|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Wednesday, July 19, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Yosemite NP Follow-up On Ferguson Rockslide The Ferguson rockslide, located on the Sierra National Forest in the Merced River Canyon, remains active, with smaller size rocks falling on a regular basis. Highway 140 into the park therefore remains closed. Forest Service field observers are monitoring the slide around the clock and procedures are in place to report any catastrophic movement or river inundation. The geology report and the multi-agency response plan are available on the forest website ( HYPERLINK "http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sierra/conditions" http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sierra/conditions). A temporary bypass around the slide is being constructed. Teichert Construction has been contracted by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to complete the work. Construction of the downstream bridge has begun, with concrete being poured into the bridge footings last week. Roadbed improvements to Incline Road area also continuing. Phase one of this work is projected to be completed by the end of July. This phase includes only the construction of the downstream bridge, with one-way traffic crossing back to the west side of the river on the Foresta Bridge. Access to the roadway during this time will likely be limited to several hours in the morning and evening. Mariposa, Midpines, El Portal, and Yosemite National Park visitor and information centers, businesses, and accommodations are all open for business. Commercial rafting companies remain open and continue to offer rafting trips seven days a week. [Mary Kline] Mount Rainier NP High Speed Pursuit Ends In Arrest Of Felon On the afternoon of July 10th, a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle with an operator and passenger on board passed a ranger vehicle in a no passing zone on Highway 410. Rangers tried to stop the motorcycle, but the operator fled westward on the highway - using both lanes, passing vehicles on both the left and right, and running other vehicles off the road. At one point during the 10 mile chase, a ranger clocked the motorcycle on radar at 116 mph. The operator finally stopped near the park's north boundary. Rangers took him and his passenger into custody, but the latter was subsequently released. The operator had outstanding felony arrest warrants against him from Lewis County for firearms violations and failure to appear in court. He was issued seven citations and taken to Lewis County, where he was turned over to the sheriff's office. He may also be facing felony evasion charges under state code. [Uwe Nehring] De Soto NM Theft of Park Entrance Sign On July 12th, park staff discovered that the De Soto Cove entrance sign, valued at approximately $3,000, was missing. Investigation revealed that one of the two wood pilings holding the sign had been pulled down, making it possible for the thief or thieves to remove it from slots in the pilings. The porcelain entrance sign stood at the beach entrance where boaters commonly access the park, but the site can also be reached by land. A local newspaper was contacted and ran an article on the theft. It's hoped that someone will read it and come forward with information on the theft. [Cliff Kevill, Chief 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: International - The International Ranger Federation held its fifth world congress in Scotland. About 300 rangers from 40 nations attended. Death Valley NP - The park is seeking a GS-9 protection ranger. * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |