Boy Scouts still silent about suit

The Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America remains silent on federal and state lawsuits seeking nearly $14 million in damages connected to a forest fire that was allegedly caused by Scouts.

"It's not going to stop Scouting from happening, Scouting is not going to change," Scout spokesman Kay Godfrey said Wednesday. "I can't comment on the case itself."

Godfrey did not admit nor deny any role that Boy Scouts may have had in starting the June 2002 East Fork fire that scorched 14,200 acres in the Uinta Mountains. He said only that a BSA response to the suits would come at a later date.

The suits, filed Tuesday, claimed the fire started after a group of about 20 Scouts left camp fires smoldering. The Scouts had allegedly started the camp fires while unattended by adults in violation of a fire restriction order.

Utah law requires those responsible for starting a wildfire to pay for the cost of putting it out.

Gregg Shields, a spokesman for the Irving, Texas, based Boy Scouts of America, said the lawsuit is under review, and declined further comment.

Robert Wallace, a BSA attorney, told The Associated Press that questions remain about how the fire started, and that it's possible people using all-terrain vehicles were to blame. He later declined to comment to the Deseret Morning News.

The U.S. Attorney's office says the Forest Service reported no ATVs were in the area at the time the fire started.

"These lawsuits are the result of failed negotiations," said U.S. Attorney Paul M. Warner in a statement. "We are still hopeful that this dispute can be resolved and settled short of going to trial."