NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

BLACKBERRY EDITION

Thursday, August 11, 2005

INCIDENTS

Mojave NP

Fires, Frequent Floods Cause Park To Seek Assistance

Following record rains this past winter, the annual southwestern monsoon season is generating above average lightning activity in thunderstorms that occur on a daily basis. The lightning has been the principal cause of the 21 fires recorded in the park since June (burning a total of over 76,000 acres). The storms have also caused numerous downpours and flashfloods. Entire roads within the park have been washed out, repaired, then washed out again by subsequent flood waters. Recently burned areas are receiving flash floods on a daily basis. In order to mitigate the cycle of impacts, numerous fire and law enforcement personnel from neighboring NPS areas have been brought in. Although all documented records of fire occurrence have been greatly exceeded this year, the worst of the fire season is usually the later part of the summer, when Santa Ana winds start prevailing. [Denny Ziemann, Chief Ranger]

Denali NP&P

Search for Missing Backpacker Underway

The park has begun an air and ground search for a missing backpacker, R.H., 34, of Anchorage, Alaska. There are almost 30 people currently assigned to the search effort, which is focusing on an area surrounding what is believed to be R.H.'s abandoned campsite in the Kantishna Hills at the 4,000 foot elevation, about five miles northeast of Wonder Lake. On Friday, August 5th, the park received information from a pilot with Kantishna Air Taxi that during one of his flights in the area he had spotted a tent that appeared to be abandoned inside the park east of Kantishna. A check of backcountry permits the next day revealed that R.H. had received a permit for a planned backpacking trip into the park on July 10th for a unit adjacent to the area in which the tent was located. It was also determined that R.H. had been issued a bear-resistant food canister (BRFC), which had not been returned after his planned exit from the park on July 18th. This is not unusual, as some backpackers forget to return the canisters and wilderness users are not required to “check-in” as they exit the park. Due to the NPS response to the small plane accident with two fatalities that occurred on Friday, August 5th, and the subsequent investigation over the weekend, park rangers were not able to fly to the abandoned campsite to begin the investigation until Monday, August 8th. After arriving at the site, rangers confirmed that the number on the BRFC was the same as the one checked out to R.H. and that the tent color listed on the permit matched the one at the campsite. NPS special agents contacted R.H.'s next-of-kin, who reported that they had not seen or heard from R.H. since his scheduled trip to the park, although no missing person report had been filed with the park or Alaska authorities. Additional evidence found in his Anchorage residence indicates that he has been away for a significant period of time. R.H. has been described as physically fit, but it is not known at this time how familiar he was with the area or how much backcountry experience he has. He is a white male, 6 feet tall and weighing 195 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Investigators are interviewing employees and visitors throughout the park and in the Anchorage area to develop additional intelligence of R.H.'s whereabouts. Air and ground search efforts on Tuesday centered on the area surrounding R.H.'s campsite, and rangers continued combing the site for evidence. Three aircraft were dedicated to the air search. Plans to make the most effective use of ground crews were completed on Tuesday and additional searchers began searching by foot on Wednesday. Efforts are being coordinated with the Alaska State Troopers. The park is asking anyone who might have information about R.H.'s whereabouts or his activities since July 4tj to call 907-683-9500. [Kris Fister, Public Affairs Officer]

Yosemite NP

Recovery of Body of Missing Hiker

H.A., a 25-year-old South Korean exchange student who had just completed a year at the University of California/Davis, obtained a wilderness permit for an ambitious eleven-day hike on the John Muir Trail from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney on June 20th. After the hike, H.A. planned to visit several other sites in the U.S. and had tickets for his return flight to Korea for July 21st. He apparently started the hike on June 21st, but changed his route due to the late lingering snow pack in the Sierra. On July 21st, the park was notified by the Davis police department that H.A. had missed his flight home. Intensive investigation, including several hundred telephone calls to wilderness permit holders by volunteers, led to backcountry witnesses who had spoken with H.A. on June 22nd and 25th. The areas identified from these clues were intensively searched by helicopter, ground searchers and dogs. When H.A. was not found, the search was scaled back after the weekend of July 30th. Through the following week, limited field searching continued. On Friday, August 5th, a single search team was traversing Tenaya Canyon, an area that had not been previously ground searched, when they found H.A.'s backpack on the bank of Tenaya Creek. The next day the area downstream from the pack was searched. H.A.'s body was found about a mile downstream from the pack. It appeared that H.A. had fallen in the creek, swollen by spring runoff, and had been underwater until the creek receded. H.A.'s body was flown from the remote canyon by the park's fire management helicopter. An autopsy found that his death was caused by multiple blunt force injuries. A journal and digital camera found at the scene lead to the conclusion that H.A. died sometime midday on June 26th. [Steve Yu, Criminal Investigator]

Jean Lafitte NHP&P

Sexual Assault

Around 5 a.m. on Thursday, August 4th, an unidentified man sexually assaulted a woman in the Jones Point area of Barataria Preserve. The woman was able to free herself and escape and contacted the occupants of a nearby house. Her assailant left the area before responding units arrived. The woman was later taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The circumstances of this assault, including the description of the suspect, are similar to an assault which occurred in October, 2004, in the Twin Canals parking lot of Barataria Preserve and to a third assault that occurred earlier this year in the nearby community of Lafitte. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office is the lead investigative agency. [Leigh Zahm, Supervisory Park Ranger]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

NIFC remains at PL 3. Four more teams were committed yesterday, bringing the total commitment of state and national teams to 25. A total of 363 crews are in the field.

Individual fire entries for today for the National Park Service can be obtained at HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/fire/news" http://www.nps.gov/fire/news . The full NIFC Incident Management Situation Report for today can be obtained at HYPERLINK "http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf" http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Nothing today.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Nothing today.

JOBS

Nothing today.

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Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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