Yosemite National Park (CA)
Storm Rescues and Fatalities
During the first major storm of the season on Tuesday, October 19th, rangers and search and rescue teams began a full-scale effort to rescue seven climbers on four different routes on El Capitan, located at the west end of Yosemite Valley.
Yosemite Search and Rescue team members surveyed the climbing routes on El Capitan after the first wave of the storm passed and saw two climbers from Japan on "The Nose" who were without a porta-ledge and were not moving (a porta-ledge is a tent-like storm shelter that climbers carry on long climbs and can be hung from the cliff).
Weather conditions initially made use of the park helicopter impossible. The rescue team hiked over 11 miles in driving snow, extreme wind, and poor visibility, then conducted a technical rescue to get down to the stranded climbers.
A break in the weather on Wednesday made it possible to fly to the site by helicopter. The helicopter flew very close to the two Japanese climbers on "The Nose," a difficult but popular route that stretches from the Yosemite Valley floor to the summit of El Capitan, and rangers on board could tell that both were deceased.
Rescuers then diverted their attentions to other parties on El Capitan. David Turner was solo climbing and had been on the rock for 17 days. He had almost reached the top of his climb when he realized that he needed assistance. Turner was taken to the summit, then transported by helicopter to El Capitan Meadow on Wednesday.
They next focused on two climbing teams on the cliff.
The first climbing team of two, T.T. and E.E., both Californians, was climbing on the route named "Never Never Land." They were safely taken to the summit, then flown to El Capitan Meadow on Thursday.
The second climbing team of two was on Salathe Wall. M.M.V. from Santa Torre, Mexico, and her climbing partner, T.A. of New Paltz, New York, were taken to the summit, then flown to El Capitan Meadow on Friday afternoon.
All five of the rescued climbers are considered very capable and extremely skilled climbers and were in good condition after being rescued.
The two deceased Japanese climbers were taken off the rock on Thursday. They were taken to the Mariposa County Coroner's Office, where they were identified as M.R., 27, and R.Y., 26. The cause of death was deemed hypothermia. M.R. and her climbing partner Yamanoto were from Hyogo, Japan, and were visiting Yosemite with two friends.
Marin County, Placer County, and Mariposa County Search and
Rescue teams assisted Yosemite Search and Rescue. About 100 people were
involved in the rescue operations.[Submitted by Raye Santos, Public
Affairs]
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (CA)
Theft From Fee Station
Rangers arrested a 40-year-old man late on the evening on October 17th after observing him fishing for day use fee payment envelopes from a fee collection station (known as an 'iron ranger'). During the search incident to the arrest, rangers found four Whiskeytown day use fee payment envelopes in the man's possession.
Ranger Mike Martin was conducting surveillance of the fee collection station when the theft took place. Rangers Gary Panich and Billy Watkins assisted with the arrest and booking at the Shasta County jail.
Visitor use assistants had been reporting that they were occasionally finding that day use fee payment envelopes were missing during their routine collections (each envelope has a serial number used for tracking purposes). In one instance, a bent fishing hook had been found at the bottom of an iron ranger.
Visitor use assistants and rangers worked together on the investigation and determined the most likely time when these incidents were occurring. Efforts were then begun to catch the thief.
The man who was arrested had a southern California mailing address and apparently lived out of his vehicle.
He is scheduled to appear in federal district court on November 2nd.
[Submitted by Andy Zavanelli, Chief Ranger]
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (NC)
Attempted Suicide
On the evening of Tuesday, October 19th, Dare County issued a missing person notice for a 29-year-old man, including a description of his 2002 Nissan SUV. Ranger Phil Swartz found the vehicle in a remote parking area in the park.
Swartz and ranger Miranda Cook joined Dare County deputies and a county dog unit in a search for the man. Cacti in the area, however, distracted the dog. A county helicopter with night searching capability overflew the area four times, but without success. The search was therefore suspended until the morning of the 20th.
At 6 a.m. rangers Paul Stevens and Chuck Huston were about to resume the search when they were contacted by the man's father via cell phone and advised that he was taking his son to the hospital. They instead headed to the hospital and met father and son there. The son had cut his right wrist several times with a razor knife sometime on Monday. He was checked for weapons and admitted to the hospital, where he will remain under medical care. He'll then be taken to a mental health hospital.
Investigation revealed that the man was suicidal over a pending divorce and had been committed twice in the past two weeks for attempted suicide. He'd worked as a police officer in two different towns for eight years until he resigned and began working for his father last year. He'd talked to his father on Monday evening and told him that he was going to take a bottle of prescription medication and go out onto the dunes to die.
An involuntary committal order was issued by a local magistrate at
the request of the father.
[Submitted by Paul Stevens, Law
Enforcement Specialist]
New River Gorge National River (WV)
Suicide from New River Gorge Bridge
A jogger on Fayatte Station Road saw a person jump from the New River Gorge Bridge on the afternoon of October 20th and called 911.
Responding Fayette County deputy sheriffs and West Virginia state troopers found an abandoned vehicle on the bridge; rangers found the body on the roadway beneath the bridge.
The victim was identified as a 51-year-old man from Pittsburgh. A suicide note and an envelope addressed to his wife were found in the vehicle.
A follow-up investigation by rangers and deputies is
underway.
[Submitted by Gary Hartley, Chief Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Preparedness Level 1
There were just 17 new starts yesterday. None escaped initial attack. No areas reported either very high or extreme fire indices.
Weather Forecast
A cold and wet weather system will move into the Pacific Northwest and northern California today, bringing valley rains and mountain snows. Snow will be especially heavy in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California where as much as 2 feet is expected. Later in the day, rains will spread inland into the western and northern parts of the Great Basin. Pleasant and warm fall conditions will continue along the Eastern Seaboard.
Warnings and Watches
No warnings or watches have been issued for today.
NPS Fires
For a brief supplemental narrative on each fire, click on the bar with the arrow. Internal NPS readers can link directly to full reports on each fire by clicking on the notepad icon; public readers of the Morning Report can obtain similar information by going to http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
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National/State Team Commitments
No national or state teams are in the field.
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
|
Date |
10/20 |
10/21 |
10/22 |
10/23 |
10/24 |
10/25 |
10/26 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crews |
9 |
28 |
24 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
|
Engines |
11 |
25 |
13 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
|
Helicopters |
6 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Overhead |
169 |
155 |
68 |
162 |
88 |
80 |
9 |
Further Information
This report is meant to present just highlights of the current fire situation. Two other NIFC sites provide much greater detail:
Full NIFC Situation Report (PDF file) — http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
National Fire News — http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
Information on NPS Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) and on park fires can be found at:
FAM — http://www.nps.gov/fire
Park fires — http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Buffalo National River (AR)
GS-11 Supervisory Park Ranger
The park is recruiting for a GS-11 supervisory park ranger. This is a permanent full-time commissioned position, approved for secondary 6c law enforcement retirement.
The person in this position will supervise the daily operation of the Lower District visitor protection program, including law enforcement, emergency operations, investigations, and resource protection. The park has an active search and rescue program and rangers train monthly.
This is a great opportunity to supervise a diverse visitor protection program with both land and water based activity. The position is listed on USA Jobs (BUFF 05-03) and closes on November 15th.
For more information, contact chief ranger Robert Maguire at 870-741-5446, ext. 231.
[Submitted by Robert Maguire, Chief Ranger]
Alaska Region
Kenai Fjords NP Superintendent Selected
A former three-term mayor of Bettles, Jeff Mow has been named as superintendent of Kenai Fjords National Park in Seward.
Mow, who has spent 13 of his 16 years in the National Park Service working in Alaska, will move back to Alaska in November to lead the staff at Kenai Fjords, a 670,000-acre unit established in 1980.
Between 2001 and 2003, Mow served as the Bevinetto Congressional Fellow in Washington, D.C., where he held assignments as a legislative fellow with then-Senator Frank Murkowski's Energy and Natural Resources Committee and as a legislative specialist in the NPS Office of Congressional Affairs. Since 2003, he has been superintendent at Florissant Fossil Beds NM in Colorado.
"I am very honored to have been selected for this position," Mow said. "My family and I are very excited to be returning to Alaska and we look forward to building upon the highly successful relationships that the Kenai Fjords National Park staff has developed with the surrounding communities."
"Jeff brings the experience of having worked in several Alaska communities, and in Washington D.C. That mix of skills will be critical as Kenai Fjords moves forward with plans for a new waterfront area visitor center, and continues to grow as a destination for Alaska visitors," said NPS Alaska Regional Director Marcia Blaszak.
Mow's National Park Service career began in 1988 as a seasonal backcountry ranger in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Over the course of 13 years in Alaska, he held a variety of positions, including subsistence manager for Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve; chief of operations for Gates of the Arctic; Anaktuvuk Pass district ranger for Gates of the Arctic; law enforcement ranger at Klondike Gold Rush NHP; and assistant regional law enforcement specialist in the Alaska Region.
During his years in Alaska, Mow was active both in local communities and with various statewide organizations. He served three terms as mayor of Bettles, Alaska's smallest incorporated city. He was also active with emergency medical services in Bettles, Anaktuvuk Pass, and Skagway, and was an active in the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism (AWRTA) and the former Alaska Visitor's Association (now the Alaska Travel Industry Association).
[Submitted by Jane Tranel, 907-644-3513]
U.S. Attorney's Office
Retirement of AUSA Dennis Kennedy
Rangers, special agents and officers from NCRO, NERO, the Park Police, Manassas, and Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania attended the retirement function for AUSA Dennis Kennedy on October 14th in Alexandria, Virginia.
Kennedy worked for the Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. Attorney's Office, and was a great supporter of the NPS and its resource protection mission. He is best known for his work in the ARPA program, where he was a very active prosecutor, trainer, and advocate for greater NPS support of ARPA enforcement.
Kennedy was involved in the ARPA program from the late 1980s on and has trained hundreds of federal and state law enforcement officers and archeologists. A number of his cases were first-of-a-kind cases involving different aspects of ARPA and NAGPRA. He often used sentencing and settlement agreements to advance the resource education message to the public.
Most recently, AUSA Kennedy served as prosecutor on a major scenic easement violation case at George Washington Parkway that resulted in a $500,000 settlement and a major car clouting case at Manassas.
The NPS delegation of 14 persons who attended the retirement function was led by Karen Taylor-Goodrich, Associate Director for Visitor and Resource Protection.
[Submitted by Einar Olsen, Regional Chief Ranger, NCRO]
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.