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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, August 27, 2009 INCIDENTS Yosemite NP Small Rock Falls Lead To Precautionary Closure Of Ahwahnee Hotel Several moderately small rock falls occurred in Yosemite Valley from early yesterday morning through early yesterday afternoon. They came from the Royal Arches area directly above the Ahwahnee Hotel. The largest rock that fell is estimated to be 350 cubic meters. There were no injuries and only minor damage to property - three vehicles sustained minor to moderate damage due to flying rock. No debris reached the Ahwahnee Hotel. The hotel is at full occupancy and there were approximately 60 to 70 guests as of midday yesterday. As a precaution, the guests were asked to leave the hotel and gather on the lawn behind the Ahwahnee. As a further precaution, the Ahwahnee Hotel was closed yesterday evening and will remain closed at least through noon today. The area around the hotel will also remain closed and will be monitored throughout upcoming days. Guests at the Ahwahnee are being accommodated at other lodging facilities in the park and in surrounding communities. Visitors with upcoming reservations at the Ahwahnee should call DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, Inc. Central Reservations at 801-559-5000. Rock falls are natural occurrences that have shaped and continue to shape Yosemite Valley. The natural processes that contribute to rock falls are part of the dynamics of nature. Though impossible to predict or control, ongoing scientific analysis is being conducted to further understand this natural phenomenon. [Scott Gediman, Kari Cobb, Public Affairs Officers] Delaware Water Gap NRA Some Closures Continue As Park Recovers From Severe Storm Park staff continue to assess and clean up damage resulting from the severe thunderstorm that passed through the region on Friday, August 21st. The storm struck the park in mid-afternoon, moving from New Jersey across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. Two weather stations in the park recorded wind gusts of 33 to 43 miles per hour during the height of the storm. The storm affected a large area of the park on both sides of the river, as well as Worthington State Forest, causing power outages and numerous downed trees and resulting in the closure of park roads, trails, and visitor use facilities. Damage assessment and clean up operations began on Friday evening and are continuing. The priorities are restoration of power to affected sites and clearing highly used park areas. Additional personnel are being requested from other agencies to assist with the clean-up efforts. The current status of roads, trails, and visitor use areas follows:
Roads - All of the main roads are open within the park, but additional clean-up work is necessary along the sides of the roads. Old Mine Road in Worthington State Forest from the NPS boundary to Interstate 80 remains closed. Trails - The Coventry Pond and Hamilton Ridge Trails (New Jersey) are closed. The McDade Trail (Pennsylvania) is closed from Turn Farm to Hialeah Picnic Area. Visitor use areas - Millbrook Village and Watergate (New Jersey) are closed due to downed trees and debris. Both the upper and lower sections of Van Campen's Glen (New Jersey) are closed due to downed trees. Kittatinny Point Visitor Center (New Jersey) is without power. Hialeah Picnic Area (Pennsylvania) is closed due to downed trees and debris throughout the area. Hidden Lake Picnic Area, parking, and lodge access road are all closed due to downed trees.
For updated information on the status of park facilities, roads, and trails, call park headquarters on weekdays (570-426-2452). Information can also be found on the park's website, HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/dewa_" www.nps.gov/dewa. [Deb Nordeen, Public Affairs Officer] Great Smoky Mountains NP Rangers Deal With Multiple Same Evening Incidents Rangers dealt with a confrontation, a fatality and a medical emergency within a two-hour period on the evening of Sunday, August 9th. Ranger Jeff Duckett contacted the owner of a vehicle parked near the Bradley Fork trailhead just before 6 p.m. regarding the tags on his vehicle being revoked. He became belligerent, causing the ranger to draw his taser and call for backup. Two rangers and four Cherokee PD officers responded and took the man into custody. At about the same time, J.B., 61, was killed in a single vehicle rollover accident on the Northbound Spur near the Little Smoky intersection. Ranger Jason March was first on scene and found J.B.'s 1999 Toyota lying on its side down a steep embankment at the edge of the river. Five rangers responded along with Galtinburg PD, fire and EMS units. The Northbound Spur was closed for an hour due to the prolonged extrication operation. While this incident was underway, dispatch received a report of a 22-year-old hiker suffering from a diabetic emergency on the Alum Cave trail. Seven rangers responded with the park's rescue vehicle. Rangers Adam Lucas and Todd Roessner found the man lying in the trail approximately two-and-a-half miles from the trailhead and administered oral glucose and oxygen. After completing a full assessment, the rangers determined that he was able to hike out to the trailhead under his own power. He was transported to a local hospital via private vehicle. Roessner was the IC for the incident. [Steve Kloster, Tennessee District Ranger] OTHER NEWS The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS: Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed a lower court decision stating that a brief checkpoint stop at the park's entrance aimed at preventing illegal hunting was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Lowell NHP - This summer, the Tsongas Industrial History Center, a partnership of Lowell National Historical Park and the University of Massachusetts/Lowell's Graduate School of Education, hosted an unprecedented four weeks of residential teacher workshops. To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter): NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index ; non-NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/ * * * * * Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site: 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 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). --- ### --- |