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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Tuesday, July 18, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Gateway NRA Yacht Burns In Sandy Hook Anchorage On the evening of Saturday, July 15th, the Black Tie, a 59-foot-long motor yacht valued at $1.5 million, caught fire and sank in Horseshoe Cove, a popular anchorage within the park's Sandy Hook Unit. The yacht had earlier run around on a shallow sandbar. The captain had notified the Coast Guard, and a commercial Sea Tow tug had responded. The two adults and two children on board were removed after the fire was discovered below deck. Two dogs were also on board, but only one was saved - the other perished after it ran back into the boat. The Coast Guard and fire boats from Perth Amboy, Atlantic Highlands, Leonardo and New York City responded. Most of the 400 gallons of diesel fuel on board burned off in the fire, but a strong fuel odor remained and a sheen was visible on the surface. Containment booms were placed around the vessel and a local salvage company will be removing the remaining debris. The New Jersey State Police Marine Bureau is conducting the investigation as to the cause of the fire. [Bruce Lane, Supervisory Park Ranger] Great Basin NP Death Of Hiker On Wheeler Peak A visitor called the park via cell phone on the morning of July 10th to report that he'd come upon the body of a man on the upper portion of the Wheeler Peak trail, about a half-mile from the summit (13,063 feet). A protection ranger and a park EMT headed up the trail to the location and confirmed the report. A litter team comprised of 14 members of the park staff recovered the body and turned it over to a representative from a mortuary who was acting on behalf of the deputy coroner. The death was evidently caused by some sort of catastrophic medical problem. A hiker reported passing the 53-year-old man earlier that morning. He appeared to be having problems, but said that he was okay. When the hiker returned, he found the man lying along the trail. The White Pine County Sheriff's Office is the lead investigative agency. [Curt Dimmick, Chief Ranger] Fort Pulaski NM Park Prepares To Deal With Offshore Spill Coast Guard Station Tybee contacted the park at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 17th, and advised that a spill had occurred on Elba Island, which is three to four miles east of Fort Pulaski. About 5,000 gallons of #6 oil has heavily impacted the north channel of the Savannah River. The Coast Guard has placed 4,300 feet of booms on the river and as of late yesterday was adding another 2,000 feet to contain the spill. An incident command center has been set up in downtown Savannah and the park is keeping abreast of developments. [Tammy Risius, Acting Superintendent] Cape Cod NS Rangers Assist In Multiple Disorderly Arrests A protection ranger from the South District was returning to the ranger station from making a DUI arrest at 4:30 a.m. on July 7th when he saw an Eastham officer struggling to get a handcuffed man into his patrol car. The town of Eastham borders the park, and rangers routinely work together with officers from that department. After a brief struggle, the ranger and officer were able to get the man into the cruiser. The officer then arrested a second man for being drunk in public at the same location without incident. A third man, later found to be the brother of the first, was found passed out in a van. As the officer removed him from the vehicle, he became combative, making it necessary for the ranger and officer to physically restrain and handcuff him. While this was going on, the first man kicked out the window of the Eastham cruiser from the inside, then dove out head first. By this time, another ranger and three more officers were on scene and all three men were secured. The man who went out the cruiser window was taken to a local hospital and treated for cuts and lacerations. Alcohol was a contributing factor. [Bob Grant, South District Ranger] 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: Cape Hatteras NS - The Cape Point area is being closed at night due to nesting piping plovers. Cape Cod NS - Portions of the park's ORV corridor closed to protect piping plovers have reopened. Congaree NP - Tracy Swartout is the new superintendent. * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |