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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, December 11, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Hawaiian Parks Some Parks Open, Others Continue Recovery From Storm Parks throughout the Hawaiian Islands have provided current reports on their status following last week's severe storm: Pacific West Region/Honolulu - Operations are normal. The federal building where the office is housed did not close during the storm. There are still areas in rural Oahu with power outage issues. Hawaii Volcanoes - Operations have returned to normal. All closures were lifted on Friday. Puukohola Heiau - Operations are normal. Kaloko-Honokohau - Operations are normal. USS Arizona - Operations are normal. The park never closed and December 7th ceremonies were carried out as planned. Pu`uhonua O Honaunau - All areas are okay except for the 1871 trail to Ki'ilae Village. The park is awaiting evaluation by resource management and protection staff before it is reopened. Kalaupapa - The landing strip to the settlement is open. The trail from up top used by employees and the mule ride is closed due to rock slide damage. Damien Tours is closed. The telephone system is in and out and the radio system is available for local use only. Staff are using cell phones to contact outside areas. A meeting was to be held yesterday to evaluate trail conditions and ascertain what measures need to be taken to clear it. Haleakala - Summit Visitor Center remains closed due to water damage to the building. All backcountry trails are closed until further notice. The Hosmer Grove area is closed. The phone system is down and rangers are using their cell phones to contact dispatch. Power is out and the park is using generators for some buildings, including the entrance station, the visitor center at headquarters, and the residential area. The Kipahulu District is open, but the streams at Oheo Gulch are closed due to high water. [Teri Murphy, Manager, Pacific Area Communications Center] Lewis and Clark NHP Park To Reopen Following Storm Cleanup High winds struck Fort Clatsop and surrounding structures and forest on Sunday, December 2nd, causing damage to several NPS buildings and many downed trees. For safety reasons, staff closed the visitor center and park around midday on Sunday in anticipation of the storm and to secure their own homes. Fort Clatsop, the visitor center and the Lewis & Clark National Park Association bookstore will likely reopen tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, all trails in the park remain closed until further notice because of downed trees, sharp snags, and standing trees with potentially dangerous limbs. The newly rebuilt Fort Clatsop replica was undamaged in the storm. The park's maintenance building sustained the heaviest impact, with several large trees falling and landing on the building's roof. The trees damaged a water pipe inside the building, causing damage to some contents. The visitor center and resource management buildings received minor roof and gutter damage due to falling trees. The basement to the visitor center flooded and required deep cleaning. Netul Trail leading to the Netul Landing and kayak launch south of Fort Clatsop is closed, with several downed trees, snags and dangling limbs blocking the trail. The entrance to the Fort-to-Sea Trail is covered in fallen trees and the rest of the trail has yet to be assessed for damage, but is impassable at this time. A formal damage estimate has yet to be completed. Offers of assistance have come from other Pacific Northwest sites. American Memorial Park Man Indicted For Assaulting Ranger Pleads Guilty Ranger Sam Martinsen was patrolling Outer Cove Marina on the morning of September 12th when he came upon a vehicle being driven by a man - P.O. - who was known not to have a valid license, as he'd received numerous warnings and three violation notices during the previous six months for the same infraction. Martinsen stopped P.O. and was in the process of writing him another violation notice when P.O. began walking away and towards his boat. Martinsen ordered him to stop, but he kept going. Martinsen then attempted to stop P.O. by getting in front of him and placing his forearm against him. P.O. responded by hitting Martinsen in the face, lacerating his lower lip. He was placed under arrest with the help of park maintenance employees who were in the area. Earlier this week, P.O. appeared at a change of plea hearing in federal district court and pled guilty to assault on a federal officer. In exchange for P.O.'s guilty plea, the federal government will recommend that the court impose a term of imprisonment not to exceed the statutory maximum of 12 months. P.O. is facing a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment and one year of supervised release. [Marianas Variety] Baltimore Washington Parkway Driver Killed In Single Vehicle Accident Park Police officers responded to an accident in the parkway's southbound lanes just after 10 p.m. on December 8th. The vehicle had gone off the road and struck a concrete bridge abutment on the parkway's right shoulder. The driver and sole occupant was pronounced dead by Anne Arundel County Fire and Rescue. Park Police detectives and crash reconstruction experts investigated and documented the accident. The southbound lanes of the parkway just north of Route 32 had to be closed for approximately three hours. The victim's identity is being withheld until proper notification of next of kin. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, Public Information Officer] OTHER NEWS The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS (internal) or NPS Digest (external): International Parks - In late November, the Canadian government announced interim measures to protect more than 100,000 square kilometers of boreal forest in its Northwest Territories from development - the first step in creating a new 6,000-square-mile national wildlife area and a new 13,000-square-mile national park. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6058" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6058 Gateway NRA - Supervisory park ranger Edmund Rezetko will be retiring this pay period from the park's Sandy Hook Unit following 33 years of service. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1761" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1761 Isle Royale NP - Doug Boose, program analyst for the maintenance division at Isle Royale National Park, will retire on January 1st following 33 years of federal service. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1760" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1760 * * * * * 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). --- ### --- |