Colonial National Historical Park (VA)
Bicycle Accident With Serious Injury
J.H. and three friends were riding their bicycles westbound on the Colonial Parkway just west of Yorktown on the morning of September 22nd. As they rode through a construction site at kilometer 5, they moved to the left to avoid the construction barrels. When J.H., who was third in line, moved to his left, the front tire of the bicycle got caught in the expansion joint between the concrete pavement slabs and he lost his balance and fell. He struck his head on the pavement, cracking his helmet and suffering major head trauma (fractured skull). The park's chief ranger came upon the accident moments after it had occurred and began providing emergency medical care. J.H. was unconscious and had difficulty breathing. Prior to the arrival of York County EMS, he on several occasions stopped breathing. The chief ranger employed rescue breathing to restore J.H.'s respirations. York County EMS took him to a hospital, where he underwent emergency brain surgery. As of September 29th, he was still in a coma and critical condition. [Submitted by Tom Nash, Chief Ranger]
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (CA)
Body Of Overdue Mountain Biker Found By Searchers
On the morning of September 20th, protection rangers joined with members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff/Malibu Mountains Search & Rescue team in a hasty search for an overdue mountain biker. Rangers searched local roads and trails for W.C., 47, who had parked his vehicle on a pullout on park property near Mulholland Road. On September 21st, W.C.'s body was found by family friends in a creek on NPS property approximately five miles away from the spot where he'd parked his vehicle. An investigation is underway into the cause of death. [Submitted by Evan W. Jones-Toscano, Chief Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire/Incident Situation Highlights
National Fire Activity — Preparedness Level 3
|
Date |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Sun |
|
Day |
9/24 |
9/25 |
9/26 |
9/27 |
9/28 |
10/1 |
|
Initial Attack Fires |
55 |
54 |
74 |
39 |
30 |
50 |
|
New Large Fires |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Large Fires Contained |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Uncontained Large Fires |
14 |
11 |
11 |
11 |
10 |
8 |
National Resource Commitments
|
Date |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Sun |
|
Day |
9/24 |
9/25 |
9/26 |
9/27 |
9/28 |
10/1 |
|
Area Command Teams |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Type 1 Teams |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
Type 2 Teams |
6 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
FUM Teams |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Crews |
218 |
179 |
197 |
258 |
246 |
128 |
|
Engines |
516 |
413 |
476 |
508 |
493 |
241 |
|
Helicopters |
78 |
78 |
84 |
82 |
76 |
64 |
|
Air Tankers |
18 |
17 |
19 |
18 |
18 |
17 |
|
Overhead |
2,402 |
2,233 |
2,290 |
2,054 |
1,968 |
1,627 |
Weather Discussion
Cool and showery weather is on tap for California this week. A low pressure system will dominate the weather across the West this week with cool, unsettled weather for most of the region. High pressure will keep the South generally warm and dry this week.
NPS Fires
For a brief supplemental narrative on each fire, click on the bar with the arrow. Internal NPS readers can link directly to full reports on each fire by clicking on the notepad icon; public readers of the Morning Report can obtain similar information by going to http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
| Park | State | Fire | Type | Acres | Percent Contain |
Est. Full Contain |
| Grand Canyon National Park | AZ | Grapevine Rx | Prescribed Fire Treatment | 850 acres | 10/02/06 | |
 |
||||||
| Grand Canyon National Park | AZ | RX300 | Prescribed Fire Treatment | 250 acres for first burning period; remainder to be ignited ... See below for more... | 0ctober 2, 2006 | |
|
||||||
| San Juan Island National Historical Park | WA | Young Hill Unit III | Prescribed Fire Treatment | 33 | 100 | 9/29/2006 |
|
||||||
Further Information
Full NIFC Incident Management Situation Report (PDF file): http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
National Fire News: http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
NPS Fire and Aviation Management: http://www.nps.gov/fire/index.cfm
NPS Fire News: http://data2.itc.nps.gov/fire/public/pub_firenews.cfm
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Director/Deputy Directors
Mary Bomar Confirmed By Senate As New Director
The United States Senate voted to confirm Mary Bomar as the next director of the National Park Service late last Friday evening. She will assume the directorship once a swearing-in ceremony has taken place. The date for that event has not yet been determined.
Since July 2005, Bomar, a career National Park Service employee, has served as regional director of Northeast Region, which covers 13 states. Northeast Region is home to a third of all NPS museum collections, a quarter of all historic structures, almost half of the country's National Historic Landmarks and more than half of the National Heritage Areas.
Prior to being named regional director, Bomar served as acting regional director.
From 2003 to 2005, she served as superintendent of Independence National Historical Park. During her tenure, both the Liberty Bell Center and the National Constitution Center opened in the park on Independence Mall as part of the largest urban revitalization project in the nation. Also during her tenure, the NPS reopened the park's Second Bank of the United States after a two-year utilities project and installed a new exhibit, "The People of Independence." Concurrently, the park managed a $5.2 million rehabilitation of Independence Square, the site of Independence Hall. Spurred by the new construction, park visitation surged by 35 percent.
Previously, Bomar served as the first superintendent at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the first NPS Oklahoma state coordinator, acting superintendent at Rocky Mountain National Park and assistant superintendent at the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
Bomar's National Park Service career began in the financial arena at Amistad National Recreation Area in Texas, where she served as chief of administration.
Prior to joining the National Park Service, Bomar worked in a managerial capacity at the Department of Defense.
Raised in Leicester, England, Bomar became a U.S. citizen in 1977.
NPS Alumni
Past Director Bill Whalen Passes Away
Bill Whalen, who was director of the National Park Service from July of 1977 to May of 1980, died of a heart attack on Thursday, September 28th
Bill was the first superintendent of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, serving in this position from 1972 until his appointment as director. Following nearly three years in that position, he returned to the superintendent's position at Golden Gate. Other positions Bill held in the National Park Service included chief of the Division of Urban and Environmental Activities in National Capitol Region and deputy superintendent of Yosemite National Park. After leaving federal service in 1982, Bill served as executive director of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, vice president of Kenetech Corporation, and as president of his own consulting firm, William J. Whalen Associates.
Arrangements for a memorial service have not yet been set. Condolences can be sent to Bill's wife: Mary Whalen, 101 Wild Oat Court, Roseville, California 95747.
Bill was a visionary leader who contributed immensely to the betterment of the National Park Service. All of us at Golden Gate owe so much to his leadership in the early years of the park and his constant wise counsel in the years since he left federal service. He is leaving behind a wonderful legacy.
[Submitted by Brian O'Neill, General Superintendent, Golden Gate NRA]Grand Teton National Park (WY)
Jim Bellamy Retires After 32-Year Career
Jim Bellamy will retire on October 3rd following a 32-year career with
the National Park Service; a journey that led him to
mountain, desert, and canyon country parks, as well as parks that lie
in the Pacific Ocean and touch the Canadian and Mexican borders.
Since May of 2004, Bellamy has served as deputy superintendent at Grand
Teton - a position that brought him full circle to his "favorite park,"
where he started his NPS career 43 years ago when he rode a train to Rock
Springs, Wyoming, then hitched a ride on a mail truck to Jackson to begin
his first seasonal job.
For two years prior to returning to Grand Teton,
Bellamy was chief of cultural resources management for the Intermountain Region,
based in Santa Fe. He also had oversight of the Western Archeological and
Conservation Center in Tucson. Before assuming his position in Santa Fe, Bellamy
served as acting superintendent at Saguaro and as superintendent at
Coronado National Memorial. Bellamy began his NPS career as a seasonal laborer
at Grand Teton in the 1960's. He later worked as both a seasonal climbing ranger
(1975-76) and permanent park ranger (1977-79) at Grand Teton. Bellamy also
worked as a seasonal ranger at Crater Lake, Mt. Rainier, and Zion. His other
permanent NPS assignments include: dispatcher in Zion (1977); park ranger at
Channel Islands (1979-81); district ranger in Big Bend (1981-87); district
ranger (1987-91) and assistant chief ranger (1992) at Glacier;
chief of resource management, protection and interpretation at Great
Basin (1992-94); training manager for supervision, management, and
leadership at the Albright Training Center in Grand Canyon (1995-98).
Bellamy earned a BA in physics from Park College in Missouri. He speaks Spanish, served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chile, and has traveled to several Latin American countries and Spain to provide technical assistance in park management. While at Big Bend, Bellamy worked closely with Mexican officials in preparing for establishment of protected areas in northern Mexico. He was co-chair of the Intermountain Region's NPS-Mexico Affairs steering committee while at Coronado and Saguaro.
Jim and his life partner, Kathy Gasaway, will eventually call Fruita, Colorado, home. However, they plan to travel extensively while enjoying their favorite activities of hiking, climbing, skiing, river running, camping, wildlife watching, and photography in locations foreign and domestic.
A farewell gathering is planned for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3rd, at Moose Headquarters in Grand Teton NP. Cards and letters may be mailed to Jim Bellamy at P.O. Box 382, Moose, WY 83012, or emailed to jimbellamy@onewest.net
[Submitted by Jackie Skaggs, jackie_skaggs@nps.gov, 307.739.3393]Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found by clicking here. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.