NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, September 13, 2007

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INCIDENTS

Fort Raleigh NHS

Lost Colony Costume Shop And Shed Burn In Fire

In the early morning hours of September 11th, a resident of Villa Dunes spotted a fire across Roanoke Sound on the northern end of Roanoke Island and called 911. The famed Lost Colony's maintenance shed and Irene Rains costume shop were in flames. All fire departments north of Oregon Inlet responded. The swift reaction of the firefighters and Dare County emergency management saved the Waterside Theatre and remaining structures, but the maintenance shed and costume shop were completely destroyed. The value of the lost buildings has been estimated at about $1 million. Although the historical association built the 1,300-square-foot costume shop, the Lost Colony buildings, located within Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, are the property of the federal government. Approximately 80% of the active costumes used in the summer production of The Lost Colony drama, stored in the costume shop, were lost. No other structures were damaged and the Waterside Theatre was unharmed.

The official cause of the fire is still under investigation and is undetermined at this time. A relief site is located on The Lost Colony website at HYPERLINK "http://www.thelostcolony.org_" www.thelostcolony.org. [Cyndy Holda, Outer Banks Group]

Yellowstone NP

Serious Vehicle Accident With Extrication

Lake Village Fire Company units responded to a report of an overturned truck and trailer with two persons trapped inside at the East Entrance during the early morning hours of September 7th. Fire captain Frank DeLuca arrived on scene first, established command, and reported that there were two elderly victims, both with injuries, trapped inside their vehicle, which was pinned between a jackknifed and overturned fifth wheel trailer and the roadside guardrail. The overturned trailer had a ruptured propane line and was expelling a large amount of propane from two tanks throughout the accident scene. Lake firefighters, who arrived with two engines and a hazardous materials unit, donned self-contained breathing apparatus and crawled under the wreckage with a hose line. They forced entry into the trailer and disconnected the propane tanks, making it possible for medical personnel to safely enter the area. Paramedics then crawled inside the mangled vehicle to treat the two victims while firefighters employed extrication tools, including the “Jaws of Life,” to free them from the wreckage. Three heavy duty wreckers were later employed to upright the vehicle and trailer and disentangle them from the guardrail. The victims were taken to West Park Hospital in Cody, where they were treated for possible broken ribs and numerous lacerations and contusions. Both were later released. The success of this rescue operation was another great example of the excellent working relationship between NPS work groups in the Lake area. The Lake Village Fire Company is made up of members from several divisions and specialties, including law enforcement, interpretation, paramedics, the Lake garage, bear management, Lake maintenance, and concession employees from Xanterra and Delaware North. District ranger Michael Keator was the incident commander. Ranger Kyle McDowell is investigating the accident. [Ranger Frank DeLuca, Lake Village Fire and EMS Coordinator]

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/).

* National Park Service Centennial - With the arrival of the Service's centennial anniversary in just nine years, the George Wright Society has launched a series of essays in its magazine in which writers will look at the agency's future through “serious reflection on critical park-related issues across the entire spectrum of cultural and natural resource disciplines.” Today's edition highlights the first of those essays.

* Sleeping Bear Dunes NL - After over 24 years in the National Park Service, Platte River District Ranger Kym Mukavetz is hanging up her Stetson and will retire on October 13th.

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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).

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