NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
INCIDENTS
Rocky Mountain NP
Rangers Conduct Three Rescues On Same Day
On Tuesday, August 10th, rangers conducted three rescue operations over the course of about nine hours. At 9 a.m., the park was notified via cell phone that a 22-year-old woman with a knee injury was 200 feet below the summit of Longs Peak. Visitors and park staff helped her get to the Boulderfield, where she was picked up and flown by helicopter to Upper Beaver Meadows. She was then taken by ground ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center. At noon, rangers learned that a 55-year-old visitor from Kentucky had fallen and injured her leg on the Tonahutu Trail on the west side of the park about ten miles from the trailhead. Rangers on horseback reached her just after 5 p.m. She was brought out of the backcountry on horseback. At 2 p.m., a report was received that a 62-year-old woman had fallen and broken her ankle on the Gem Lake Trail. Rangers carried her out on a wheeled litter, then transferred her to an ambulance that took her to Estes Park Medical Center. [Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]
Lake Mead NRA
Man Drowns Near Government Wash
A 36-year-old man drowned in Lake Mead at Government Wash on Monday afternoon. Rangers responded shortly after 3 p.m. to a report of a possible drowning. The man had been swimming just a few feet from shore when he went underwater. Nearby jet-skiers were able to pull his body from about six feet of water and take him to shore to begin CPR. The rangers were on-scene within 10 minutes of the initial call. CPR was continued for about another 30 minutes before he was declared dead at the scene. A preliminary investigation indicates that alcohol may have been a factor in the drowning. He wasn't wearing a life jacket. This was the fourth water-related fatality this year in the park. Typically, rangers see more drownings between August 1st and Labor Day weekend than any other time of the year. They attribute this to hotter temperatures that lead more visitors to head to the water to cool off. The park is nonetheless still well under the 14 water-related fatalities it recorded last year. [Andrew S. Muñoz, Public Affairs Officer]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):
Bryce Canyon NP - The park held its first-ever Geology Festival on the last two days of July. The event focused on the beautiful and fascinating geology and paleontology of the park and surrounding region.
Office of Public Affairs - The National Park Service has awarded close to $1 million in grants for easements and land acquisition at three endangered Civil War battlefields.
Northeast Region - Jill A. Hawk has been selected as the superintendent of Morristown National Historical Park, effective upon the retirement of Randy Turner, the current superintendent, on January 3rd. Photo.
Denver Service Center - D.J. Bishop, 83, former NPS equal opportunity ,anager, passed away on Sunday, August 15th, after a long battle with cancer. Photo.
NPS incident submission standards can be found online at the HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" serious incident notification web page.
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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. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).
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