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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Thursday, June 29, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Delaware Water Gap NRA Third Major Flood within Two Years Hits Park The third major flood to occur on the Delaware River in the past 22 months has led to significant closures within the park and an as-yet unknown amount of damage. The park only recently recovered from the Hurricane Ivan flood of September, 2004, and a spring runoff flood in April, 2005. Between them, those two floods inflicted about $5 million in damage on the park. Although the heavy rains that fell on the area over the past four days (eight inches at the park's rain gauge) ended on Wednesday morning, the river continues to rise. The crest at the park's principal river gauge is forecast to reach 33.8 feet today, which is about 28 feet above normal June river levels, higher than either the 2004 or 2005 floods, and just a little short of the all time record of 35.5 feet at that location. The park put ICS into effect on Tuesday morning (Brad Clawson, IC). Park staff have since been involved with moving equipment, closing up facilities, evacuating employees, redirecting traffic and myriad other activities. Significant actions to date include: Closure of Route 209, a main north-south highway, for just about all of its length in the park from Bushkill to Milford. Closure of River Road, which runs from park headquarters to the town of Shawnee. Closure of Old Mine Road from Route 602 in Millbrook Village to I-80. Closure of the unpaved section of Old Mine Road near Peters Valley. Closure of Route 615 from Pompey Road to Flatbrookville. Relocation of the temporary trailer visitor center at Kittatinny Point away from the river and up to higher ground. Relocation of seasonal employees from housing at Milford Beach and a permanent employee and his family from a residence near Bushkill. Damage assessments will not begin until the river falls back to its prior level, which should take several days. [Bill Halainen, Incident Information Officer] Northeast Region Rains Cause Flooding and Closures The heavy rains that caused the severe flooding at Delaware Water Gap NRA also had varying impacts on other parks in Northeast Region: Upper Delaware S&RR - The river is at historic high levels. Flooding and high water conditions are expected to continue through this weekend. As of 11 a.m. yesterday, the river had risen to 27 feet at the gauge in Barryville, New York. It was expected to crest last night between 33 and 35 feet. The flood stage at the gauge is 17 feet. Typical river conditions include waves over eight feet high, floating and submerged debris, swift currents, cold water temperatures and hazards along the shore. For that reason, boating is being discouraged. The historic Roebling Bridge between Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, and Minisink Ford, New York, has been closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. If flood waters reach the bridge deck, it will not reopen until it has been inspected by the Federal Highway Administration. (Note: At least one New York City TV station last night reported that the Roebling Bridge had collapsed. The report was erroneous. The park has confirmed that it's still there and in good shape.) Richmond NBP/Maggie Walker NHS - About five inches of rain fell on the two parks over a three-day period. The Fort Darling unit was closed over the weekend due to tree damage, but was cleared and reopened on Monday morning. There was some minor flooding of Battlefield Park Road in the Fort Johnson unit. Water there has since receded. Valley Forge NHP - The Betzwood picnic area has been closed due to flooding. Staff are moving furniture out of Washington's Headquarters in preparation for possible flooding and in accord with the park's flood plan. The Schuykill River trail is underwater, as is the Paulings Road parking area. At the time of the report yesterday morning, Valley Creek Road was still open, although parts of it were covered with water. [Loren Goering, Chief of Interpretation, and Al Henry, Chief Ranger, UPDE; Tim Mauch, Chief Ranger, RICH/MAWA; Lew Rogers, Chief Ranger, VAFO] Grand Canyon NP Update on North Rim Closure Approximately 200 employees and residents from the North Rim were escorted out of the park using Highway 67 on Wednesday morning. Highway 67 was approved for use by those leaving the area by the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Arizona Department of Transportation. The National Park Service, personnel from those three organizations, and members of the Northern Arizona Type 2 incident management team escorted employees and residents from the park. A shelter has been established by the American Red Cross's Salt Lake City office at the Fredonia High School in Fredonia, Arizona. Employees and residents without a place to go are being taken to the high school, which will be staffed by the Red Cross. The Forest Service has closed the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest to public access. Highway 67 and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park are also closed until further notice. These closures will be evaluated on a daily basis. The closures were precipitated by the Warm Fire, which is burning approximately 30 miles north of Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim developed area. The South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park remains open. All facilities and services are open and accessible. [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer] Glacier NP Concession Employee Injured in Pack String Accident A park concession employee from Mule Shoe Outfitters was seriously injured in a pack string accident on Tuesday, June 27th. The 60-year-old summer employee was returning with supplies from Granite Park Chalet with a pack string of mules when the accident occurred. About two miles from the trailhead at the Loop, the pack string was startled, likely due to a problem with one of the propane tanks the mules were carrying. The packer fell from his horse, and may have sustained additional injuries when the mules bolted. All mules are back with Mule Shoe Outfitters. Two emergency room nurses hiking the trail and one emergency room doctor near the Loop assisted the park rangers who responded to the incident. The packer was brought to the trailhead in a wheeled litter. He was then transported by an ALERT helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for treatment. Traffic on the Going-to-the-Sun Road was delayed approximately 20 minutes to allow the helicopter to land at the Loop. The incident is under investigation. [Melissa Wilson, Public Affairs Officer] Olympic NP Search in Progress for Overdue Hiker A search began Tuesday afternoon for an overdue hiker in the Staircase area near Hoodsport. G.G., 47, of Olympia, Washington, was last seen at the Staircase Ranger Station on Saturday, June 24th. G.G., who is deputy director of the state of Washington's Department of Retirement Systems, was reported missing on Sunday by a co-worker. Park rangers found his car still parked at the Staircase Ranger Station earlier on Tuesday. G.G. is described as being in good health, with limited overnight hiking skills. He was believed to be on a day hike. Fourteen ground searchers looked for G.G. on Tuesday afternoon, including rangers from Olympic National Park and personnel from Olympic Mountain Rescue and the Lake Cushman Fire Department. Two search dog teams - one each from Grays Harbor Search and Rescue and Pierce County Search and Rescue - also participated in the search. No clues were found. Searchers are asking anyone who may have seen G.G. since Saturday to contact Olympic National Park at 360-565-3120. G.G., stands 5'7”, weighs 165 pounds, has salt-and-pepper hair, is clean-shaven, wears glasses, and was last seen wearing khaki shorts and a Hawaiian shirt of green or blue colors. [Barb Maynes, Public Affairs Officer] OTHER NEWS Other news of interest from today's edition of InsideNPS, which can be found at this address if your inside the NPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) and at this address if you're outside the NPS ( HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://www.nps.gov/applications/digest/). Note that not all articles that appear in the former make it into the latter: * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |