NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Friday, November 22, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-659 - Bering Land Bridge NPr (Alaska) - Oil Spill

On November 17th, a severe Arctic storm caused the failure of two fuel tanks
at the Navy field station a mile and a half south of the village of Wales on
the western tip of the Seward Peninsula.  Early reports indicate that a total
of about 28,000 gallons of diesel fuel was released into a containment area,
and that from 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of the fuel blew out of the containment
area and toward the Bering Sea.  Coast Guard and Navy spill and salvage
response units were headed to the scene at the time of the report yesterday
and were expected to arrive on scene during the day.  The spill is about 30
miles south of the park.  Pack ice remains about 20 miles offshore, and
prevailing currents could bring oil to the preserve's shoreline.  [Dave
Spirtes, Superintendent, BELA]

96-660 - Yosemite NP (California) - Rescue

Rangers received a report of an injured climber on the descent route on the
West Face of Leaning Tower around 5 p.m. on November 10th.  Preliminary
investigation indicated that two inexperienced climbers were 400 feet up the
wall when their rappel ropes became entangled.  In their attempts to free the
ropes, they pulled down numerous rocks and boulders, one of which struck a
climber and caused an open fracture to her leg.  A 16-person technical rescue
team led by rangers Keith Lober and Evan Jones found the climber trapped on
damaged ropes and unable to care for herself.  Advanced life support measures
were initiated and she was evacuated via a 450-foot vertical lowering
operation.  This was followed by a 2,000-foot scree evacuation to a waiting
ambulance, which took the 16 rescuers about five hours.  Darkness and
significant rockfalls from the unstable chimney system hampered the
operation.  The climber was taken to the park clinic, then transferred to a
hospital in Modesto.  [Brian Smith, Valley District, YOSE]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No notes.

MEMORANDA

No memoranda.

EXCHANGE

No submissions.

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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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