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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, March 25, 2011 INCIDENTS Yosemite NP Park Begins Phased Reopening Storm recovery operations continue at Yosemite and incremental reopening are set to occur through the weekend. A winter storm warning for significant snow remains in effect through this morning. Here's yesterday's status report: Yosemite was open to local traffic on Wednesday to allow residents an opportunity to meet basic needs. The park will begin to transition to opening for day use and overnight reservation, then to opening with limited services, followed by restoration of all services. The projected time line is 72 hours contingent upon weather, roads, and restoration of power. The first in a series of winter storms moved through the area Wednesday with snow fall returning to El Portal. Approximately two inches of snow was reported at El Portal with 14 inches at the 6,500 feet elevation. Wednesday's forecast called for a second storm to produce heavy snowfall and breezy conditions. A winter storm warning remains in effect. Highways 140, 41, and 120 outside the park remain open. Within the park, Highway 140/El Portal Road is open, Highway 120/Big Oak Flat road is open, and Highway 41/Wawona Road is temporary closed while rotary plows widen the road. The latter was to reopen late yesterday. Pacific Gas & Electric is continuing work to restore electrical service. Progress has been limited due to snow showers throughout the area yesterday and remaining in the forecast through tomorrow. Restoration of power is projected for Saturday for Yosemite Valley, undetermined for Wawona, and one week for the Hodgdon area. Hetch Hetchy has restored electrical services. AT&T is working to restore phone service to El Portal by replacing damaged lines. Tree clearing continues along secondary roads and within residential communities. 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. Non-essential employees remain on administrative leave as heat and power is lacking at many work locations. Personnel are supporting core operations, including basic administrative/contracting needs associated with the winter storm, payroll/finance, and operations. Employees are encouraged to telecommute, but many are without power at their homes as this storm has had widespread impacts. The park is anticipating a full restoration of services and all employees returning to work on Monday. Mariposa County declared a local emergency and activated its emergency operations center. Ed Dunlavey is serving as the park liaison with Mariposa County. Schools within Yosemite Valley reopened yesterday and El Portal will reopen today, all supported by generator power. Bus service resumed on Wednesday. Media interest remains very high. Incident priorities yesterday were as follows: Continue distribution of information to internal and external sources-communities, employees, media Keep generator power up and running at the El Portal wastewater treatment plant Keep El Portal complex generator 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 package Provide information through the employee hotline (209-379-1186) Monitor the emerging weather forecast which currently includes a winter storm warning through early Friday Implement plans for the reopening of the park and the restoration of services based upon current and available information. Assure safety mitigation through the safety officer and messaging about use of extension cords, generators, and exposure to carbon monoxide Maintain an employee information location at the Comfort Inn in Mariposa. [Charles Cuvelier, Chief 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/): Hawaii Volcanoes NP - Park volunteers engaged in a multi-year hawksbill turtle recovery project happened upon an extremely rare olive ridley sea turtle laying eggs in the sand - but too close to the tidal zone. Volunteers moved the nest and spent 56 days protecting it until the young turtles hatched and made their way to the sea. Office of Communications - The National Park Service is offering a $1,000 prize in a new competition for architectural artists who create drawings of historic buildings. Office of Communications - The names of the recipients of the director's wilderness stewardship awards have been announced. Pacific West Region - Edward D. Jahns, former regional curator for Rocky Mountain Region, passed away on February 22nd. Photo. Servicewide - A compilation of upcoming training courses and conferences across the nation, plus online training. Added to this week's calendar are six new offerings from FLETC and four from the Historic Preservation Training Center. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |