02-503
Southeast Region
Follow-up on Hurricane Lili
Several reports have been received regarding the passage of Hurricane Lili through the South late last week:
- Cane River Creole NHP (LA) - Staff returned to work at the park on Friday morning and begin a damage assessment. It appears that the park is generally in good shape. At the time of the report, park staff who live in the Alexandria area had no power; some also reported minor property damage. The tropical storm and associated tornadoes hit the area from Alexandria to the south fairly hard, but there was less impact on the Natchitoches area.
- Jean Lafitte NHP&P (LA) - The park's hurricane action plan was put into effect on Wednesday for the second time in as many weeks. All park sites were closed to allow staff time to prepare personal property and evacuate if desired. Tidal surge at the center of the storm was between 10 and 12 feet deep, but was from three to five feet south of New Orleans. Heavy rain accompanied the hurricane, but was not a problem due to the storm's forward movement of about 15 mph. Winds in excess of 90 mph were recorded at the park's Acadian cultural sites and were in excess of 60 mph in the New Orleans area. The Acadian cultural centers in Lafayette and Eunice suffered only minor damage. They were closed, though, due to lack of power. The Acadian cultural center in Thibodaux, the Chalmette battlefield, and the VC/HQ in the French Quarter all reopened on October 4. All roads and trails in Barataria Preserve were underwater at the time of the report last Friday, but were expected to reopen yesterday. There was no phone service to either cultural center or Barataria.
- Gulf Islands NS (FL/MS) - The hurricane inflicted little damage on the park. The Mississippi District closed all facilities and offshore islands on Wednesday afternoon. Davis Bayou reopened on Friday morning, and the offshore islands were scheduled to reopen on Saturday. The Florida District remained open. That district is still dealing with the effects of Tropical Storm Isidore, however. Although a single lane administrative road has been plowed through the four feet of sand that buried Fort Pickens Road, it appears that it will take from one to three months before Fort Pickens and Santa Rosa areas can be reopened to the public.
[Submitted by Laura Gates, Superintendent, CARI; Gail Bishop, Public Information Officer, GUIS; Jim Carson, Chief Ranger, JELA]
02-512
Fort Sumter National Monument (SC)
Oil Spill
On the afternoon of October 1, the Charleston office of the Coast
Guard contacted park headquarters to report that an apparently minor oil
spill that occurred in Charleston Harbor the previous evening had grown
significantly. Since the spill threatened park resources at Fort Sumter
and on Sullivan's Island, the Coast Guard issued authorization to the
Department of the Interior to participate in the spill management. Over
the course of the next two days, it became evident that the spill was
much larger than first estimated. As of October 4, the spill estimate
had grown from 1,000 to possibly 2,500 gallons of number 6 oil. Although
the spill has primarily contaminated state-owned areas of marsh grass
and exhibited a sheen on the water in the Charleston Harbor area, the
impact to the park has been relatively minor. Some contamination has
occurred at the Fort Sumter beach and the cove at Sullivan's Island, and
the park's Boston Whaler was damaged by the oil. As of October 4, much
of the oil had flowed out of the harbor or been removed by the strike
team and contractors. Park staff will continue to monitor area waters
for possible further contamination. The Coast Guard has not yet
identified the responsible party.
[Submitted by Bill Martin,
Public Information Officer, FOSU]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation
Preparedness Level 2
Initial attack was light nationwide. Sixty-three new fires were reported, only one of which became a large fire.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, California, Oklahoma and Oregon.
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
| Date |
9/29 |
9/30 |
10/1 |
10/2 |
10/3 |
10/4 |
10/5 |
10/6 |
| Crews |
162 |
130 |
52 |
60 |
18 |
15 |
20 |
16 |
| Engines |
341 |
270 |
156 |
196 |
20 |
44 |
56 |
63 |
| Helicopters |
47 |
37 |
23 |
23 |
10 |
9 |
12 |
17 |
| Air Tankers |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Overhead |
1,222 |
1,189 |
1,097 |
828 |
141 |
112 |
387 |
362 |
National Team Commitments
No incident management teams committed.
National Fire Highlights
No significant fires.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Park Fire Situation
The park lifted all fire restrictions this weekend due to cooler temperatures and shorter days. Those restrictions had been in place since July 3. The park has five prescribed fires planned for this fall; together, they total 4,092 acres. Plans were to begin the burns this past weekend.
[Submitted by Jody Lyle, Fire Information Officer, SEKI]
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.