NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, September 4, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, September 4, 2001
- Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 11:57:35 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, September 4, 2001
INCIDENTS
01-488 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Two Rescues
Rangers were involved in the rescues of the victims of two separate
climbing accidents on August 25th. The first incident occurred around
2:30 p.m. S.H., 22, of Durham, North Carolina, fell
approximately 35 feet from the Endless Wall in the Beauty Mountain
area while conducting a lead climb. S.H. was making a 5.10a climb
on "The Mushroom" in the Rams Head area at the time of the fall. He
had six pieces of gear placed, the top three consisting of
nuts/chocks. As he climbed above his protection, he apparently pulled
the nuts out of the crack they were jammed in and fell to the ground,
landing on his feet and back. His climbing partner, A.B.,
also of Durham, managed to keep S.H.'s head from hitting the
ground. S.H. never lost consciousness and remained alert and
oriented in the care of two other climbers who came to his aid while
A.B. went to a nearby residence to call for help. A multi-agency
rescue team consisting of rangers and volunteer fire department
personnel conducted a 75-foot vertical raise and carryout to a waiting
ambulance. He was then transferred to an air ambulance and flown to a
major trauma center in Charleston. His chief complaints were neck and
back pain. He is in stable condition. At 7 p.m. that same day, a
15-year-old girl from Fayetteville fell about 45 feet from a cliff in
the Junkyard Wall area. She was beginning to descend the cliff on a
wooden ladder when she slipped and fell (the ladder has been placed at
that location by a private organization for climber access). The total
height of the cliff is about 70 feet; the first ladder is about 25
feet from the top of the cliff, with a steep and slippery scree slope
leading from the cliff top to the first ladder. She was above the
first ladder when she slipped and fell, bouncing off a ledge and
landing on the boulder-strewn ground below. A multi-agency rescue team
consisting of rangers and volunteer fire department members conducted
a 60-foot vertical raise. She was carried out to a waiting ambulance,
transferred to an air ambulance, then flown to a major trauma center
in Charleston. She is presently listed in serious/stable condition in
the ICU at the hospital, having suffered a severely fractured skull in
the fall that may require surgery to reduce the brain swelling. Other
injuries included a possible fractured arm and neck injuries. [Rick
Brown, ACR/Operations, NERI, 9/2]
01-489 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Rescue
On August 25th, the county sheriff's department asked park personnel
to assist in a rescue a half mile outside the park boundary in Havasu
Canyon. L.P., 18, had sustained a severely angulated ankle
fracture following a fall while hiking the previous evening between
Mooney and Beaver Falls. The park helicopter flew to the scene; aboard
were pilot Borden Miller, helispot manager Abbey Boland, spotter Ken
Phillips and rescuer Kristin Fey. Fey was lowered via short haul and
subsequently extracted with the girl. They were short-hauled two miles
to a staging helispot, where L.P. was transferred to an Arizona
DPS rescue helicopter which transported her to Flagstaff Medical
Center. Immediately upon the completion of this rescue mission, ranger
Hunter Bailey and paramedic Tom Clausing were flown by park helicopter
from the South Rim to Horseshoe Mesa. Once at the scene, they located
M.K., a 22 year-old woman from Slovenia who had suffered
a 40-foot fall from the north end of the mesa the previous evening.
M.K. had been attempting to locate a route to the Colorado River
in near darkness. Clausing rappelled to M.K.'s exposed location
on a cliff and found that she had sustained multiple traumatic
injuries, including a possible jaw fracture, and that she was
suffering from a significant loss of consciousness. It was determined
that a short-haul extraction would be the best way to proceed. The
same flight crew responded to this incident, with ranger/IEMT Mike
McGinnis as rescuer. McGinnis rappelled down and prepared M.K.
for evacuation. The two were extracted via helicopter short-haul
rescue. M.K. was subsequently transported to the South Rim and
treated at the Grand Canyon walk-in clinic. Jennifer Flynn was IC for
both incidents. [Ken Phillips, SAR Coordinator, GRCA, 8/29]
[Additional reports pending....]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 4
Five new large fires were reported yesterday - three were in the
northern Rockies and two were in the Great Basin. Another three were
contained. Initial attack was light nationwide.
On September 3rd, a firefighter on the Labor fire on the Bitterroot NF
was struck and killed by a falling snag.
Very high to extreme fire danger was reported in Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and
Wyoming.
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH today for isolated dry lightning,
low relative humidity, high temperatures and a high Haines index for
northeastern Wyoming and western South Dakota.
For the full NICC report, see http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.
National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue
Date 8/31 9/1 9/2 9/3 9/4
Crews 483 533 508 571 496
Engines 575 555 606 674 496
Helicopters 150 138 137 146 141
Air Tankers 1 5 2 8 1
Overhead 3,805 3,972 3,745 3,538 2,693
Area Command Team 2 2 2 2 1
Type 1 IMT 5 5 4 3 4
Type 2 IMT 7 7 7 6 4
State IMT 1 0 0 0 0
Fire Use Team 2 1 1 1 1
Park Fire Situation
Glacier NP (MT) - The Moose fire (52,000 acres; 5% contained, no
estimate for full containment; Type 1 team w/1,215 FF/OH committed -
including 35 crews, 24 engines, nine helicopters) is burning both near
and within the park. Due to extreme fire activity yesterday, North
Fork Road was closed. Burnout operations to protect structures near
Home Ranch Bottoms were successful. The park, Going-to-the-Sun Road,
most campgrounds and all commercial visitor facilities remain open. An
Associated Press story filed this morning by reporter Becky Bohrer
provides additional information about recent developments:
"Wind-driven flames forced evacuations in a small, wooded development
west of Glacier National Park, in the latest setback for firefighters
battling the persistent fire. Fire commanders grounded their air
attack and pulled firefighters off the lines Monday when gusts of
around 35 mph were reported. Officials expected lighter wind Tuesday,
but firefighters still faced dry conditions and steep, forested
terrain. 'We're just fighting against Mother Nature right now,'
incident commander Larry Humphrey said.
"Fire officials said about a dozen people were ordered to evacuate
Monday afternoon as flames threatened homes, barns and a small store.
Fire information officer Bob McKinney said the high winds made the
fire too dangerous to fight. 'It would be homicide trying to put a
fire crew in front of that thing,' he said Monday.
"More than 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze, which had grown
to 52,000 acres, fire information officer Jack Conner said. The fire
was started by lightning near the town of Whitefish on Aug. 14. On
Friday, it spread into Glacier National Park and pushed east toward
Lake McDonald, which has a number of homes, park lodges and
campgrounds nearby. Jeff Whitney, a deputy incident commander,
estimated about 80 buildings around the lake remained threatened by
the fire.
"Despite the blaze, lodges and other attractions within the park were
still bustling. Mark McDevitt, general manager of the Lake McDonald
Lodge, said the fire was 'a great photo op' for visitors."
Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - The three fires burning on the North Rim - the
Tower fire (165 acres), the Swamp Ridge fire (260 acres), and the
Vista fire (1,115 acres) - are burning primarily in pine needles and
duff. Prep work to protect Kanabownits Lookout Tower, Muav Cabin and
Rock Cabin has been completed. None of these structures is threatened
at present. Inversions have caused smoke impacts within the park; they
are expected to continue through Tuesday.
Yellowstone NP (WY) - The park has four fires burning - two of them
being managed for resource benefits, two being suppressed:
o Stone fire (130 acres, managed for resource benefits) - Very
little change occurred between Sunday and Monday. The fire has
been creeping and smoldering to the northeast and west.
o Sulphur fire (825 acres, managed for resource benefits) - The
fire was particularly active on its western flank, where it
crossed a drainage with a limited rate of spread. Monitors
continued to collect live fuel moisture samples and observe
fire behavior.
o Falcon fire (3,760 acres, suppression under a confinement
strategy) - Steady southwest winds pushed the fire into curing
grasses and willows, which now have the potential to create
spot fires to the east of Yellowstone River in Thorofare
Valley. Structure protection equipment remains in place for
the Thorofare Ranger Station, located to the east of the
river. Cooperative monitoring is being conducted via aerial
patrol by the park and Bridger-Teton NF.
o Little Joe fire (860 acres, suppression) - Fire activity was
minimal.
Yosemite NP (CA) - The Hoover complex is comprised of the Hoover fire
(7,883 acres, 76 FF/OH committed) and four other fires totaling no
more than 80 acres. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity levels
have slowed fire activity and decreased the volume of smoke.
Extreme Lassen Volcanic NP
Very High Crater Lake NP
High Joshua Tree NP, Zion NP, Glacier NP, Hawaii Volcanoes
NP
[Donna Nemeth, GRCA, 9/3; Johanna Lombard, YOSE, 9/3; Doug Wallner,
YELL, 9/3; NPS Situation Summary Report, 9/3; NICC Incident Management
Situation Report, 9/4]
* * * * *
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