|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, November 17, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Olympic NP Park Crews Work to Reopen Roads High winds and rain on Wednesday brought down dozens of trees across park roads and at least one building, adding to the already lengthy to-do list for park crews trying to reopen park roads closed by last week's storms. Fallen trees blocked roads at Elwha, Heart o' the Hills, Lake Crescent, Sol Duc, Mora and Quinault. Park crews have already cleared and reopened several of these roads, leaving the Sol Duc, South Shore Quinault, North Shore Quinault and Hoh Roads still closed. The Sol Duc entrance station was hit and seriously damaged by a fallen tree, while numerous other trees fell across the road; crews are working to clear the trees and reopen the road. Members of the park fire crew and the Washington Conservation Corps are clearing trees from the South Shore Quinault Road, where the scene is described as a “mess.” Another crew is on the North Shore Road, working to restore access for several private landowners who are blocked in by downed trees across the road. A member of the road crew from Lassen arrived yesterday to help Olympic crews stretched thin by recent storm damage. The section of the Hoh Road within the park remains closed while park staff and Federal Highways Administration engineers explore options for restoring emergency access across the 75-foot-long washout at West Twin Creek. “Our first priority is to restore utility service to the Hoh Visitor Center and Ranger Station area,” said superintendent Bill Laitner. “We'd also like to retrieve several vehicles, including a visitor's rental car and personal vehicles owned by park employees, currently stranded above the washout.” For more information about options under consideration for restoring emergency access on the Hoh Road, call the park at 360-565-3004. Olympic's trail system has not yet been assessed and conditions are unknown. Those planning hikes in the park should be flexible in their plans and come prepared for probable trail damage. All visitors are urged to use caution when traveling through the park and to come prepared for a variety of weather conditions. For current road information, people should call the Olympic National Park recorded road and weather information line at 360-565-3131. [Barb Maynes, Public Affairs Officer] Glacier NP Progress Made In Recovery From Flooding Cleanup and repair operations are continuing in the park following last week's flooding. Contract and park crews are currently clearing debris, repairing erosion damage, and restoring culverts. Thanks to the efforts of employees who worked through the holiday weekend, emergency bank stabilization is 30 percent complete at lower elevations on the west side. Going-to-the-Sun Road was reopened as far as Avalanche on Thursday. The park has also extended its appreciation to the Federal Highway Administration, Sandry Construction and seasonal park workers who returned to assist with the recovery effort. “Our labors will be weather driven - we will move forward with our intensive repair efforts until winter weather prevents continuation,” said superintendent Mick Holm. “We will then commence with the same vigor as soon as conditions permit in the spring. Our goal is to have the emergency repairs completed with minimal impact to park visitors. However, we realize that weather conditions play a key role in any work we do in the park no matter what time of year. If we do not achieve our goal, it will not be from lack of effort on our part.” Most of the park was not affected by the flooding and is operating as usual. [Melissa Wilson, Public Affairs Officer] Petrified Forest NP Ranger Intervenes In Abduction On the morning of November 10th, ranger Gerald Parker contacted two people in a vehicle parked illegally on a highway on-ramp at the park. While Parker was questioning driver S.S., the passenger gave him a nervous glance. Parker noticed that she had blood on a shirt that she was holding, so had S.S. step out of the vehicle and questioned him about the blood. He said he didn't know anything about it. At that the time, the woman got out of the car and said “help me.” Parker handcuffed S.S. in order to detain him while completing his investigation. The woman told Parker that she and S.S. had been together at a party in Flagstaff the previous night, and that she'd tried to get out of the car as they were leaving Flagstaff because he had “freaked out,” hit her in the nose, and threatened to shoot her in the back if she ran from him. A wants check on S.S. revealed that there were two felony warrants out against him, one for assault with a firearm. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a loaded pistol under the driver's seat. Arizona DPS and Apache County officers took S.S. into custody. The woman was transported by ambulance to a hospital in Gallup, New Mexico. [Greg Caffey, Chief Ranger] Blue Ridge Parkway Pursuit Culminates In Drug Arrest A vehicle approaching a DUI checkpoint near the Virginia-North Carolina border on November 10th made a U-turn and headed off at a high rate of speed. Two rangers pursued it for more than 15 miles until it was stopped by county officers with tire deflation devices (stop sticks). The operator continues his effort to escape and was pursued by the rangers, both of whom brought out their tasers and ordered him to stop or risk being shocked. The man, who was very large, would otherwise have very likely gotten into a fight with the rangers, resulting in injuries to all involved. A search of the man's vehicle turned up about 200 grams of crack cocaine, 30 grams of marijuana, and some equipment related to drug distribution. The investigation continues. [Steve Stinnett, Assistant Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS Other news from today's edition of InsideNPS, the National Park Service's home page: Colonial NHP - Queen Elizabeth II will participate for the second time in a major commemoration of England's first permanent settlement in the Americas. Chiricahua NM/Fort Bowie NHS - Brian Carey, a 26-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been named superintendent of the two parks. Zion NP - The park has issued an announcement for a GS-0401-12 fire management office. It closes on November 27th. Training - Today's summary includes new listings for courses on water-based suppression systems, aviation management training for supervisors, running a successful VIP program, law enforcement for managers, and wilderness stewardship. Events - A listing of upcoming NPS and NPS-related events across the nation. 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. --- ### --- |