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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, June 6, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Lake Mead NRA Multiple Memorial Day Weekend Incidents Once again, ideal weather conditions brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to the park over the Memorial Day weekend. As has been the case in the past, park staff this year saw more visitors over the course of the holiday weekend than many parks see in an entire year - nearly 250,000 visitors recorded over the period. Proactive patrols and aggressive enforcement continued to be a high priority for NPS and interagency personnel, who responded to 1,204 incidents. The interagency dispatch center recorded more than 18,344 calls, including both radio traffic and phones. Weekend statistics included 768 warnings, 201 citations, 16 arrests, 33 medicals, four search and rescue operations, four structural fire responses, five wildland fire responses, and 2,118 visitor contacts. Significant incidents included: Four lives saved in four separate incidents, including two near drownings, a person in a diabetic coma and an infant who'd stopped breathing; Three assaults on federal officers, with four use-of-force incidents and a taser deployment logged; and Two dock fires and multiple bonfires put out in high fire danger areas. Lake Mead's implementation of the Coast Guard's model for operational risk management (ORM) continues to play a significant role in park operations. Over the course of the weekend, park personnel “played to win” by displaying characteristics of a safe operation that included well thought-out plans that addressed desired results, team expectations, available resources and the use of the GAR (green, amber, red) model to ensure that no unnecessary risks were taken. For more information on ORM, please feel free to contact deputy chief ranger Dave Horne at 702-293-8764 or visit this web site at HYPERLINK "http://www.dirauxwest.org/TCTF/team_coordination_training.htm" www.dirauxwest.org/TCTF/team_coordination_training.htm. [Mary Hinson, Chief Ranger] Coronado NM Border Operation Results In Numerous Arrests, Drug Seizures A special operation was conducted by the NPS, BLM, Forest Service and Border Patrol in the park and on adjacent Coronado NF lands during the period from May 8th to May 18th. The objective of the operation was to reduce resource impacts from illegal aliens and deny the use of the area to drug smugglers. Although the operation covered only three miles of the park/forest border with Mexico, rangers and officers apprehended more than 300 illegal immigrants and seized 564 pounds of marijuana. During the later stages of the operation, Border Patrol aircraft saw a person setting five fires in the forest below an observation point manned by Border Patrol agents in an apparent effort to burn them out. A second fire was set several days later adjacent to the park boundary in another attempt to divert attention from smuggling activities. Both fires required suppression by an incident management team but did not impede the enforcement operation. [Andy Brinkley, Acting Chief Ranger] Curecanti NRA Visitor Falls To Death At Black Canyon On June 2nd, W.M., 49, of Denver, Colorado, was hiking with his 13-year-old nephew when he slipped and fell to his death near the Pioneer Point overlooks of the Black Canyon. W.M. was attempting to get a better view of the canyon away from the designated overlooks when he slipped and fell over a cliff approximately 900 feet above the canyon floor. Rangers and SAR team members lowered his body down a small scree slope to Morrow Point Reservoir, where it was transported by boat to Morrow Point Dam. Ranger Brandon Hallock was incident commander for the search and recovery efforts. Although the investigation is continuing, it appears alcohol may have been a significant contributing factor. [Linda Alick, Chief Ranger] Buffalo NR Accidental Overdose Causes Camper's Death A 48-year-old man who was camping at Buffalo Point campground with his family was discovered not breathing in his tent by his wife at about 6:45 a.m. on June 3rd. A respiratory therapist camping nearby heard screams from the site and attempted to render aid. She could not find a pulse, though, and determined that rigor had probably set in to his the lower extremities. A 911 call resulted in the dispatch of NPS rangers. An NPS EMT arrived on scene and discovered that the man was suffering from lividity on his back. CPR was therefore not begun. The man had a long history of using excessive amounts of prescribed pain medications for treatment of pain associated with a back injury sustained in a 1996 automobile accident. The preliminary coroner's report listed the cause of death as accidental overdose. The victim's body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy. [Jeff West, Lower District Ranger] 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: Visitor and Resource Protection - The Visitor and Resource Protection 2006 Year in Review report is now available. It covers developments in programs within Visitor and Resource Protection, including law enforcement, emergency services, wildland fire and risk management. Glacier Bay - Alaska Region is recruiting for a GS-025/340-14/15 superintendent for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The position is being advertised on USAJOBS through June 22nd. 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). --- ### --- |