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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Tuesday, April 25, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Kennesaw Mountain NBP Tornado Rips Through Park On the morning of Saturday, April 15th, an F1 tornado with winds up to 112 mph touched down and traversed the park from boundary to boundary near Cheatham Hill. About 500 trees were uprooted or snapped off along the tornado's path. Fifty trees fell across Cheatham Hill Drive, blocking access to the parking facility and trailheads near the Illinois Monument at the center of the park and to the Cobb County Youth Museum adjacent to the park. Some of these trees were 150 years old and more than three feet in diameter. Historic earthworks at Cheatham Hill sustained substantial damage from uprooted trees, and about 200 feet of split rail fence protecting the earthworks were destroyed. Dozens of trees blocked park trails, including the horse trailer parking lot and trailhead. The park had to hire a professional tree service to remove 13 large trees that were partially uprooted just inside the park's east boundary and threatened several homes in the adjacent Battleview subdivision. A large tree knocked out a traffic signal and completely blocked Dallas Highway at its intersection with John Ward Road within the park, requiring rangers to work overtime hours to manage and redirect traffic until the intersection could be restored. For a newspaper story on the tornado, click on “More Information” below. [L.R. Morris, Chief Ranger] HYPERLINK "http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/stories/0413cobstorm.html" http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/stories/0413cobstorm.html George Washington Memorial Parkway Man Wanted On Car Clout Warrants Arrested At Carderock A Park Police horse-mounted patrol officer stopped a blue Nissan pickup truck as it was leaving a lot in the Carderock Park unit in Montgomery County on the afternoon of April 5th. The officer immediately recognized the pickup and its occupant as being sought by the Park Police in several thefts from autos and subsequent fraudulent purchases with stolen credit cards. The driver gave false information to the officer and was taken to District 4 Station (Greenbelt Park) for further investigation. He was positively identified through fingerprint analysis at the FBI, at which time he waived his Miranda rights and was questioned. During questioning, he admitted that several warrants for his arrest for various credit card cases were outstanding in the state of Maryland. He was remanded to the Prince George County Sheriff's Office, which had seven outstanding arrest warrants against him. There are also four outstanding warrants against him in Howard County. USPP criminal investigation branch officers had previously obtained one of the Prince George County arrest warrants that had been filed against him. That warrant stemmed from the investigation of a theft from an auto at Carderock Park. Investigators have also linked Baker to other thefts in that park and other NPS units in the area. Warrants are being sought for those incidents. [Sgt. Scott R. Fear, United States Park Police] OTHER NEWS Links to stories for those of you who are within the NPS… Today's combined NPS/NIFC fire report: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewfirenpsnewsarticle&type=FireManagement&id=584" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewfirenpsnewsarticle&type=FireManagement&id=584 There's a protection position open at Pinnacles: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewjobdetails&type=Jobs&id=2341" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewjobdetails&type=Jobs&id=2341 Todd Brindle is the new super at Big Thicket: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=1198" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=1198 Rocky Mountain has issued a draft elk and vegetation management plan: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4381" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4381 * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |