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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, October 18, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Hawaiian Parks Earthquake Rocks National Parks In Hawaii A 6.6 magnitude earthquake centered about a mile west-southwest of Waikoloa on the Kona side of the Big Island of Hawaii rocked the entire island chain just after 7 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, October 15th. Shortly thereafter, the islands were shaken by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. These two big quakes were followed by more than 20 aftershocks, mostly in the 3.0 to 4.5 range. The first quake caused severe damage to the Kona, Kohala and Hamakua areas of the Big Island. Power was out throughout much of the state. All major airports were shut down temporarily until power was restored. All the national parks in Hawaii immediately began damage assessments. The Pacific Area Communication Center, which serves as the central dispatching center for all the Hawaii parks, remained open and functional throughout the disaster. Radio communication and the phone system remained intact. The following is a roundup of reports from affected parks: Haleakala NP - The summit area of the park suffered little damage from the earthquake - a few rocks on the road, closure of restrooms, and a power outage for about two-and-half hours. No structural damage occurred. There were several landslides in the Alelele and Kalepa areas which took out four telephone poles, guard rails and buried the county road in debris. A ranger who was on duty evacuated the Kipahulu campground and closed the popular Oheo Gulch stream area in preparation for a potential tsunami. The ranger was temporarily without phone and radio communications due to power outages on both Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii where dispatch is located. No tsunami occurred. The county of Maui closed the highway through Kaupo and it will likely remain closed for several weeks while the Federal Highways Administration and county engineers check structural integrity of bridges and road sections, some of which date back to the early 1920's. No damage to historic wilderness cabins or trails have been reported. All visitor services remained open, though visitors were cautioned to watch for debris on roadways and trails. Hawaii Volcanoes NP - The quake caused no damage to roads, trails, water lines or buildings and remained open. All backcountry areas were closed as a precaution and coastal backcountry campers were advised to evacuate as soon as possible. The eruption site also remained open. Kaloko-Honokohau NHP - The park, located on the Kona side of the Big Island, was closed on Sunday but reopened on Monday. Pu'ukohola Heiau NHS - This park is in Kawaihae on the Big Island. The new maintenance facility there sustained heavy structural damage, and additional damage was inflicted on the new visitor center and the west wall of the historic John Young homestead. The park will remain closed until further notice. Pu'uhonua o Honaunau NHP - The park, which is on the Kona side of the Big Island, was closed on Sunday but reopened on Monday. USS Arizona Memorial - The memorial, located on Oahu, was closed but has reopened. Kalaupapa NHP - The park, located on the island of Molokai, was closed but has reopened.
FEMA has assembled a U.S. Forest Service team to document damage to federal areas. The team is scheduled to arrive on the Big Island sometime this week. [Sharon Ringsven, Park Ranger, HALE; Gail Minami-Judd, Incident Commander, HAVO; Kaiini Kaloi, Department of the Interior] Great Smoky Mountains NP Much Of Tennessee Side Closed Due To Storm Damage Rain and winds peaking at over 100 miles per hour struck the park on Monday night, particularly on the Tennessee side, bringing down trees and forcing closure of major roads and public use areas. Areas on the North Carolina side were not affected. The park's status, as of yesterday morning, was as follows: Major road closures included the Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441), Little River Road from Sugarlands Visitor Center to the Townsend entrance, Laurel Creek Road from the Townsend entrance to Cades Cove, and Cherokee Orchard Road outside of Gatlinburg. The Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Spur remained open, and the Sugarlands Visitor Center was open, albeit with limited services to due to partial power failures. Numerous trees were down in Tennessee campgrounds, including Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Cosby. Campers in the affected campgrounds were advised to vacate because of continuing hazards expected throughout the day. Trees were also reported down on camper vehicles. A six-year-old boy was injured when a tree fell on his family's camper in the Cades Cove campground. He was taken to an area hospital, treated and released. Rangers and road crews were assessing the condition of public use areas in order to determine when they would be safe to reopen. No reports had been received of injuries to backpackers or hikers, although those activities increase at this time of the year. By late yesterday afternoon, several roads had reopened, including a portion of the Little River Road from its junction with Newfound Gap Road to Elkmont campground, the Gatlinburg Bypass, Greenbrier Road, and the Cosby entrance road. Still closed were the Newfound Gap Road from Gatlinburg to Cherokee, Laurel Creek Road from the Townsend entrance to Cades Cove, the loop road in Cades Cove, Foothill Parkway (both east and west), Cherokee Orchard Road, and the Roaring Fork motor nature trail. Also closed was the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area on Little River Road. Two campgrounds reopened - a portion of Elkmont campground, accessible via the Gatlinburg entrance, and Cosby campground - but the campgrounds remained closed at Cades Cove, Abrams Creek and Look Rock. Campers at Cades Cove were advised to vacate because of forecasts calling for more high winds. Widespread damage is expected along park trails, but park staff have not yet been able to evaluate backcountry conditions. Visitors can call the park's general information number at 865-436-1200 to check on the status of roads and facilities. [Nancy Gray, Public Affairs Officer] Crater Lake NP Major SAR Underway For Lost Boy A major search is underway in the Cleetwood area for eight-year-old Samuel Boehlke, who was reported missing at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 14th. Over 200 people are committed to the operation, which is being managed by the Pacific West Region's all-risk incident management team. An initial search was conducted by Crater Lake rangers and members of Jackson County Search and Rescue. Although search dogs alerted on the boy's scent, searchers were unable to find him. Operations yesterday focused on the north slope of Mount Mazama from Cleetwood Cove. If weather permitted, plans called for a helicopter search inside the caldera. The terrain where the boy was last seen is extremely steep, requiring technical climbing in places. Wet, snowy conditions are expected to continue through Thursday. Support for the search is being provided by personnel from Lassen, Yosemite, Whiskeytown and Lava Beds, horse-mounted patrols from Klamath and Deschutes Counties, the Portland Mountain Rescue Unit, personnel from BLM, and crews from Winema and Rogue River National Forests. [Rudy Evenson, Information Officer, Pacific West All-Risk Incident Management Team] Colonial NHP Park Gears Up For 225th Anniversary Event The park is preparing for a big four-day celebration of the 225th anniversary of the victory at Yorktown that ended the Revolutionary War. The event, which will center on the October 19th anniversary of the surrender, is being supported by an incident management team (Skip Brooks, IC). Numerous agencies and organizations have joined with the NPS to celebrate the occasion with an array of activities, including the annual Yorktown Day parade and patriotic exercises, a stage production entitled “We Salute You: An American Symphony,” and Revolutionary War life and military tactic demonstrations. As of yesterday, 79 people were committed to the incident. Tomorrow's activities will include completion of construction of the event stage and dress rehearsals for the stage show, parade and patriotic exercises. Secretary Kempthorne will be giving the keynote address at Thursday's anniversary celebration. For a full schedule of events, click on HYPERLINK "http://www.yorktown225.com/" http://www.yorktown225.com/ . [Greg Stiles, Operations Chief, IMT] OTHER NEWS Other news from today's edition of InsideNPS, the National Park Service's home page: A lead article on Mary Bomar being sworn in as director. A report on Canada moving forward to create a new national park four times the size of Yellowstone. A report on funeral services for Olympic maintenance employee Dan Green, killed in an accident in the park. A farewell message from Fran Mainella. A notice about Jerry Mitchell being selected to head the Biological Resource Management Division. To link to InsideNPS, click on HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |