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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Monday, July 24, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Devils Tower NM Multiple Incidents And Wildland Fire The period from Wednesday, July 12th, through Sunday, July 16th, was exceptionally demanding for the park's small staff. During that period, protection rangers and other park personnel assisted an unconscious visitor at a nearby gift shop, a visitor injured in the boulder field at the base of the tower, a diabetic visitor, and three visitors on park trails, including a lost child. Heat in the high 90s and low 100s was a factor. In addition, a lightning storm on the night of July 12th started a number of small fires in the area just south of the park. This escalated the following day to an “all call” from county fire officials. The park responded with a wildland engine and crew. The fires quickly grew into a full-blow complex fire - the Thorn Divide Complex - that at one point was threatening the park, causing staff to consider plans for evacuation. A Type 2 incident management team was assigned. The complex was eventually contained at just under 15,000 acres on July 18th. Over 900 firefighters and overhead were assigned to it at its peak. Park staff assisted by supporting the firefighting effort to the full extent of its modest resources. [Bill Yett, Chief of Maintenance, and Greg Johnson, Lead LE Ranger]
Glacier NP Rescue Of Visitor Injured In Fall On the night of July 20th, park staff rescued a 22-yeard-old man from Michigan who'd fallen to a ledge above Hidden Lake. Ben Evans was evidently taking a short-cut off-trail to Hidden Lake from the Overlook when he stumbled and fell about 15 feet to a ledge. He was unable to get off the ledge and began calling for help. A fisherman heard his call and notified the Logan Pass Visitor Center around 6 p.m. The rescue was a team effort and included employees from protection, a trail crew, maintenance, interpretation, resource management, and a park volunteer. Rescuers determined that Evans could not be reached from below and that a technical rescue would be required. A team of four rappelled approximately 100 feet to the ledge, assessed Evans condition, and determined that he'd sustained only cuts and bruises. Evans was then placed in a seat harness and lowered about 80 feet to the base of the cliff via a tandem rappel. Evans and the rescuers hiked back to Logan Pass, where they arrived just before midnight. [Melissa Wilson, Public Affairs] Fire Island NS Apparent Drowning Off Lighthouse Beach On the afternoon of July 15th, ranger John Stewart received a call reporting an unconscious man at Lighthouse Beach. Stewart and seasonal ranger Sean Miller found a large crowd on the beach gathered around two people who were performing CPR on the man. They turned out to be an emergency room doctor and an emergency room nurse. An AED, brought to the beach by the doctor, was hooked up to the man, but no shock was administered. Miller inserted an oral airway and employed a bag valve mask while CPR was continued. Efforts to revive the man proved unsuccessful, though. People at the scene reported that the man had been pulled from the surf by friends and that CPR was started almost immediately. The victim was in his early 50s and reportedly a Chinese national. [Wayne Valentine, Chief Ranger] Lake Mead NRA Presumed Drowning In Lake Mead Park dispatch received a call around 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 20th, reporting that a 26-year-old Las Vegas man had gone into the lake for a swim with friends but had failed to return to shore. Rangers found that a group of five men had been fishing in a cove, and that three of them had decided to go for a swim. Only two returned. A search was begun, suspended at 12:30 a.m., then resumed during the day. His body was found on the first dive. He is presumed to have drowned. [Roxanne Dey, Public Affairs] 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: Alumni - Feature article on former ranger Irving Townsend turning 100 - probably the oldest former ranger still alive. WASO V&RP - Issuance of new memorandum on backcountry travel procedures. ARO - Announcement for regional chief ranger position. Shenandoah NP - Announcement for GS-9 protection ranger. Knife River - Announcement for GS-12 superintendent. * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |