NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, March 11, 2011

INCIDENTS

Hawaii Volcanoes NP

Eruption Activity On Kilauea Decreases

The Kamoamoa fissure eruption decreased in activity through Wednesday afternoon and paused late that evening. At the summit, the lava lake remained deep below the rim of the vent inset within the east wall of Halema`uma`u Crater. East rift zone seismicity, summit seismicity, and sulfur dioxide emissions decreased, but all remained elevated. The park plans to open the upper four miles of Chain of Craters Road today. The road will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily as conditions allow. Permitted backcountry hikers may access coastal trails from the Ka`u Desert trailhead. The Hilina Pali Road and Kulanaokuaiki Campground will remain closed. For further information, click on these links:

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory HYPERLINK "http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/activity/kilaueastatus.php" eruption updates

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory HYPERLINK "http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/cams/" volcano webcams

Hawaii Volcanoes NP HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm" closure information

For a related newspaper article, click on the link below. [USGS, Hawaii Volcanoes NP]

HYPERLINK "http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/Lava_fountaining_pauses_at_Kamoamoa_fissure.html#" http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/Lava_fountaining_pauses_at_Kamoamoa_fissure.html#

Northeastern Areas

Heavy Rains Cause Rivers To Rise

Heavy rains falling throughout the Northeast have caused significant flooding on small streams and are filling larger rivers to their brims. Some flooding will likely occur in these parks:

C&O Canal NHP - A moderate flooding event was declared by the superintendent yesterday in anticipation of moderate flooding along the Potomac River and associated impacts to the park. The river will crest at varying points today and tomorrow. Throughout the weekend, water levels along the Potomac River and the C&O Canal will continue to be high. Visitor safety is the park's top priority. During this period, access to some areas of the park will be closed. Current closures include the Billy Goat and Olmstead Overlook Trails at Great Falls and the boat ramps at Monocacy, McCoy's Ferry and Spring Gap day use areas. Other closures may result if conditions warrant.

Delaware Water Gap NRA - The entire Delaware River corridor within the park, including all access points, the McDade Recreational Trail and several roads, is currently closed. These roads include Old Mine Road from Worthington State Forest to Millbrook Village, the unpaved section of Old Mine Road near the Van Campen Inn, and Route 615 near Flatbrookville in New Jersey. River Road in Pennsylvania is closed from Shawnee-on-Delaware to park headquarters. These closures will remain in effect until further notice. If conditions continue to worsen, U.S. Route 209 may also be closed. Due to the heavy rain and additional runoff from snowmelt, the Delaware River is forecast to rise to 21.6' at the Montague gauge by Friday evening; flood stage is 25'. At the Tocks Island gauge at the south end of the park, the river is expected to reach just over 23' by Friday evening; flood stage there is 21', so moderate flooding is expected in that area.

Upper Delaware S&RR - On Thursday, park staff began preparing for a high water event. The river is currently predicted to crest at 15' on the Barryville gauge late Friday (flood stage is 17'). The predicted crest, however, is heavily influenced by how much snowpack melt off occurs and on flash flooding on the Delaware's tributaries. The crest therefore has the potential to go significantly higher - the park is preparing for the possibility of it reaching 22'. Preparations include notifying the canoe liveries and county communications centers, closing all river accesses, and site preparations. Items at the Milanville and Barryville NPS building sites were moved to higher locations. Should the crest get close to 26', it may be necessary to disconnect utilities at Barryville, Milanville, and the Zane Grey museum. Any crest prediction higher than that would require relocating museum items and possibly work stations. Plans are in place to do so if necessary. Response/rescue boats and the response trailer have been moved to higher locations at HQ and ranger residences. These extreme scenarios (crest greater than 22') are unlikely at this time. Members of the park's staff are standing by to assist nearby towns, counties and villages if needed.

[Brad Clawson, Chief Ranger, CHOH; Kathleen Sandt, PIO, DEWA; Seam McGuinness, Superintendent, UPDE]

Mount Rainier NP

Lost Snowshoers Rescued

Late on the afternoon of March 7th, two snowshoers called park dispatch and reported themselves as lost. After listening to them descibe their immediate location, a hasty team of two park rangers made an educated guess on where they were located. The rangers skied for three hours in the dark and found the two lost snowshoers on Stevens Ridge, which is several miles from Paradise. The snowshoers were descending the Muir Snowfield when they became disoriented and lost their tracks due to snow and heavy fog. Both were adequately dressed for winter conditions, but had minimal food and no overnight gear. Rangers made contact with the party at 10 p.m., determined that they were both in good condition, and immediately began to hike out. All personnel returned to Paradise at midnight and were given housing in Longmire that night. A winter storm hit Paradise at 4 a.m. the next morning. [Stefan Lofgren, Park Ranger]

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/):

Department of the Interior - The Department of the Interior has issued a call for nominations for its annual awards recognizing employees for outstanding efforts in the field of crime victim services. Nominations are due by Tuesday, March 15th.

Fire and Aviation Management - Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday - and it's therefore time again to check the batteries in your home and office smoke detectors. Photo.

Upcoming Training and Conference Calendar - A compilation of upcoming training courses and conferences across the nation through the end of 2011, plus online training.  Added to this week's calendar are the following - two webcasts next week on future incident management responses to wildland fires, a webinar on marine mammal acoustic research, a small boat and marina firefighting course, a defensive firefighter class, a class on tracking, and a workshop on integrating women's history into historic sites.

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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of Communications and 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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