Natchez Trace Parkway (AL,MS,TN)
Severe Storms Slam Parkway In Three States
On April 26th and 27th, a 300-mile stretch of the Natchez Trace Parkway was impacted by several major storm systems. An estimated 10,000 trees were blown down by high winds within the boundary of the park, including hundreds on the parkway itself. A single 10-mile section took park crews most of a day to clear. One visitor was killed as a tree was blown over onto his tent. Park staff handled about 350 calls for service, ranging from downed trees to stranded visitors, flooding, and numerous motor vehicle accidents. No other major injuries or fatalities occurred despite having over 10,000 travelers on the parkway. Damage assessments are continuing. [Submitted by Superintendent's Office]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Visitors Ticketed For Walking On Old Faithful Geyser Cone
Members of a tour group were issued citations Wednesday evening for
walking on the cone of the world's most famous geyser. An individual
from Wisconsin called to tip off park rangers after watching the
situation unfold on the Old Faithful live streaming web cam. When the
first park ranger arrived on scene, she found approximately 30 people
off the boardwalk, standing around the cone of the geyser taking
photographs. After getting them safely back on the boardwalk, members of
the group told the ranger they had not seen any of the numerous and
prominent signs they walked past which warn visitors of the dangers
found in thermal areas and of the requirement to stay on boardwalks and
designated trails. The tour group leader, the bus driver, and one member
of the first group of four visitors who walked off the boardwalk were
cited for being off trail in a thermal area, a violation of federal law
with a $125 fine. Articles in the free park newspaper, on the park web
site, podcasts, and on signs posted throughout the park, all remind
visitors to stay on boardwalks and established trails when visiting
Yellowstone National Park. For their safety and the safety of
others, visitors are told to keep children close and not to run on
boardwalks or on trails in thermal areas. Pets are not allowed in
or near thermal areas. Swimming in the hot pools is prohibited.
Unfortunately, almost every year one or more visitors who ignore all
these warnings fall through the fragile, thin crust in a thermal area
and are burned by the boiling water beneath. There are more than 10,000
geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and steam vents in Yellowstone National
Park, the largest collection of hydrothermal features anywhere in the
world. Old Faithful erupts about every 90 minutes, shooting a column of
boiling water and steam 130 feet or more into the air. This is not the
first time a web cam viewer has notified park rangers about visitors off
boardwalk and on the cone of Old Faithful. The most famous prior
incident occurred in May 2009, when six visitors were spotted urinating
in the geyser cone. They were found guilty of a variety of charges, with
one of the six fined $750, placed on three years of probation, and
banned from the park for two years.
[Submitted by Al Nash, Public Affairs Officer]
Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area (KY,TN)
Body Of Missing Fisherman Found
Park personnel found and recovered the body of missing canoeist T.G. late on the afternoon of April 26th, bringing to a conclusion the longest search in Big South Fork's history. The 13-day effort came to an end when his body was located about five miles downstream from the point of the accident. On Wednesday, April 13th, T.G., J.B. and C.H. were fishing the Big South Fork River when their canoe capsized in some rapids. J.B. and C.H. were able to make it to shore, but T.G. was pulled under and believed drowned. This led to an intensive search for T.G. by Park Service employees as well as several other agencies and many volunteers. Resources were brought in from as far away as Knoxville, Tennessee, and Bell County, Kentucky. Searches were conducted by foot, dog team, sonar, cameras, divers and boats. The river was searched extensively between the point of the accident and the Turkey Creek boat ramp. Heavy flood waters hampered the search on a couple of days, but some efforts were made each day. Ranger Barry Melloan was IC throughout the incident. [Submitted by Frank Graham, Chief Ranger]
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Injured Hiker Rescued Via Helicopter Short Haul
The park received a report of an injured 39-year-old male hiker below the South Rim on April 20th. While descending the New Hance Trail, which is a rugged and unimproved trail, he'd suffered a soft tissue ligament injury to his knee that prevented him from bearing weight on the injured leg. An NPS ranger/IEMT hiked to his location, three-quarters of a mile down the trail, and stabilized his injury. A ground-based litter evacuation was not considered feasible from the site; the crew of the park's helicopter performed a reconnaissance of the site, but determined that gusting winds prevented a rescue from being safely conducted. The ranger, who provided continued care, bivouacked overnight at the scene with the injured hiker. Winds decreased the next day, and rescuers successfully completed a helicopter short-haul extraction of the patient to the Moran Point Overlook. He was then transported by a waiting NPS ambulance. [Submitted by Ken Phillips, Chief, Emergency Services]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire/Incident Situation Highlights
National Fire Activity - Preparedness Level 1
NIFC is at PL 1. Five new large fires were reported yesterday - four in Texas and one in New Mexico.
Fire Weather Forecast
Critical fire weather conditions associated with strong winds of 20 to 40 mph and low relative humidity below 15 percent will affect much of the Southwest including the southern California deserts, much of Arizona, New Mexico, west and central Texas, parts of southern Colorado, western Oklahoma and southwestern Kansas. A frontal system moving across the interior West will produce areas of rain and snow across the Northwest, the Northern Rockies and the northern Great Basin. Cool high pressure will dominate the eastern half of the country.
To see a NOAA map of today's critical fire weather areas, click on this link: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/fire_wx/fwdy1.html
Fire Summary (Five Day Trend)
|
Date |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
|
Day |
4/25 |
4/26 |
4/27 |
4/28 |
4/29 |
|
Initial Attack Fires |
42 |
69 |
116 |
115 |
220 |
|
New Large Fires |
1 |
10 |
8 |
3 |
5 |
|
Large Fires Contained |
2 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
|
Uncontained Large Fires |
12 |
19 |
26 |
25 |
16 |
National Resource Commitments (Five Day Trend)
|
Date |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
|
Day |
4/25 |
4/26 |
4/27 |
4/28 |
4/29 |
|
Area Command Teams |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
NIMO Teams |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Type 1 Teams |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Type 2 Teams |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
NPS Fire Summaries
No updates on National Park Service fires have been received since yesterday.
