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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Friday, September 8, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Lake Mead NRA Multiple Incidents And Rescues Mark Labor Day Weekend Sun, fun and ideal weather conditions brought thousands of visitors to the park over the Labor Day weekend. For the third time this year, park staff saw more visitors over the course of a weekend than many parks see in an entire year. Rangers, interagency dispatchers and law enforcement personnel from the park and several state and county law enforcement agencies rose to the challenge and provided exceptional service to the 153,755 visitors recorded over the holiday weekend. On one of the busiest weekends on record, rangers responded to 1,610 incidents, issued 219 citations and made 3,565 visitor contacts. Interagency dispatchers recorded in excess of 11,000 calls, including both radio traffic and phones. Significant incidents for the weekend included a major SAR for a missing boater, three lives saved in two separate incidents, 24 arrests (the majority associated with alcohol), 13 EMS responses, and nine search and rescue incidents. Proactive patrols and aggressive enforcement and education for boating, water use activities, speeding, and alcohol and disorderly conduct continued to be a high priority for all hands. Incidents included the following: On Saturday, September 2nd, rangers and rescue personnel responded to a report of an overturned vehicle near the Wetlands trailhead. A car containing two adults and two juveniles had left the road and rolled down an embankment. All four had gotten out by themselves and refused medical treatment. The driver was found to be intoxicated and was arrested for operating under the influence. Shortly thereafter, a park pilot on aerial patrol saw another vehicle doing doughnuts in the Government Wash parking area. Rangers intercepted the driver at the Lake Mead Drive entrance station and found that he was very intoxicated. He was also arrested. On Sunday, rangers dealt with multiple assault calls throughout the park. While patrolling in the Boulder District, a ranger saw a man who was operating a vehicle beating his female partner, who was holding a three-month-old baby. The vehicle was stopped and the driver was arrested. During that call, rangers elsewhere in the Boulder District responded to a report of a fight in progress on a moving vessel near Lake Mead Marina. Rangers used pepper spray when the man refused to comply with their orders. He was arrested, taken to a local hospital for observation, then transported to jail. While en route to a request for assistance at another incident in the Boulder District, officers from cooperating agencies were notified of a stabbing in the Place Cove area. They found that a man had suffered non-life-threatening wounds to his head and face. Suspects matching the description of the assailants were found to be associated with the MS 13 and 18th and 38th Street gangs. Other law enforcement officers were called in, including NPS special agents, members of Las Vegas Metro's gang unit, and officers from BLM and the Forest Service. There were no arrests, but several suspects were identified. Three lives were saved in two separate incidents later on that same day. Rangers in the Boulder District were dispatched to a report of a drowning near Government Wash. Rescuers began CPR and continued it for about ten minutes until Mercy Air medical personnel arrived and took over. The victim regained a pulse and breathing before being taken to University Medical Center. Elsewhere, rangers and Nevada Division of Wildlife officers responded to a report of a woman who'd fallen and injured her head near mile marker 33 on Lake Mohave. The 74-year-old woman was found at the top of a 100-foot cliff. She and her husband had been driving down an adjacent wash when their Jeep broke down. They hiked about three miles toward the lake, where both began to experience the effects of severe dehydration. Temperatures at the time exceeded 110 degrees. Immediate cooling and c-spine treatments were begun. The woman was flown out by Mercy Air. [Mary Hinson, Chief Ranger] Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Ranger Assigned To Fire Base Camp Averts Possible Tragedy Ranger Chris Holland was on security patrol in the base camp for the Ulm Creek Fire in Idaho Panhandle NF around 1:30 a.m. on August 30th when he and partner Doug Wulff from the Forest Service discovered a wildland fire burning near the helicopter landing spot. The fire was fast approaching tents that housed support personnel for the helicopter operation and some firefighters. Holland and Wulff alerted the firefighters, who were sound asleep at the time. They coordinated an initial attack on the fire and kept it out of the housing area. Holland and Wulff's actions are credited with averting a possible tragedy. Holland is a protection ranger at the park and is currently providing security at the fire. [Bill Blake, Security Manager] * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |