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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, May 25, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Yellowstone NP Visitor Mauled By Grizzly Bear J.C., 57, a photographer and author from Bozeman, was injured during an encounter with a bear on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 23rd. J.C. was taking photographs of bears along Trout Creek in Hayden Valley when he had an encounter with a grizzly. After being injured, J.C. hiked from two to three miles east to the Grand Loop Road, where he was found by visitors around 1 p.m. Rangers and emergency medical personnel responded to the scene and treated J.C.'s severe facial injuries. He told rangers that he had been attacked by a sow bear with a cub. He was taken by ambulance to West Yellowstone, Montana, then transferred to an Air Idaho helicopter and transported to Eastern Idaho Medical Center in Idaho Falls. J.C. has published books on the lives of grizzly bears in Montana, Wyoming and Alaska. This is the second time J.C. has been seriously hurt in a bear encounter - he walked out of the backcountry and took himself to the hospital after being injured by a grizzly in Glacier National Park in September 1993. There were no bear-caused human injuries in Yellowstone National Park during 2006, and there have been only eight minor injuries since 2000. The last bear-caused human fatality in the park occurred in 1986. [Public Affairs] Lake Mead NRA Structural Fire In Concession Housing Area Park firefighters responded to a report of a structural fire in the concession employee housing area at Temple Bar around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 20th. Temple Bar is situated within the Mohave District on the Arizona side of Lake Mead and is considered to be a remote location. Firefighters staffing Engine 8 arrived on scene to find two structures fully engulfed in flames, with extension to a third structure. A quick size-up revealed one person had sustained minor burns and that all other people had been evacuated from the area. Outside contingency resources were not available, requiring Engine 4 to respond from Boulder Beach. Accepting no unnecessary risk, firefighters conducted defensive operations to control exposure to additional structures within the area. Quick action, coordinated team response and a well-executed plan played an integral part to the success of this operation. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The park has seven engines that provide fire suppression to nine developed areas within Lake Mead. The park documented 31 engine responses in 2006. There have been 16 so far this year. [Bob Trodahl, Fire Chief] OTHER NEWS The following stories (among others) can be read on either the InsideNPS web site (if you are within the National Park Service) or at the InsideNPS public ‘news digest' site (if you are outside of the NPS). The web sites appear below: Servicewide - Volunteers played “Taps” at national cemeteries and veterans cemeteries around the world on Saturday, May 19th, Armed Forces Day - including all 14 national cemeteries administered by the National Park Service. Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP - This weekend marks the start of a new shuttle system in the Giant Forest area. A goal for more than 20 years, the Giant Forest shuttle will take visitors to many of the key features in this sequoia grove while reducing the need to drive and look for parking places in some crowded areas of the park. Glacier NP - The park has awarded a contract to make necessary temporary repairs to six areas of storm damage on the Going-to-the-Sun Road (Sun Road). This storm damage must either be sufficiently repaired or bypassed before public access can be allowed across the entire 50-mile roadway this summer. Lake Meredith NRA - Cindy Ott-Jones, a 27-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been named superintendent of Lake Meredith NRA. She will assume her new responsibilities on June 10th. To see the above articles, go to InsideNPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) or NPS Digest ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). For NPS incident reporting standards, go to HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363 * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-426-2430). --- ### --- |