NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, May 6, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

NPS Oil Spill Response Continues To Expand

The National Park Service now has approximately 80 people responding to the oil spill created by the sinking of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon on April 20th. NPS staff continue to draft plans with USCG for wildlife reconnaissance and recovery and shoreline cleanup and assessment; conduct surveys, sampling, and flyovers to document baseline conditions; mobilize resource experts to direct USCG and responsible party contractors during cleanup and recovery; and provide guidance and prioritization for protection measures such as boom placement in sensitive areas. Learn more about the NPS response at HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm" http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm . This update covers oil spill response activities for the following parks - Padre Island, Jean Lafitte, Gulf Islands, and the South Florida parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, DeSoto, Dry Tortugas, and Everglades):

Padre Island NS - The park began its precondition assessment, which will include photo points and soil and water sampling. The survey is expected to take several days and conclude on Friday.

Jean Lafitte NHP - Flyovers have been conducted over shorelines and open water to determine whether landfall has occurred in the park. SCAT teams were also deployed to look for oil. Although oil was visible in the open water, no oil was discovered onshore.

Gulf Islands NS - All beaches and park sites remain open and operational. No closures are in place. Projections still show the plume south of the park on Friday, but potentially approaching land over the weekend. Park staff continued to work with the animal response group today, finalizing the process for deploying wildlife biologists. Two NPS teams were created to respond to reports of stranded and deceased animals. Both teams are currently staged on the Davis Bayou (Mississippi) side of the park, but have the ability to respond simultaneously to reports in both the Mississippi and Florida districts. Two large compressed gas tanks were reported yesterday in one to two feet of water on the north side of Horn Island. USCG and NPS personnel responded and found the tanks in eel grass. NPS biologists have been assigned to monitor the removal of the tanks, which has been tentatively scheduled for Saturday morning. It has not yet been established whether the tanks were part of the Deepwater Horizon or from another rig.

South Florida Parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, DeSoto, Dry Tortugas, Everglades) - The resource assessment branch of the south Florida national parks' Type III IMT continues to make progress on pre-condition assessment planning for all five NPS units. A final assessment plan for De Soto is now awaiting final approval, and additional plans for Dry Tortugas, Everglades, Big Cypress, and Biscayne are nearing completion. It is hoped that assessments will begin at De Soto by next week. The resource assessment branch will also be developing potential strategies for mitigation and resource rehabilitation. The IMT received confirmation that Chris Ziegler, Dry Tortugas National Park, would serve as our liaison with the US Coast Guard Sector Key West. Local media interest continues to be heavy. In consultation with the GUIS Type II team, each of the five south Florida units will be developing public information pages on their park website to facilitate access. It is anticipated that all sites will be active by tomorrow. The Everglades site can be accessed here: HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/ever_" http://www.nps.gov/ever

For more information on the NPS and national oil spill responses, please see the following:

NPS Oil Spill Response - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm" http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm

National Oil Spill Response - HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com" http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

[Rudy Evenson, Lead Information Officer, Gulf Islands National Seashore Oil Spill Response]

San Antonio Missions NHP

Missions Closed Due To Refinery Explosion And Fire

The AGE Refinery, located between Missions San Jose and San Juan in San Antonio, was rocked by an explosion late yesterday morning. The San Antonio fire and police departments quickly shut down access roads within a mile radius around the refinery. A tanker truck apparently exploded at a loading dock in the city's only refinery, injuring at least two workers. One other tanker has apparently exploded as well, and firefighters are spraying water and foam on nearby storage tanks and lines to prevent further explosions. AGE Refinery refines jet fuel and diesel. Park officials immediately responded by closing Mission San Juan and Mission Espada. Mission San Juan will remain closed on May 6th, while Mission Espada will be reevaluated for employee and visitor safety today pending developments last night. The park visitor center at Mission San Jose remains open, but if smoke starts to billow into the area the situation will be reevaluated. Mission Concepcion has not been affected by the fire. Park staff are working closely with emergency hazmat teams to identify the locations of critical park resources located immediately adjacent to the refinery. The San Juan acequia, an intact Spanish colonial irrigation system constructed in the 1740s, runs directly behind and adjacent to the AGE Refinery. Booms have been deployed to support containment systems to prevent chemicals from entering both the acequia and the nearby San Antonio River. It is too early to know if the river and/or the acequia have been affected by the refinery fire. For more information, click on the link below. [Al Remley]

HYPERLINK "http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Fire_burning_on_South_Side.html?c=y&page=1#storytop" http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Fire_burning_on_South_Side.html?c=y&page=1#storytop

Amistad NRA

Ranger Saves Truck Driver After Rig Crashes Into Lake

In the pre-dawn hours of April 25th, the driver of a loaded semi-tractor trailer lost control of his rig on the US Highway 90 bridge over Lake Amistad. The truck first struck a boat trailer being towed by a truck, destroying the boat, then ran onto the guard rail for approximately 30 feet before falling into the lake. Rangers who were approximately a mile away at the time heard the sound of the impact. Supervisory ranger Erich Robb responded and entered the water in an attempt to remove the driver from the truck, which was submerged in approximately 15 feet of water. The driver had apparently been thrown clear of the truck, and Robb found him floundering on the surface with his head going under. He was able to pull the driver out of the water and begin first aid. Attempts to get to a second man who was trapped in the crushed cab of the truck were unsuccessful. The surviving driver was life-flighted to a San Antonio hospital and is expected to recover. The tractor and trailer were removed that day, with cleanup of the truck's diesel and oil completed the next day. Cleanup of the cargo in the lake (unwound spools of automotive wiring) is continuing and should be completed by the end of the week. Robb was IC for the initial response. The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the collision. [Regina Klein Dissler, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Natural Resource Program Center - Endangered Species Day, an opportunity to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species and everyday actions that people can take to help protect our nation's disappearing wild animals and plants and the habitats that they need, will take place this year on Friday, May 21st.

Northeast Region - During the last week of April, NPS personnel assisted EPA in a national exercise entitled “Operation Liberty RadEx.” It tested federal, state and local response capabilities in the aftermath of the explosion of a "dirty bomb" at Independence Hall. Photo.

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/

NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/notify" http://inside.nps.gov/notify

* * * *

Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

--- ### ---