened today to learn of the deaths of these four Scout leaders in such a tragic and unexpected accident. ... These individuals were killed while serving Alaska's young people, and I admire and thank them for that service."

The three boys whose fathers died are returning to Alaska, Haines said.

"The other boys who didn't lose their fathers are going to make a decision with their leaders about what to do."

Daily News reporters Lisa Demer and Katie Pesznecker can be reached at ldemer@adn.com and kpesznecker@adn.com. The Associated Press contributed to this story