NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, January 13, 2011

INCIDENTS

Haleakala NP

Severe Weathers, Slide, Flood Potential Cause Park Closures

Recent and continuing severe weather has caused hazards which have forced park staff to temporarily close access to portions of the park. Early yesterday morning, a large boulder fell and slid onto the roadway of Crater Road just beyond the 15 mile marker, effectively closing the road to traffic. Park staff and sunrise visitors at the summit above the slide were prevented from descending down Crater Road until the debris was cleared around 8:30 a.m. and traffic could be safely allowed through the area. Additional geologic instability in the same area continued to pose unacceptable risks, which forced park staff to re-close Crater Road due to the high rock slide hazard. All visitor traffic (including commercial use traffic) is currently being halted at the headquarters visitor center. Campers at Hosmer Grove campground were encouraged to evacuate the campground in response to local flood warnings for adjacent streams and storm drain swales. Severe weather reported by park staff working in the summit valley also prompted the superintendent to temporarily close the backcountry. A number of trails and the park's popular backcountry cabins are affected by the temporary closure. At the time of the report yesterday evening, the National Weather Service had issued multiple hazardous weather advisories affecting the park, including flashflood warnings, flashflood watches and flood advisories. No damage or injuries have been reported or recorded within the park. Staff are continuing to monitor conditions. [Navnit Singh, Chief of Interpretation and Education]

Rocky Mountain NP

Seriously Injured Skier Rescued From Backcountry

The park received a cell phone call yesterday afternoon reporting that a 55-year-old Chicago man had taken a significant tumbling, sliding fall of about 900 feet while backcountry skiing with companions near the east face of Flattop Mountain on “The Drift.” Rangers left the Bear Lake trailhead at approximately 2 p.m. and reached the man an hour later. They found that he had sustained numerous injuries. They began descending the slope and snow-packed trail just before 5 p.m., dealing with extremely cold temperatures, high winds, and whiteout conditions. They reached the trailhead around 6:30 p.m. The man was taken to Estes Park Medical Center by ambulance and flown from there to Medical Center of the Rockies. [Kyle Patterson, 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/):

Badlands NP - On December 24th and 25th, the park and Buffalo Gap National Grasslands hosted the Future Generations ride (Omaka Tokatakiya) - known for the past 23 years as the Bigfoot Memorial Ride - of Lakota Sioux from the Pine Ridge, Standing Rock, and Cheyenne River Reservations.

Point Reyes NS - In partnership with the Point Reyes National Seashore Association and the National Park Service, the first Children's Christmas Bird Count took place in the park on Saturday, January 8th. This was a first-time event for any national park. Photo.

Northeast Region - Keith Newlin has been selected as the new superintendent for the National Parks of Western Pennsylvania, a group that includes Flight 93, Johnstown Flood, Allegheny Portage Railroad, Fort Necessity and Friendship Hill.

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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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