East Coast Areas
Update on Hurricane Isabel Recovery Operations
The following reports reflect the status of operations through Wednesday. Please note below that there is a new web page with hurricane recovery photos, now available to both NPS employees and the public. It also includes a video taken of tree-cutting operations at Colonial NPS (posted yesterday). It's worth looking at, but you'll probably need to be on a LAN to retrieve it, as it's an 18.5 MB file.
Central IMT (Sherrie Collins)
While long-term project work remains, recovery work at Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania National Military Park is drawing to a close. Crews that have been on-site are at the end of their 14-day or 21-day tour. Once they're demobilized, they won't be replaced.
All roads and trails in three of the five units at Richmond National Battlefield have been cleared and are now passable. Two park units remain closed due to extensive storm damage. Good progress was also made again Tuesday at Petersburg National Battlefield.
Crews that have been working in Yorktown have cleared all the tour roads. On Wednesday, they were reassigned to assist with the ongoing massive clean-up effort along the Colonial Parkway.
As visitors stroll through historic Yorktown, a mix of old and new surrounds them. Visitors tour buildings and grounds that date back to the 1700's while the sound of chainsaws fills the air. This could be viewed as an intrusion to the peaceful Yorktown setting until one realizes that because of the hard work of many workers, visitors are able to stroll the streets and browse the many establishments within the historic town.
As Hurricane Isabel takes a backseat on the regional and national news front, employees (local and from across the country) continue to work through the maze of trees, root balls, vines, and downed limbs that blanket the ground — quite often to a visitor audience. To quote one visitor, "It's interesting to watch...this type of work requires a lot of skill. I'm impressed with the work that's been done and with what still has to be finished. There's a lot (downed trees) out there."
As several crews demobilized, others will be arriving to continue the extensive recovery effort.
Work may be hampered by rain forecast for Thursday through Saturday — the first significant rainfall since Hurricane Isabel tore through the region.
There are 333 personnel currently assigned to the recovery effort. The cost to date is $5,006,252.
Daily updates, photos, and the latest Incident Action Plan are available on the Central Team's Hurricane Isabel page on the NPS Incident Management Team web site: www.nps.gov/fire/allrisk.
Pacific West IMT (Denny Ziemann)
The team is now in place at Cape Lookout NS. The incident command post (ICP) is located in the park headquarters building.
As of Tuesday morning, there were two passenger docks up and available for NPS use and public pedestrian traffic. Yesterday, the dock at Cape Lookout also opened for pedestrian use only, enabling visitors to access the lighthouse area. As soon as the road in the lighthouse area is repaired, the permitted (IBP) taxi service from the dock to the lighthouse and it's associated historic buildings will be allowed to resume. Crews are continuing to clean up debris in the lighthouse area and work on the water system for the visitor center there. Composting toilets are being repaired for visitor use at Cape Lookout. In Portsmouth Village, crews are concentrating on repairing the haul-over dock and beginning to work on historic structures. Progress is being made on clearing the back road and a temporary RV dump station is being installed at the Alger Willis Fishing Camp.
The entire park is open to pedestrians, with the exception of the immediate areas around Portsmouth Village, Morris Marina Kabin Kamps, and the Alger Willis Fishing Camps. Grading and repairs continue on the back road. At this time, no private vehicles are allowed to access or be driven on the island. Visitor and employee safety and welfare are the primary reasons for the closures.
East IMT (Bob Panko)
The team is focusing on critical infrastructure repairs and stabilization, while at the same time evaluating and transferring those responsibilities back to the park management that are appropriate at this time. Approximately 20 people were released back to the park yesterday. A resource assessment team arrived yesterday and met with the superintendent. This team, which will operate under the direction of park staff, has been brought in for immediate assessment of damaged areas to allow hurricane recovery efforts to continue.
Ongoing work at Ocracoke:
- Crews continued clearing of debris from area in pony pens and moved wood material to the chipper site.
- State personnel continued clearing the road north of the pony pens to the ferry site. The state closed Highway 12 at Ocracoke campground until further clearing has been completed. The road is passable and partially cleared, but the pavement has been destroyed in several sections.
- The state will be clearing and stabilizing dunes the Ocracoke Airport today.
- The safety officer toured Ocracoke and Hatteras Island and spoke with employees in both areas dealing with immediate safety concerns. Ben Morgan offered compliments on the safe aviation and ground operations going on at Ocracoke.
Additional Information
- NPS Interactive Map Center — Select maps of parks affected by the hurricane: http://maps2.itc.nps.gov/nps/parkatlas/jsp/atlas.jsp
- Hurricane Photo Gallery — Photos showing impacts of hurricane on parks and recovery efforts (NEW site available to both NPS employees and the public): http://www.nps.gov/hurricane
- NPS IMT Web Page — Home page for NPS incident management teams: http://www.nps.gov/fire/allrisk/
Reports compiled from submission by Al Nash, IO, Central IMT; Shauna
Dyas, IO, Pacific West IMT; Michelle Fidler, IO, East IMT/Outer Banks
Group.
Katmai National Park & Preserve (AK)
Follow-up on Two Fatal Bear Maulings
Two campers were found dead Monday afternoon at a lake adjacent to
Kaflia Bay. Both had been mauled by one or more bears. The campers were
T.T., 46, and A.H., 37, both of Malibu,
California, who were to be picked up from a camping and bear-watching
trip by a Kodiak air taxi operator. T.T. is well-known as the
founder of Grizzly People, an organization whose mission is to help
preserve bears and their habitat through educational efforts. The pilot
for Andrew Airways, who had flown to the site to pick up T.T. and
A.H., contacted national park rangers and the Alaska State Troopers
who, in turn, flew to the remote site later that afternoon. While at the
site, two brown bears were shot and killed in self defense. The first
bear was identified by the Andrew Airways pilot as one which had been
feeding on the victims. The bear was shot at close range after it
charged park rangers at the campsite. A second bear was shot after it
approached rangers and troopers who were loading the plane. T.T.'s
campsite was in a fairly brushy area with poor visibility. Tents and
camp gear were found partially damaged, and one or more bears had buried
some human remains near the camp. While what attracted bears to the camp
is not clear, rangers said T.T. located his camp near several
active bear trails and that a late run of salmon comes through the lakes
and nearby stream, also attracting bears. Choosing that kind of a
location runs counter to advice the NPS provides to park visitors using
the backcountry. The Kaflia Bay lakes are not frequently used by
visitors, although other areas along the Katmai coast are increasingly
popular for guided bear watching trips. Bear watching expeditions along
the coast, both by individuals and through licensed commercial guides,
have a good safety record. Park managers believe this is the first bear
related fatality in the park's 85-year history. The joint investigation
of the incident by the Alaska State Troopers and the National Park
Service was suspended Tuesday due to poor weather conditions, but
rangers and other investigators hoped to revisit the site yesterday.
Kaflia Bay and adjacent areas from the high tide line upslope to beyond
the camping area have been closed to visitor use. Detailed information
on the closure area is available from park headquarters in King Salmon
at 907-246-3305. b
[Submitted by John Quinley, Public Affairs, Alaska
Regional Office]
Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area (KY,TN)
Search and Rescue of Missing Rider
On the afternoon of September 30th, M.G. departed a housing
subdivision near the west side of the park for a solo horseback ride.
She told a neighbor that she would be back in a few hours, but had not
returned by 11 p.m. Her neighbor according alerted the Fentress County
Sheriff's Office. The Fentress County Rescue Squad conducted a search
during the early morning hours, and park staff launched an extensive
hasty search at first light, with more than 15 park employees
participating. By 3 p.m., the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency had
a Tennessee Highway Patrol helicopter airborne. About 45 minutes later,
the pilot radioed that his crew had located M.G. and that she appeared
to be okay. M.G. told rangers she had been knocked unconscious for an
unknown period the day before when she fell off her horse.
[Submitted by Chief Ranger's Office]
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.