NPS Morning Report - Sunday, July 15, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Sunday, July 15, 2001
- Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2001 12:37:54 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Sunday, July 15, 2001
*** NOTICE ***
Many readers are reporting that they've been receiving two copies of
each edition of the Morning Report lately. Rest assured that only one
is being sent. The duplication is the work of an anonymous gremlin
somewhere in the email system.
INCIDENTS
01-348 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Follow-up: Flash Flooding
On July 8th, severe rains caused flash flooding throughout southern
West Virginia. Due to the impacts on the park, a Southeast Region IMT
headed by Bob Panko (Everglades NP) was dispatched to the park to
assist with recovery operations. A delegation of authority was signed,
and the IMT developed the following objectives:
o Conduct all operations in a safe manner following appropriate
Departmental and Service guidelines.
o Conduct and complete a damage assessment report that
identifies park facilities and natural and cultural resources
that have been damaged by the flooding, and identifies methods
and costs of restoration.
o Maintain a system of cost accountability and assist the park
in tracking of overall costs and property issues related to
the incident.
o Assist the park in the planning and implementation of actions
to mitigate further damage to resources or private property,
and to restore normal visitor and community use.
o Coordinate the flow of flood-related information to park
employees, cooperators, the general public, and the media.
o Assure all activities are in compliance with environmental
regulations, policies, and guidelines.
Community aid and public safety are of paramount importance. The park
is actively involved in providing access and services to the village
of Thayer, which was cut off from the outside world by landslides and
washed out bridges. A number of trails which parallel the river remain
closed, as does the Thurmond Depot Visitor Center. Continuing work by
the state department of highways on its rights-of-way both within and
outside the park, coupled with CSX railroad repairs, has slowed
visitor traffic. Resource damage estimates are ongoing and will be
augmented by the additional personnel assigned to the incident. The
storm caused massive slides, opened sinkholes, exposed some previously
unknown cultural resources, and even relocated a waterfall some 60
feet back from its original location. While ten of the twelve major
river access points are open to the public, the most popular ones -
Cunard and Fayette Landing - remain closed. Alternative access points
have been identified and the 30 commercial outfitters in the area have
adjusted their trips and schedules. Private boater access has been
aided by a shuttle service established through the efforts of the
non-profit West Virginia Rivers Coalition. A major team effort for the
coming week will focus on restoring limited commercial boat takeout
access at Fayette Station. [Kent Cave, IO, New River Gorge Flood
Incident, 7/14]
01-358 - Glacier NP (MT) - Employee-Bear Confrontation
A park employee had to use pepper spray to deter a charging grizzly
bear near Cracker Lake in the Many Glacier Valley on the morning of
July 10th. No one was injured in the incident, but the trail was
temporarily closed until the bears move out of the area. A park
biological technician and three volunteers were hiking on the Cracker
Lake trail when they encountered a female grizzly and two cubs. The
bears were only 10 feet away at the time, and the female reacted by
charging the group. The biologist discharged her pepper spray toward
the bear; upon encountering the cloud of spray, the bear immediately
retreated and disappeared into the brush. The group then slowly backed
up the trail, keeping alert for the bears. The animals were not seen
again. [Public Affairs, GLAC, 7/11]
01-359 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Visitor Butted by Bison
A bull bison butted a 19-year-old woman on the morning of Wednesday,
July 11th. Hyun Jung of Los Angeles and a group of four or five
friends had just left Lake Lodge when they spotted the bison grazing
in an open meadow directly in front of the lodge. The group jogged to
within a few feet of the bison and surrounded it on three sides. Over
the next five minutes, the bison continued to graze and move in Jung's
direction. As the bison neared her, she turned to run, but the bison
butted her and knocked her to the ground. The bison then moved a short
distance from the group and resumed grazing. Rangers provided
emergency medical care. Jung's friends drove her to Lake Hospital for
further medical assessment. The park has advisories posted that note
that bison can weigh up to a ton and sprint up to 30 miles per hour,
and that it's against the law to approach within 100 yards of bears or
within 25 yards of all other wildlife. [Public Affairs, YELL, 7/11]
01-360 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Search
The park provided mutual aid assistance to the Tuolumne County SO
early this month in their search for 28-year-old E.T. E.T.
was reported overdue by his father on July 3rd when he failed to
return from a four- to five-day backpacking trip through the rugged
Emigrant Wilderness, just north of the park. A massive cooperative
effort was launched to find him that included numerous county
volunteer SAR teams and state and federal agencies. Field searchers,
dog teams, mounted searchers, and helicopters were utilized in the
seven-day search. Yosemite provided about 40 personnel to the
operation. Media interest was high. Searchers were unable to find
E.T. or any significant clues to his whereabouts, so the search was
scaled back significantly on July 9th. On July 10th, E.T. hiked out
of the backcountry and found assistance at a Forest Service
campground. He had taken a 30- to 40-foot fall on the first day of his
trip after losing the trail, then camped for almost two weeks until he
felt well enough to travel out on his own. E.T. sustained a
dislocated shoulder and injuries to both of his ankles. [Deb
Schweizer, PIO, YOSE, 7/12]
01-361 - Cape Lookout NS (NC) - Multiple Rescues
On the morning of June 27th, ranger Richard Larrabee saw a large
number of people gathered at Cape Point. Upon arrival, he determined
that there was a strong current flowing and that the tide was rising.
He accordingly directed the people in the water, who were wading on a
sandbar, to return to the beach. He then saw two women - one 37, the
other 68 - about 200 yards out, frantically waving their arms as they
drifted seaward. Recognizing that the two women were not going to be
able to swim back to shore without assistance, Larrabee and a visitor
swam out to bring them in. Larrabee employed his past experience as a
lifeguard and the assistance of two visitors to get them safely to
shore. Larrabee then found a third woman hyperventilating on the
beach. She'd also been caught in the current, and had been helped to
shore by another visitor. A Marine Corps rescue helicopter arrived on
scene and a Marine paramedic assessed the three victims before they
were transported by boat to the mainland. Just prior to this incident,
a young boy had been pulled from the current while swimming in the
same area. [Jim Zahradka, SPR, CALO, 7/9]
[Additional reports pending....]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level II
Eleven new large fires were reported yesterday in the eastern Great
Basin and Northwest. Initial attack was heavy in the Northwest and
eastern Great Basin, moderate in California and the northern Rockies,
and light elsewhere. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported
in Arizona, California, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Oregon, Texas and Wyoming.
NICC has issued a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for strong winds and low relative
humidity in western and central Utah.
The full NICC situation report can be found at
http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.
National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)
Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Date 7/11 7/12 7/13 7/14 7/15
Crews 111 174 225 194 231
Engines 302 439 421 441 489
Helicopters 48 78 74 56 77
Air Tankers 4 3 7 1 3
Overhead 351 882 1,257 962 1,128
Park Fire Situation
No new reports.
Park Fire Danger
Extreme N/A
Very High Lake Mead NRA, Hawaii Volcanoes NP, Carlsbad Caverns
NP, Guadalupe Mountains NP
High Lassen Volcanic NP, Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs,
Grand Canyon NP, Zion NP, Dinosaur NM, Big Bend NP
[NPS Situation Summary Report, 7/14; NICC Incident Management
Situation Report, 7/15]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
NCR/NER/SER - The three regions and the Park Police have a signed
agreement in place to maintain a Type II incident management team for
the East Coast. In order to assure availability, each position on the
team is staffed three people deep. At any given time, one of the three
is available for callout. The three people who alternate as IC are Bob
Panko, Gordon Wissinger, and Rick Brown. The team currently has
several vacancies:
One operations section chief
One finance section chief
One ordering manager
The team also has four trainee vacancies:
Incident commander (ICT2)
Operations section chief (SOF2)
Finance section chief (FSC2)
Ordering manager (ORDM)
All qualified employees in the three regions and Park Police will be
considered for these positions. Since these teams are not for use on
fires, candidates need not be fully qualified in accordance with NWCG
fire standards to be selected for positions. Individuals selected are
expected to serve for at least one three-year period. Applications
must include supervisory approval to serve on the team. Send a resume,
including a detailed summary of incident management experience,
training and qualifications, to Ken Garvin, National Park Service,
Atlanta Federal Center, 1924 BLDG, 100 Alabama Street SW, Atlanta, GA
30303. Applications must be postmarked by July 30th. [Ken Garvin,
SERO]
Yellowstone NP (WY) - The park is advertising for a GS-12/13 district
ranger. The announcement closes on July 18th. The person selected will
serve as the DR for the North District, supervising the Mammoth, Tower
and Lamar/Northeast Subdistricts, and will be responsible for
frontcountry and backcountry operations, two entrance stations,
several campgrounds, and lots of boundary and roadways. Occupancy is
required; housing is in the Mammoth area, where there are good schools
and year-round access to roads by vehicle. Interested parties should
contact the chief ranger's office with any questions (307-344-2101).
[Rick Obernesser, YELL]
* * * * *
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