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Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, September 17, 1999
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Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 09:04:04 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, September 17, 1999
INCIDENTS
99-543 - Southeast/Northeast Region Areas - Follow-up: Hurricane Floyd
The following updates have been received from parks affected by Hurricane
Floyd (from north to south, more or less):
o Cape Cod NS (MA) - The park activated its hurricane plan yesterday
morning. Preparations for the hurricane were completed by 5 p.m.
Visitor centers and other park facilities were closed at 3 p.m. No
shelters had yet been opened on the lower cape, and all employees were
weathering the storm in private or park residences. Deputy
superintendent Mike Murray is IC.
o Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - High winds, heavy rains and strong surf struck
the area. Beach erosion and tidal flooding were anticipated at all
three of the park's units. Park employees were placed on
administrative leave from 10 a.m. yesterday through noon today. All
units implemented their emergency preparedness plans and many park
roads and parking lots were closed. Damage assessments will begin this
morning. No evacuation of employees from quarters in New York units
was planned; the Sandy Hook unit set up an evacuation center and was
planning on using it.
o Delaware Water Gap NRA (PA/NJ) - The park was struck by heavy rains but
only moderate winds (30-40 mph). Two main roads - River Road in
Pennsylvania and Old Mine Road in New Jersey - are closed due to downed
trees. Several earthen dams in the park were stressed by the influx of
runoff but none failed; park and contractor crews monitored them
through the night. The river gauge on the Delaware River reads just
under 12 feet this morning. The river is expected to crest at 18 feet
tomorrow morning, and does not flood until it reaches 25 feet.
o Fort McHenry NM (MD) - The park was closed yesterday and will reopen
this morning. About nine inches of rain fell. Damage appears to be
limited to several downed trees and minor leakage of water into
buildings.
o Washington Monument (DC) - The monument was closed yesterday due to
anticipated high winds and possible lightning. Rangers also found that
the weather had increased water leakage already found in the monument
around the 500-foot observation level - leaks targeted for repair but
not yet fixed. It will likely reopen today.
o Prince William Forest Park (VA) - The park was closed yesterday morning
as a precaution due to flooding on the park's main loop road and inside
the visitor center and headquarters building. Roads entering the park
were barricaded and only essential personnel were on duty.
o Shenandoah NP (VA) - The storm had little effect on the park ("we've
had much worse, even from mild thunderstorms"). A few trees were down,
but there were no reports of utility outages or infrastructure damage.
o Richmond NBP/Maggie Walker NHS (VA) - The two parks received about ten
inches of rain and were closed yesterday. They should reopen this
morning. About 50 trees fell in the various units of Richmond NBP;
high water forced the closure of portions of two roads; and the
basements of the Chimborazo and Glendale VC's were flooded. No
injuries were reported.
o Colonial NHP (VA) - Heavy rain began falling on the park on Wednesday
afternoon. Several minor vehicle accidents occurred on the Colonial
Parkway due to falling trees and high water, so the 23-mile-long
parkway, which connects Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown, was
closed and secured at 6:30 p.m. The park remained closed yesterday and
essentially inaccessible due to high water. Buildings were inspected
early yesterday morning; no major structural damage was found, but
there were roof leaks in several buildings and attempts were made to
minimize damage with plastic sheeting and buckets. Many major roadways
in the area, including I-64, were closed due to high water. Conditions
were still deteriorating at the time of the report (mid-morning).
o Cape Hatteras NS (NC) - Partial and preliminary reports have been
received: The Dare County airport recorded sustained winds of 74 mph
yesterday, with gusts up to 119 mph. Causeway Road between Manteo and
Nags Head was closed; numerous roads were impassable due to deep water.
Several motels lost their roofs and at least two buildings burned.
Manteo and Stumpy Point village were flooded. NC Power reported late
yesterday morning that 30% of customers in Dare and Currituck Counties
were without power at that time. Hyde County officials reported the
highest waters they'd ever seen.
o Cape Lookout NS (NC) - Numerous trees are down, and heavy damage to the
park is anticipated due to wind and storm surge. An assessment is
underway.
o Moores Creek NB (NC) - Some trees have fallen, but a full damage
assessment has not yet been completed. All permanent employees have
generator power at their homes; all appear to be okay. Moore's Creek
was rising rapidly, and the park road and battlefield were flooded.
Flooding is expected to continue for several days.
o Cumberland Island NS (GA) - All employees who did not evacuate have
been accounted for. There was very little damage to mainland sites.
The Sea Camp dock - the primary dock used by the public and the
concessioner - has sustained major damage. The Dungeness dock is
functional and will be used until the Sea Camp dock is repaired. The
park expects to return to normal operations on Saturday. St. Mary's
did not flood as expected.
o Kings Mountain NMP (SC) - Power and phone outages occurred on Wednesday
night, but all services were restored as of 9:30 a.m. yesterday
morning. The park sustained no significant damage.
o Fort Sumter NM/Charles Pinckney NHS (SC) - Fort Sumter sustained only
minimal damage. The park concessioner retrieved its boats from their
storm moorings yesterday; concession crews will gear up today for
renewed operations. Park staff are returning from a wide dispersal to
evacuation points throughout the Southeast. Many experienced long
periods in their cars during the evacuation. South Carolina estimates
that 300,000 people evacuated almost immediately after the evacuation
order was given. I-26, the principal evacuation route, remained
clogged for more than 18 hours. Full visitor service operations will
be restored at Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter tomorrow morning. There
will be limited operations at Charles Pinckney over the weekend while
downed trees are removed; full operations are expected to resume on
Tuesday.
o Fort Pulaski NM (GA) - Power was still out as of yesterday morning, and
some roads were closed due to downed power lines.
o Timucuan E&HP/Fort Caroline NM (FL) - The park is conducting a damage
assessment and may reopen today.
o Canaveral NS (FL) - The impacts of Floyd include damage to about 1,400
feet of boardwalk, a pier, and several structures (mostly to shingles
and roofs); substantial erosion to the side of the entrance road; one
major washout; and loss of over a thousand turtle nests. Management's
goal is to reopen the north end of the park by Saturday and the south
end no later than Wednesday - both with limited access.
[Ken Garvin and Daryl Rhodes, SERO, 9/16; Jim Burnett, CR, COLO, 9/16; Earle
Kittleman, PAO, NCRO, 9/16; Robert Hickman, Superintendent, PRWI, 9/16; Norm
Williams, CM, TIMU/FOCA, 9/16; Brian Peters, CR, CUIS, 9/16; Jim Zahradka,
DR, CALO, 9/16; LES, CAHA, 9/16; Chris Revels, KIMO, 9/16; John Breen,
Superintendent, FOPU, 9/16; Dispatch, DEWA, 9/17; Greg Stiles, Ken Johnson,
SHEN, 9/16; Kevin FitzGerald, CR, CACO, 9/16; John Tucker, Superintendent,
FOSU/CHPI, 9/16; Jose Rosario, CR, GATE, 9/16; Rosemary Williams, CANA, 9/16;
Rick Nolan, CR, FOMC, 9/17; Tim Mauch, SPR, RICH, 9/17]
99-562 - Devils Tower NM (WY) - Climbing Fatality
On September 11th, R.H. of Austin, Texas, died in a
rappelling accident on Devils Tower. R.H. was climbing with a partner,
A.B., on the difficult Weissner Route. R.H., who had flown from
Australia to Denver and driven from Denver to Devils Tower the day before,
became exhausted and couldn't complete the climb. A.B., the lead climber,
was about 50 feet above R.H. on a belay ledge, and switched the belay rope
to a rappel. R.H. hooked up for the rappel and descended down the south
face. According to witnesses, R.H.'s rope was not long enough to reach a
lower rappel station and he likely rappelled off the end of his rope. He
then fell approximately 130 feet to the ground, sustaining fatal injuries.
R.H. nearly landed on two climbers at the base of the tower. Ranger
Derrick Perez directed the multi-agency rescue operation; ranger Nicole
Mortensen performed CPR on the victim with the assistance of other climbers.
R.H. was wearing a climbing helmet. There have now been a total of four
climbing fatalities on Devils Tower, including three in the last five years.
The accident followed a fatal visitor heart attack three days previously,
during which rangers Jason Johnson and Jim Schlinkmann performed CPR for
about an hour. A CISD team from Pennington County, South Dakota, will meet
with park staff this week. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO, 9/15]
99-563 - Blue Ridge Parkway (NC/VA) - Poaching Arrest
D.M., 20, and F.M.-B., 22, were seen displaying a
light off the parkway in an area frequented by deer just before 1 a.m. on
September 12th. The two were contacted by rangers and found to have a loaded
.22 caliber rifle, wrapping materials and a light in their possession.
Neither had adequate identification, and D.M. was found to be an
undocumented alien. Both were arrested and were to appear in court on
Tuesday. A follow-up investigation will focus on commercial use of wildlife.
The case is being investigated by rangers Jeff Matheson and Terry Morris.
[John Garrison, Protection Specialist, BLRI, 9/13]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Wed Thu % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 9/15 9/16 Con Con
CA Shasta-Trinity NF Big Bar Cx T2 32,181 38,557 55 UNK
Klamath NF Stein T1 876 876 95 UNK
Los Padres NF Kirk Cx T1/T2 2,475 16,931 12 UNK
OR Winema NF Monteith Rock T2 275 300 75 9/17
TX State * Beaver Creek -- - 300 0 UNK
ID Nez Perce NF * Gettysburg -- - 116 0 RBF
AZ Coconino NF * Deeper -- - 160 0 LR
GA Dobbins AFB Hurricane Floyd T2 Receiving/distribution
center operations
SC Shaw AFB Hurricane Floyd T1 Receiving/distribution
center operations
Heading Notes
Unit Agency or Area Office = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA
state resource or ranger unit; RD = state ranger district; FO =
BLM field office; District = BLM district; NWR = USFWS wildlife
refuge
Fire * = newly reported fire (on this report); Cx = complex
IMT T1 = Type I Team; T2 = Type II Team; T3 = Type III Team; ST =
State Team; FUM = Fire Use Management Team
% Con Percent of fire contained: UNK = unknown; NR = no report
Est Con Estimated containment date: NEC = no estimated date of
containment; CND = fully contained; UNK = unknown; NR = no
report; RBF = resource benefit fire, no containment action being
taken; LR = last report unless significant activity occurs
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Monday, 9/13 2 1 26 1 556 32 618
Tuesday, 9/14 0 5 10 0 124 51 190
Wednesday, 9/15 1 3 17 0 126 19 166
Thursday, 9/16 0 1 10 0 392 30 433
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Monday, 9/13 375 343 124 14 1,572
Tuesday, 9/14 348 366 112 13 1,619
Wednesday, 9/15 219 308 96 15 959
Thursday, 9/16 195 253 84 17 2,769
CURRENT SITUATION
Initial attack increased in the South yesterday, but was minimal elsewhere.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Idaho, Utah, California,
Montana, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, Illinois,
Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas.
NIFC has posted a RED FLAG WARNING for dry conditions, low relative humidity
and gusty winds in northern Alabama; a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for low relative
humidity in the Florida panhandle; and a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for gusty winds
in eastern Montana and western North Dakota.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/17]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROTECTION AND EDUCATION
Reports pending.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Reports pending.
MEMORANDA
No entries.
INTERCHANGE
Reports pending.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Reports pending.
* * * * *
Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
office and/or field area cc:Mail hub coordinators. Please address requests
pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your servicing hub
coordinator.
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
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