|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, March 23, 2011 INCIDENTS Yosemite NP Major Winter Storm Slams Park A winter storm dropped several feet of snow - two to six feet, depending on location and elevation - on the park this past weekend, with nine inches of snow in El Portal. The strong storm system, which moved out of the area on Monday, caused power outages throughout the park and road closures, downed trees and landslides outside the park. The widespread nature of the problem has caused the park to take various contingency measures to protect park resources and provide for visitor safety. Here's a status report prepared on Tuesday morning: Numerous trees are down along Highway 41 outside the park and within the Wawona community, resulting in a loss of power. The main power transmission line in the Merced River Canyon (Highway 140) is down, resulting in the loss of electric service to El Portal and Yosemite Valley. Pacific Gas and Electric is assessing the damage and beginning repairs to the line. They have estimated power will remain out for several days. Landslides along highway 140 have forced the closure of the road outside the park by CalTrans. They have indicated it will take several days to clear the road. The California Highway Patrol and the park are working cooperatively to provide escorted convoy of essential personnel to support basic park infrastructure. Highway 140 within the park has an administrative lane open, with ongoing activities to clear downed trees and widen the roadway. Highway 120 within the park is open to administrative traffic, with ongoing efforts to widen the road by removing snow. Highway 120 was utilized to support a voluntary evacuation of the park, including 350 students associated with Yosemite Institute, 46 persons who had been stranded at Badger Pass for two days, guests at lodging outside the park in Yosemite West and El Portal wanting to depart, and guests at campgrounds and lodging within the park. Generators are being operated by the park and concessionaire to protect infrastructure. Three warming locations have been identified for residents who do not have heat due to the power outage. Two community meetings were planned for yesterday. These widespread impacts have resulted in the establishment of forward incident command posts to support evacuations, operations, and interagency communications. Those posts and their managers are at Wawona (Eric Scott), Mather (Eric Yount), El Portal (Bernie Spielman), and the Valley (Matt Stark). These forward command posts are under the direction of the chief ranger and superintendent. The park's roads crew, under the leadership and direction of Lou Summerfield, has been a critical asset throughout the storm along with the utilities/high voltage staff. Incident priorities yesterday were as follows: Maintain the Highway 120 access, with a goal of getting two lanes open for administrative traffic only Conduct community meetings Extract visitors out of Glacier Point and Bridalveil Keep power up and running at the El Portal wastewater treatment plant Keep El Portal complex power up and running Maintain dispatch operations and backup power Continue liaison activities with PG&E, AT&T, the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office, and the California Highway Patrol Conduct a storm damage assessment and develop a report Provide information through the employee hotline (209-379-1186) Monitor the emerging weather forecast, which currently includes a winter storm watch for late Tuesday through late Wednesday, with possible heavy snow and a 4,000 foot elevation snow level Assure safety mitigation through the safety officer and messaging about use of extension cords, generators, and exposure to carbon monoxide Conduct hazard tree abatement Support the transfer of stranded visitors who arrive by way of YARTS and need assistance leaving the park Restore generator service to Yosemite Medical Clinic For additional information, contact Charles Cuvelier at 209-372-0216. [Charles Cuvelier, Chief Ranger] Golden Gate NRA Remains Found Of Man Missing Since 2002 Members of Marin Search and Rescue were participating in a high angle recovery on the cliffs below Battery Spencer in Marin Headlands last September when they came upon what appeared to be a human skull about 20 feet above the ocean. Evidence was recovered by rangers, and Marin SAR helped join in a search for additional remains. Evidence collected allowed investigators to tentatively identify the man and confirm that identity via DNA samples from his family. He was identified as a man, reportedly despondent, who'd disappeared in December, 2002. His abandoned car was found at Battery Spencer and an air, water and ground search was conducted by 25 Marin SAR members, three CARDA dog teams, the Coast Guard and the California Highway Patrol. That search proved fruitless and the case remained open until the remains were found and identified. For additional details, click on the link below. [Kim Coast, Acting Chief Ranger] HYPERLINK "http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_17639841" http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_17639841 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/): Office of Human Resources - To assist managers in understanding the changes in the hiring process, a new hiring reform website has been established on InsideNPS. A link is provided. NPS Alumni - Chrysandra “Sandy” L. Walter, 63, former deputy regional director for Northeast Region, passed away on March 21st after a long, courageous battle with cancer. Her funeral will be held on Saturday. Photo. Hovenweep NM - A memorial gathering to honor Lead Ranger Chris Nickel, who died suddenly last January while working at Hovenweep National Monument, will occur on Saturday, April 16th, at 11 a.m. at Hovenweep. Natural Resource Program Center - Carol McCoy has been selected as the new chief of the Air Resources Division of the Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate. Carol will begin her new duties on March 28th. Photo. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |