NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 15, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 15, 2001
- Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 11:22:31 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, August 15, 2001
INCIDENTS
01-444 - Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - Rescue
Rangers from all three of the park's districts and a technical rescue
team from Gatlinburg FD rescued a family from the West Prong of the
Little Pigeon River on the afternoon and evening of August 10th. The
family - David and Lori Hurt, both 36, and their boys Nathan, ten, and
Noah, five - had been swimming in the river when the area received
heavy rains and the water rose without warning. When rescuers arrived,
the four Hurts were huddled together on a small jumble of boulders
with rising Class III to Class IV whitewater all around them.
Gatlinburg FD rescue swimmer Erik Preske swam to an island and rigged
a far-side anchor, while rangers rigged a haul system on the near
side, creating a Tyrolean highline over the family. Ranger Randy
Scoggins was shuttled to the family on that line and secured each of
them to a harness and to the line. They were then pulled to shore, one
at a time. Ranger Jerry Grubb was IC and ranger Kevin Moses was ops
chief. [Steve Kloster, Acting DR, North District, GRSM, 8/13]
01-445 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Storm Impacts; Trail Closure
The Bright Angel trail was closed on the morning of August 13th from
the trailhead to Indian Garden - a distance of about four-and-a-half
miles - due to damage caused by heavy early morning rains. The
pipeline that carries water from the South Rim to several rest rooms
was also broken. The trail will remain closed for about three weeks
while trail crews remove large boulders and debris and rebuild trail
and retaining walls that were damaged in the storm. The South Kaibab
and North Kaibab trails remain open. The National Weather Service
reported that the park received the better part of three inches of
rain on the night of August 12th and the morning of the 13th. [Maureen
Oltrogge, PIO, GRCA, 8/14]
01-446 - Fire Island NS (NY) - Search and Recovery
Ranger John Stewart received a cell phone call on the afternoon of
Friday, August 10th, reporting that a swimmer had been carried out
beyond the breakers off Lighthouse Beach in the park's West District.
The subsequent search involved rangers, lifeguards, and personnel from
the Coast Guard, Suffolk County Police Marine and Aviation, and New
York State Park Police. The victim was identified as L.K., 50,
a resident of Richmond Hill, New York. He was reportedly swept out to
sea in the rough, seven- to ten-foot surf. The search continued
through the weekend. At 1:30 a.m. on Monday morning, a body was found
in the park about six miles east of Lighthouse Beach. An autopsy is
being performed by the Suffolk County Coroner's Office to determine
identity and cause of death. [Jay Lippert, DR, West District, FIIS,
8/13]
[Additional reports pending....]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 4
Nine new large fires were reported on Tuesday - three in the
Northwest, two in the South, and one each in southern California, the
northern Rockies, and the eastern and western Great Basin. Initial
attack was moderate to heavy in the northern Rockies and Northwest,
and light elsewhere.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in California, Idaho,
Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and
Wyoming.
NICC has posted a RED FLAG WARNING for low relative humidity and a
high Haines Index for eastern Washington for today.
For the full NICC report, see http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.
National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)
Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed
Date 8/11 8/12 8/13 8/14 8/15
Crews 372 454 432 516 574
Engines 699 719 804 795 826
Helicopters 112 103 131 135 155
Air Tankers 13 12 12 12 15
Overhead 1,896 2,010 1,882 2,033 2,432
Type 1 IMT --- --- 3 4 4
Type 2 IMT --- --- 10 13 15
State IMT --- --- --- 6 6
Park Fire Situation
Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP (CA) - The Burnt Fire, which is being managed
for resource benefits, doubled in size on August 13th and has now
burned 412 acres.
Park Fire Danger
Extreme Hawaii Volcanoes NP
Very High N/A
High Joshua Tree NP, Lassen NP, Redwood N&SP
Fire Program Notes
DOI has produced a series of "Firewise" public service announcements
which will be broadcast on radio. The PSA's were done by Gale Norton
and Ann Veneman, secretaries of the Department of Interior and
Agriculture, Dick Clark, Jackie Mason, Andy Williams, Wayne Newton,
Lee Greenwood, Elayne Boosler, Adrienne Barbeau, Monty Hall, Andrea
Evans, and Willard Scott. They were sent to over 6,000 radio stations.
[Debee Schwarz, WASO, 8/13; NPS Situation Summary Report, 8/14; NICC
Incident Management Situation Report, 8/15]
CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Cumberland Island (GA) - Rescue of Three Stranded Manatees
While on routine turtle patrol on August 11th, SCA volunteer Ryan
Perkl discovered three adult manatees - two male bulls and a female
cow - beached but still alive south of the Dungeness dunes crossing.
Perkl radioed ranger Don Starkey, thereby beginning a rescue effort
to keep the three endangered mammals alive until the tide returned and
they could be floated to freedom. Island visitors and residents
assisted the park staff with buckets of water to keep the massive
creatures cool and wet as the tide rose. All three were eventually
freed, but it was evident by the female's slower and more deliberate
actions that she was weakened by the long period spent on the beach.
It took an hour longer and much more effort to return her to the
ocean. Given the low tide, the three manatees must have been beached
much earlier in the morning. An island resident with years of
experience studying the natural history of coastal Georgia suggested
that strandings such as these are not uncommon, as males often
aggressively pursue females. The strandings occur when the cows travel
into shallow waters to avoid the bulls. The average 11.5-foot adult
manatee weighs 2,200 pounds; if weight isn't enough of a problem, they
also have only paddle-like forelimbs and a flattened tail to help them
move about, which are of little benefit on a sandy beach. All three
appeared to have survived their experience ashore. [PIO, CUIS]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Risk Management Program Update - Recent developments include the
following:
o Park Assistance Contract - The parks participating in the
FY2001 contract - Antietam/ Monocacy NB, Big Cypress NP,
Delaware Water Gap NRA, Everglades NP, Bandelier NM, Hawaii
Volcanoes NP, and Zion NP - are nearing completion of their
activities with their assigned contractors. These activities
include employee interviews, management, supervisory and
employee training, site hazard assessments and program
analyses, and development of implementation strategies. The
ultimate goal is to reduce employee injuries and make the
parks a safer place to work.
o Worker's Compensation (OWCP) - Dick Powell, program manager,
and JoAnn Pena, OWCP manager, were interviewed by the Federal
Employees News Digest for an article that appeared in the June
edition of Federal Workers' Compensation Update. The article
included information on the challenges of workers'
compensation case management in the NPS, and the successes
that have been achieved as a result of proactive case
management and the use of investigative services. US
Investigations, together with law enforcement personnel from a
Pacific West park, conducted an investigation of a park
employee injured in 1998 who was collecting disability
payments. Following video surveillance and further
investigation, OWCP terminated that employee's benefits,
resulting in a lifetime savings of $1,004,760. To date, since
the NPS contracted to conduct investigations, the agency has
saved $3,893,742 in life-time OWCP benefits.
o Public Safety Initiative - The public risk management task
group met in Denver from June 5th to June 7th to begin writing
RM-50C, which will accompany DO-50C, "Public Risk Management
Program." The RM is scheduled to be completed by December
31st.
o Statistical Reporting - The FY 2001 second quarter report for
lost-time injuries, COP and SMIS usage has been completed and
includes information from October 1, 2000, to March 31, 2001.
It is available form Mary Davis in the WASO Rick Management
Division office at 202-208-6241.
o DOI Safety and Health Seminar - The annual seminar was held in
Seattle on the week of April 23rd. More than 65 NPS employees
attended; overall, the conference was attended by 415 DOI
employees. The next seminar will be held in 2003.
o Other issues - The WASO Risk Management Division has entered
into an agreement with NCR to jointly fund and share the
services of an industrial hygienist. The hygienist will be
hired through the existing Public Health Service contract and
will work directly for RMD. The hygienist will be tasked with
the development and management of a Servicewide occupational
health program and will provide technical support to the
field. NCR will use the hygienist for a variety of technical
and programmatic tasks.
A DOI-funded initiative for FY 2001 has been the production of
bureau-specific versions of the original BLM safety and health
handbook. Several NPS employees are assisting with the writing
of NPS-specific chapters for the handbook, including new or
revised chapters on grounds maintenance, construction safety,
watercraft safety, fire safety, off-road vehicles, safety
training, and violence in the workplace. It should be finished
by January.
The Risk Management Advisory Council met in Omaha in April.
The council is focusing on projects identified in the risk
management strategic plan in FY 2001-2002. A video produced by
the Forest Service, entitled "Personal Safety in Remote Work
Locations," was viewed by the council, which subsequently
recommended that enough copies be purchased so that each
park/unit can have one. This excellent video portrays safe
work practices for both employees in remote locations and
employees working alone in any situation.
[Dick Powell, Shirley Rowley, RMD/WASO]
* * * * *
The Morning Report solicits entries from the field and central offices
for its daily and weekly sections (below). The general rule is that
submissions, whatever the category, should pertain to operations, be
useful to the field, and have broad significance across the agency.
Additional details on submission criteria are available from the
editor at any time (Bill Halainen at NP-DEWA, or
Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). Ask for either incident reporting criteria
(issued by WASO, June 18, 2000) or general criteria.
Daily and weekly sections are available for news or significant
developments pertaining to:
Field incidents Interpretation and visitor services
Natural resource management Cultural resource management
Operations (WASO only) Memoranda (WASO only)
Requests/offers of assistance Park-related web sites
Parks and employees Media stories on parks
Training, meetings, and events Queries on operational matters
Reports on "lessons learned"
Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed
by park, office and/or regional cc:Mail hub coordinators. Please
address requests pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your
servicing hub coordinator. The Morning Report is also available on
the web at http://www.nps.gov/morningreport
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
--- ### ---