NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

INCIDENTS

New River Gorge NR

Search Underway For Three Missing Fishermen

Late on the afternoon of Sunday, April 3rd, rangers received a report that a johnboat with five fishermen on board had overturned on the New River near Meadow Creek. Two of the men were able to swim to shore, but the other three disappeared. The New River was flowing at about 9,600 cubic feet per second at the time and the water temperature was approximately 50 degrees. Personnel from the National Park Service, the West Virginia State Police, the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, Green Sulfur Springs VFD, Hinton VFD, and the Region 5 Dive Team searched for them from shortly after the notification was received until 9 p.m., when search operations were suspended due to the hazards of nighttime search on the river. Recovery operations continued yesterday. The Corps of Engineers planned to reduce the flow from the Bluestone Dam yesterday to assist search teams. [Jeff West, Chief Ranger]

Yosemite NP

Life Saved During Severe Winter Storm

A winter storm that began on the night of Friday, March 18th, continued into the following week, dropping heavy snow throughout the park. By the following Monday morning, the Wawona District and nearby community of Fish Camp had received between two and three feet of snow. Highway 41, the only road leading into the park's South Entrance, was closed and impassible due to power line and tree failures outside of the park, leaving Fish Camp residents and guests at the Tenaya Lodge stranded. Around 11 a.m., dispatch received a 911 call from the Tenaya Lodge, reporting that a 61-year-old man was experiencing chest pain. Because county responders could not get to the hotel, ranger/paramedic Heidi Schlichting responded from Wawona. She reached the man about 15 minutes later, along with a Cal Fire paramedic from Fish Camp, Mark Spencer. An assessment of the patient revealed that he had a history of heart problems and that, due to the nature of his symptoms, he was likely having another cardiac event. Immediate transport was warranted, but weather conditions made this an extremely difficult option. An air evacuation was accordingly ordered. A CHP helicopter flew to the area, but was unable to find an adequate landing zone due to the terrain and inclement weather. While the helicopter was circling, Schlichting and Spencer began transporting the patient in her patrol car, hoping to somehow meet up with an ambulance. Pushing through over two feet of snow and maneuvering around stuck motorists, Schlichting drove until she encountered a tree across the road. Using hand and chain saws to clear trees and debris, she slowly made her way down the road, while still maintaining patient care, which included administration of emergency cardiac medications. She was assisted by NPS forestry tech Brian Mattos and NPS fire personnel Taro Pusina and Eric Neiswanger, whose sawyer expertise was invaluable in clearing approximately fifteen trees in very difficult conditions. It took about an hour-and-a-half for the party to travel approximately two miles, where they encountered power lines down across the road, making it impossible to continue. While waiting for a PG&E utilities crew to reach them to clear the lines, they began devising a plan to extricate the patient over the snow. A Madera County Search and Rescue snow cat arrived on the opposite side of the downed lines and assisted with transporting the man to a waiting ambulance. It took four hours to reach the ambulance. The man was then transported by ambulance to Oakhurst and flown to St. Agnes Hospital in Fresno, where he subsequently underwent triple bypass surgery. Dispatchers Ansley Rothell and Nancy Bissmeyer played a key role in maintaining communications and coordinating efforts of all involved personnel. Without the efforts and coordination between the involved agencies, including the NPS, Cal Fire MMU, Sierra National Forest, Mariposa County, Madera County, CHP, and CAL Trans, the man would likely not have survived. [Eric Scott, Wawona District 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/):

Golden Gate NRA - The connection between parks, public lands and health takes the national spotlight over the next two days at the Healthy Parks Healthy People US forum at Golden Gate. The forum will focus on how the NPS can most effectively help drive health and wellness initiatives in America's parks and how parks can promote healthier lifestyles.

Office of Human Resources - The Office of Human Resources has created a new STEP/SCEP toolkit which will provide guidance, resources, and answers to questions frequently asked about these two programs. A link is provided.

Alaska Region - Mike Tranel has been named superintendent of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, Alaska. He will start his new job on May 8th.

Bent's Old Fort NHS - Tom Snoke, facility manager at Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, retired on March 1st. Photo.

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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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