NPS Morning Report - Friday, September 28, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, September 28, 2001
- Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 09:30:10 -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 28, 2001
INCIDENTS
01-509 - Servicewide - Follow-up: Terrorist Attacks
The National Park Service continues to provide support to its parks
and employees, gather information on the status of field areas for
DOI, and deal with security issues throughout the country, including
the brokering of numerous requests for operational support. The
Service's Type 1 IMT (Eddie Lopez, IC) continues its operations from
the South Interior Building; the Type 2 East Team (Bob Panko, IC) is
overseeing the NPS expanded dispatch operation at Shenandoah NP.
Here's a current report on the status of parks affected by this
incident:
o Federal Hall and Castle Clinton - Closed until new security
systems are evaluated.
o General Grant - The site is open.
o Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island - Closed. The former is being
used as a CISM team base. New York harbor is currently closed.
o Fort Wadsworth (GATE) - Closed at the request of the Coast
Guard. Military activity continues at the site.
o Miller Field (GATE) - Closed. The field is being used by New
York City as an equipment staging area.
o Boston NHP - The Naval Yard remains closed. Bunker Hill,
Dorchester Heights and the State Street visitor center are
open.
o Boston Harbor Islands - The Discovery Center is closed.
o George Washington Memorial Parkway - Road closures around the
Pentagon continue.
o President's Park - White House tours have been suspended
indefinitely. The Ellipse is closed. The visitor center is
open.
o Canaveral - Playalinda Beach is closed, but all other areas
are open.
o Dayton Aviation - Huffman Prairie Flying Field, which is
located on an Air Force base, is closed; the visitor center is
open.
o Fort Point - Closed.
o Haleakala - The short spur road to the observatory complex is
closed.
o Golden Gate - Areas at the north and south ends of the bridge
are closed. Fort Funston is closed to hanggliding and
paragliding.
o Glen Canyon - The dam access road and visitor center are open.
The Chains overlook is closed. Tours of the dam have been
suspended.
o Bighorn Canyon - Road access to the dam is closed. The visitor
center is also closed, and tours of the dam have been
suspended.
o Lake Mead - The dam access road is open to cars, vehicles
towing small boats and personal watercraft, pickup trucks with
bed-mounted campers, and some local businesses with permits,
but is closed to other vehicles. The Bureau of Reclamation VC
is closed, but the park visitor center is open. Tours of the
dam have been suspended.
o Lake Roosevelt - The dam is closed and tours have been
suspended. The visitor center is open.
o Whiskeytown - Tours of Shasta Dam have been suspended. The
visitor center is open.
o Yosemite - Hetch Hetchy Dam is open.
o Ross Lake - The road across Diablo Dam is open.
The peer support team working in the New York area will be
demobilizing on Sunday. EAP services are in place and will be
available to employees there. The CISM team made one-on-one contacts
and conducted group debriefings for over 85% of the park, USPP and
concessions staff in the New York area - a total of over 400 people.
Peer support will continue on an as-needed, intermittent basis. Park
personnel very much appreciate all the support they've gotten from
around the NPS. If you know someone working in the NYC area, take a
minute to send her or him an email note or a card.
At a candlelight vigil at Fort Tilden last Sunday night, Billy
Garrett, superintendent of Gateway's Jamaica Bay Unit, delivered an
"affirmation" to those gathered. The text follows:
"There is a hole in the New York skyline - a gap our minds try vainly
to fill, a hurt we want to fix by restoring the world to the way it
was before Tuesday morning, September 11th, before the rhythm of daily
routines and long-term plans were ripped apart, before time stood
still.
"Here, on that beautiful late summer day, we saw the catastrophe
unfold at a distance as if in slow motion, unwilling or unable to
comprehend what was later confirmed by radio and television but was
more directly conveyed by friends and family and neighbors who had
been there.
"Here, where the city meets the sea, the world we know fundamentally
changed; as we went through the motions of scheduled activity, our
eyes ever returned to the horizon,from the boardwalk at Jacob Riis
Park, from the runways on Floyd Bennett Field, from the West Pond in
the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, we tried in vain to find our
bearings.
"For those of us who work at Gateway National Recreation Area and
those who have visited this park, the towers of the World Trade Center
were a point of reference: they gave us a way to gauge our place at
the edge of the metropolis, they formed half of a symbolic contrast
between nature and urban life, they helped frame our context and our
purpose.
"They are gone now...an image frozen in time.
"As I made my rounds of the park later that week time folded back on
itself: At Frank Charles Park, where we honor local men who died in
the war to end all wars; at Fort Tilden, where great batteries helped
defend New York Harbor from attack by sea and by air; and at the Ryan
Visitor Center, where six decades ago air traffic controllers oversaw
the departure of Grumman fighters for the Pacific Front. Ghosts of the
past, reminding us of courage and sacrifice and dedication in defense
of freedom at other times of national crisis.
"I was also reminded of the crusading efforts of Jacob Riis, who
helped make New York a more livable city for all of its residents, and
of the intrepid aviators of the 1930s who inspired us with their
daring and expanded our vision of the applications of manned flight...
before we learned, first hand, how those bright possibilities could be
twisted by evil intentions.
"In the succeeding days we have been picked up by the momentum of
daily necessity, carried through wakes and funerals, all the while
standing vigil for the missing and injured. Together, we have moved
through each day on ever steadier legs, reinforced by the creative
energy of artists, actors and musicians, strengthened by the
outstretched hand and smile of a stranger, nourished by the sacred
word and a shared pizza, inspired by the timeless pattern of
red-winged monarch (butterflies) as they flutter by at the beginning
of a two thousand mile journey.
"Terrible as the events of the past two weeks have been, they have
formed a stark backdrop against which we can better examine old
assumptions and reaffirm our commitments to one another. It is against
this backdrop, that I restate our commitment to work with you; to
develop this park, as a complement to a great city; to work in
concert with you, our neighbors and friends, to create an example of
harmony and mutual interdependence for people and wildlife - not apart
from one another but as part of one another.
"This park will continue to serve as a safe haven where all people can
come; alone or with others to reflect and remember to grieve and to
hope. This park will continue to be a place of re-creation and
renewal: Where dreams and memories, play and learning, can inspire and
enrich our lives - in mind, body and spirit.
"On behalf of the men and women of the National Park Service, I
welcome each and every one of you to this special gathering and to
this special place - tonight and for all the days to come."
[EICC/Type 2 IMT, SHEN, 9/27; Kris Fister, NPS Type 1 IMT, WASO, 9/28;
Pat Buccello, CISM Team, 9/28; Billy Garrett, Superintendent, Jamaica
Bay Unit, GATE, 9/27]
01-529 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Search and Rescue
On the evening of September 9th, dispatch received a 911 phone call
reporting that a hiker was missing and overdue from a hike in Gold
Strike Canyon. Ranger Jeff Goad obtained sufficient information from
the reporting party to develop an operational plan. An incident
command post was established at the trailhead and search teams -
comprised of personnel from other park districts and divisions and
from other agencies - began searching for him. At 3:30 a.m., a search
team from the park's fire management office found the man on a steep
talus slope in the second highest probability area. Seven firefighters
and rangers, including park medic Beth Meyers, treated the man, who
was severely dehydrated and unable to walk. He was transported back to
the trailhead at 8 a.m. Temperatures within Gold Strike Canyon
routinely exceed 100 degrees. The high temperatures and the presence
of numerous electrical towers made it impossible to use helicopters
and infrared search devices. [B. Shott, IC, LAME, 9/24]
01-530 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - High Speed Pursuit
Boulder District rangers were involved in a high-speed pursuit at 11
p.m. on September 13th that ended up in a single-car collision. The
pursuit began after a call was received that a black BMW had been
rammed by a white Ford sedan near the park's visitor center. The two
vehicles then traveled south on Highway 95, speeding past a manned
checkpoint that had recently been established to provide increased
security for Hoover Dam. The pursuit continued until the Ford hit a
rock wall near the dam. Rangers provided medical assistance, including
extrication from the heavily damaged vehicle. Since an ambulance was
not immediately available, the driver was transported in the back of a
patrol SUV to a helicopter LZ six miles away. The two car chase began
in Las Vegas, where the operator of the Ford was involved in a
burglary. [B. Shott, SPR, Boulder District, LAME, 9/24]
[Additional reports pending....]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2
Two national Type 1 teams continue to support FEMA operations in New
York.
Initial attack was light nationally on Thursday. Four new large fires
were reported, two in the Northern Rockies and one each in the
Southwest and eastern Great Basin.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona,
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Texas,
Washington and Wyoming.
NICC has not posted any warnings or watches for today.
Park Fire Situation
Glacier NP (MT) - The acreage increase on the Moose fire - now 71,000
acres and 58% contained - occurred because of the effects of a passing
cold front. Current commitment: Type 2 team, 631 FF/OH (including 16
crews), 23 engines, and six helicopters.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/28]
* * * * *
Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed
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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.
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