For additional information on all fires, check the following web sites:
- Archived fire news - http://www.nps.gov/fire/public/pub_firenews.cfm?archive=true
- Map of fire locations - http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/lg_fire2.php
- Details on all current major fires - http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
- Fire news and fire year in perspective - http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm
- InsideNPS Fire and Aviation - http://inside.nps.gov/fire
- InsideNPS Structural Fire - http://inside.nps.gov/fire/structuralfire
- NPS Fire and Aviation - http://www.nps.gov/fire
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Intermountain Region
Brad Traver Selected As Superintendent Of Petrified Forest
Brad Traver, a 30-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been named superintendent at Petrified Forest National Park. Traver assumes his new responsibilities on May 22nd.
"Brad has the experience, the skill sets and all the ability to work with our partners and to do an outstanding job at Petrified Forest," said John Wessels, regional director for Intermountain Region.
Traver, a native of Princeton, Massachusetts, was most recently the project manager for the NPS Southern Arizona Office in Tucson. He was the superintendent at Bandelier from 2008 through 2009, and has also served in interim assignments as acting superintendent at Big Bend and Petrified Forest.
He began his NPS career in 1979 as a seasonal surveyor for the Denver Service Center assigned to Yellowstone National Park, spending several years there supervising construction projects. He accepted a position at Grand Canyon National Park in 1986 and was instrumental in drafting and implementing the park's 1995 general management plan. While there, he held many positions including project supervisor, park engineer, chief of professional services, and manager of the park's general management plan implementation team.
"I'm thrilled to be headed back to Petrified Forest, where I spent a few months in 2007 that were a highlight of my career," Traver said. "I look forward to working with the talented and dedicated staff there as well as the park's many good friends and partners in Holbrook and the surrounding area, to protect the magnificent resources of the park and encourage their responsible enjoyment."
Traver holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. He and his wife, Denise, herself a former Grand Canyon park ranger, enjoy hiking and look forward to exploring their new environment.
As superintendent at Petrified Forest National Park Traver will manage more than 108,000 acres, an annual operating budget of nearly $3 million, and a staff of about 50 employees. Petrified Forest features petrified logs of multicolored quartz, and archeological, paleontological, historic and cultural resources. It is part of the Painted Forest and two wilderness areas.
[Submitted by James Doyle, James_doyle@nps.gov, 303 969 2321]Harpers Ferry Center
JoAnne Grove Retires
JoAnne Grove will retire on April 30th from her position as chief of the Office of Acquisition Management and deputy associate manager of Harpers Ferry Center after a 36-year federal career. For 31 of those years she served with the National Park Service.
Grove began her federal career in 1975 at the Energy Research Development Administration/Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. She transferred to the NPS at Harpers Ferry Center in October 1979 as a contract specialist and soon advanced to her position as chief.
A retirement ppen house for Grove was held on April 25th at Mather Training Center. It was attended by a full house of family and colleagues -- both past and present -- from HFC and the NPS Historic Preservation Training Center, whose contracting Grove also oversaw.
"During JoAnne's leadership of our contracting work," said Don Kodak, Harpers Ferry Center's director, "our annual contracting grew from $4 million a year to last year's $33 million. I cannot say enough about JoAnne's career contribution to our important work for national park visitors. In fact, I find it hard to imagine what it will be like without her energy and good counsel always at hand."
Grove worked on many high-profile NPS projects. These include the NPS uniform program for what was then the Ranger Activities Division in Washington, and exhibits for the U.S. Holocaust Museum, the African Burial Ground Interpretive Center, and THE Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and Museum.
Grove has been a long-time member of the NPS Acquisition Management Council. Among her notable accomplishments for the Council, she led a team that developed an agreements handbook in 2001 for the National Park Service.
Grove and her husband Larry live in Kearneysville, West Virginia. Her daughter, son-in-law, and one granddaughter live in Frederick, Maryland. Her other granddaughters live in Jacksonville and Greenville, North Carolina.
Grove said the real credit should go to her staff and HFC management, without whose work and direction, she could not have worked so effectively. Grove has had a fulfilling career with the National Park Service and will be fondly remembered -- and missed -- by a long list of colleagues and friends. Her plans for retirement include more time with family and travel: North Carolina, Las Vegas, and Florida/Disney trips are already planned. She will also work part-time at Turn the Page Bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland.
[Submitted by John Tobiason, John_Tobiason@nps.gov, 304-535-6280]Northeast Region
Kim Coast To Head LE And Emergency Operations
Kim Coast has been selected as Northeast Region's new branch chief for law enforcement and emergency operations. She enters on duty on May 8th.
Kim is a 28-year veteran of the National Park Service and has experience in a many aspects of park operations and visitor and resource protection. She is currently acting chief ranger at Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco, where she has served in that capacity for eight months and as operations branch chief since 2003.
Kim has also worked as a commissioned ranger at Manassas National Battlefield Park, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Big Thicket National Preserve, Santa Fe National Forest, Buffalo National River and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. She worked two seasons at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument in St. Augustine, Florida, before becoming a permanent employee at Everglades National Park, where she served as a fee collector, dispatcher and interpretive ranger.
Kim completed her education at the State University of New York, Alfred, and Slippery Rock University, where she received a bachelor's degree in recreation resource management.
[Submitted by Stephen M. Clark, Regional Chief Ranger]NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site:
http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id;=8728&lv;=2&pgid;=3504
All reports should now be submitted via this automated system.