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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, November 19, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS San Francisco Bay Area Parks Numerous Beaches Reopen At Point Reyes, Golden Gate Crews have made significant headway in cleanup operations in and around San Francisco Bay. As of midday on Sunday, the following had reopened: Golden Gate NRA - Fort Funston Beach, Muir Beach, Tennessee Beach, Kirby Cove, China Beach, Baker Beach, Crissy Field Beach and portions of Ocean Beach and Rodeo Beach. Point Reyes NS - Portions of Limantour Beach and all of RCA Beach. While these beaches are considered safe at this time, conditions are constantly changing due to tides and closures may need to be reinstated. Golden Gate NRA closures are still in effect at Stinson Beach, Slide Ranch Beach, Pirates Cove Beach, Rodeo Beach, Black Sands Beach, Horseshoe Cove, Marshall's Beach, and Mile Rock Beach. Aquatic Park remains closed at San Francisco Maritime. Closures at Point Reyes include Santa Maria, Sculptured, Palomarin, and Wildcat Beaches. The parks, working with the Western incident management team, continue to coordinate response and cleanup efforts with the unified command overseeing the entire cleanup operation. [Patti Wold, Incident Information Officer] Grand Canyon NP Plague Confirmed As Cause Of Biologist's Death Tests conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed plague as the cause of 37-year-old wildlife biologist Eric York's death on November 2nd. These tests confirmed preliminary findings announced last week by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and the CDC. The additional CDC tests also determined that the strain of plague that infected York was the same strain of plague that infected a mountain lion that he'd had direct and recent contact with. These tests support other evidence that the mountain lion was the source of York's infection. Plague is a rare, but sometimes fatal, disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It is primarily a disease of animals, but it can be transmitted to humans through the bites of rodent fleas or by direct contact with infected animals. In rare cases, pneumonic plague can spread person to person through aerosolized respiratory droplets (e.g. coughing, sneezing). According to the CDC, transmission of plague from person to person has not been observed in the United States since 1924. The NPS is collaborating with its public health partners to assess the risk for plague and similar diseases at Grand Canyon National Park. Public health officials from the NPS, the CDC, ADHS and the Coconino County Health Department have all been instrumental in investigating this incident. For more information on plague and for tips on prevention, please visit the CDC web site at HYPERLINK "http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/index.htm" http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/index.htm. [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Office] Richmond NBP Chemicals Spilled Into Park Stream During the morning hours of Tuesday, November 13th, the park's natural resource specialist discovered large amounts of foam in a creek in the park's Fort Darling unit. The foam was found throughout most of the creek, which drains into the James River. A unified command was set up with Chesterfield County, the Virginia State Department of Environmental Quality, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Investigators determined that an asphalt plant near the Fort Darling unit had released large amounts of styrene/butadiene copolymer latex mixed with water while switching out tanks at their facility. The chemical is used as a bonding agent in manufacturing asphalt. A cleanup contractor began working at the spill site on Wednesday and was scheduled to finish up on Thursday. EPA hired another contractor to oversee the cleanup operation. The unit has been closed to the public. An investigation is underway. [Tim Mauch, Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS (internal) or NPS Digest (external): USS Arizona Memorial - A memorial to the USS Oklahoma, sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor with the loss of 429 lives, is now under construction and will be dedicated on December 7th. HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=5986" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=5986 Cuyahoga Valley NP - Effective January 1st, the National Park Service will assume full responsibility for the daily operation and activities at James A. Garfield NHS. HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=ParkNewsEvents&id=25061" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=ParkNewsEvents&id=25061 Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1748" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1748 * * * * * 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 ( Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-686-3828). --- ### --- |