This guy survived the firestorm at The Painted Turtle, but the buildings were damaged by smoke and the grounds are a mess. All photos (c)SCVTV.

The Painted Turtle – a camp in Lake Hughes for children with serious medical ailments, founded by the late Paul Newman – was caught in the path of the Powerhouse wildfire in the Angeles National Forest this past week. In what seems an inexplicable miracle, every one of the camp’s major buildings remained intact while every piece of vegetation at the camp and in the surrounding 30,000 acres was destroyed.

Because of the extreme smoke damage to the buildings and fire’s impact on the terrain, The Painted Turtle had no choice but to make the incredibly difficult decision to cancel all of our summer sessions for 2013. We know this is very sad news but this decision was made for the safety and well-being of our campers, which is always our first priority.

During the next three months we will be undergoing an extensive process of landscape cleanup and hydro-seeding, cleaning of all buildings and ventilation systems, and an ozone cleaning process of every building to ensure that The Painted Turtle facility meets the high level of safety that is the trademark of our program.

The grounds need some serious help.

Please know that we are committed to our wonderful campers and their families and with your generosity and support will return with more hope, more fun, and more laughter than ever before.

We are deeply sorry to have to deliver this very disappointing news but we hope you will join us in celebrating that The Painted Turtle withstood the fire and will return to bring all of you the magic of camp as quickly as possible.

We would greatly appreciate your support as we rebound from the imact of the fire. Donate now to The Painted Turtle Fire Recovery Fund.

With our sincerest regard,

Page Adler, Chairman of the Board; Blake Maher, Executive Director; Dr. Gina Jansheski, Medical Director; and April Uyehara, Camp Director

Overlooking The Painted Turlte, from the HELUS school (Hughes & Elizabeth Lakes Union)

The fire came right up to the buildings at The Painted Turtle.

BELOW: What The Painted Turtle is supposed to look like

Better days at The Painted Turtle.