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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, August 20, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Caribbean Parks Hurricane Dean Misses Parks Although Hurricane Dean has become a dangerous Category 4 hurricane, it was had little effect on the three NPS Caribbean areas that were closest to its path: Virgin Islands NS - The park received little rain and wind during the storm's passage through the area. Seas reportedly never rose to dangerous levels. Park facilities and passenger ferries were set to reopen on Sunday. Lifeguards will monitor surf conditions and post warnings, if necessary. Christiansted NHS/Salt River Bay NHP&EP - The storm caused no damage at these two areas, but seas were still too rough at the time of the report (Saturday) to make an assessment of Buck Island Reef. The park will return to normal operations today. San Juan NHS - The eye of the storm passed well to the south of Puerto Rico and had little impact on the island. [Jeff Brice, NPS Assistant Coordinator, Southern Area Coordination Center] Haleakala NP Three Visitors Killed In Motor Vehicle Accident Haleakala rangers and medics responded to a report of a motor vehicle off the road with possible fatalities just after 4:00 p.m. last Thursday afternoon. A four-door sedan was found 15 feet down in a gulch near mile 13 on Crater Road. The seat-belted driver of the vehicle and sole survivor of the accident was 60-year-old B.O. of Sceaux, France. He was short-hauled by a Maui Fire Department helicopter to a landing zone at Hosmer Grove, where an ambulance picked him up and took him to a hospital. Although he sustained serious injuries, he was found conscious and had extricated himself from the vehicle by the time rangers reached the site of the accident. The other three occupants were declared dead at the scene by park medics. A.V., 58, was the seat-belted front seat passenger and the spouse of the driver. Back seat passengers were not seat-belted and were identified as 65-year-old R.A. from Paris, France, and 49-year-old P.C., also from Paris. P.C. is survived by his wife and two children, who were in a separate vehicle. It's estimated that the accident occurred between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m., but there were no witnesses. The occupants of the vehicle were part of a larger tour group from France. The vehicle was headed down from the summit and interviews indicate that the driver fell asleep at the wheel and veered off the road. The vehicle left the roadway, went airborne across a gulch for 40 feet, struck its far side, then rolled back downward approximately 15 feet to the bottom of the gulch. Significant damage to the front end of the vehicle and the distance it was airborne indicate that the vehicle was traveling at a rate higher than the speed limit. Weather was not a factor in the accident. [Sharon Ringsven, Public Information Officer] Capitol Reef NP Ranger Rescue Swiss Visitor Swiss national E.F., 69, became stranded while attempting to descend from Hickman Natural Bridge to the bridge trailhead via an unmarked route. E.F.'s progress was checked 50 feet above the trailhead after he scrambled through some extremely dangerous/exposed terrain. Park personnel were able climb to E.F.'s position using a 30-foot extension ladder and traditional climbing techniques. E.F., an avid alps climber, rappelled to the trailhead on belay. The operation took three hours. [Scott Brown, Chief 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 are, respectively, HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ and ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). * Gettysburg - Construction is underway on a new museum/visitor center at the park - a 139,000-square-foot facility that will contain a visitor center, a museum of Gettysburg during the Civil War, a new gallery to display the restored Gettysburg Cyclorama painting, curatorial space, office space, a refreshment saloon, and a book and museum store. It's set to open in April. * Fort Pulaski - The park has employed STEP authority to hire six talented undergraduate and graduate students majoring in historic preservation from Savannah College of Art and Design to form a first-ever park preservation team. * Rocky Mountain - A new alpine tundra stamp will be released on August 28th. The stamp depicts a summer tundra scene at about 12,000 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park. * Outer Banks Group - The Outer Banks Group, comprised of Cape Hatteras NS, Fort Raleigh NHS and Wright Brothers NM, is recruiting candidates for its deputy superintendent position. The deputy superintendent has primary managerial responsibility for groupwide operations, directly supervises the division chiefs, and manages the budget. * Grant-Kohrs Ranch - There's an opening for a GS-1640-11 supervisory facility manager at Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS, located just outside of Deer Lodge, Montana. * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-686-3828). --- ### --- |