NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, May 13, 2011

INCIDENTS

Ozark NSR

Park Recovering After Major Flooding

During the period from Sunday, April 24th, to Monday, May 2nd, the skies opened up and drenched the Jacks Fork and Current River watersheds with 21 inches of rain on already saturated ground. The rivers rose quickly, which forced their closure to floaters and boaters. Rising water eventually flooded campgrounds, trails, picnic areas, roadways, and facilities such as restrooms, pavilions, electrical systems, staff offices and fee stations. Southeast and central Missouri received heightened national media coverage due to river flooding, road closures, levees being breached, overtopping of emergency dam spillways on Lakes Wappapello and Clearwater, stresses on levee systems, and the blowing up of levees to reduce these stresses by the Army Corp of Engineers. The water has since receded and the park has begun assessments and recovery efforts. The Midwest Region All Risk Management Team, headed by James Hummel as incident commander, is in the park coordinating the damage assessment and recovery efforts. Much progress has been made by park staff, who are often working beyond normal schedules to restore flood damaged facilities. Many areas are open on the Upper Current and Jacks Fork Rivers, except for areas with hazards such as large root wad in the river, mud and debris on roadways, washed away boat ramps, and wet and muddy restrooms. The Lower Current River section of the park bore the brunt of the flooding. A major roadway culvert leading into the Big Spring Campground has been undercut. Engineers will be arriving to assess the cut and also evaluate the structural integrity of the Big Spring Branch Bridge. Limited areas in the Lower Current District are open at this time. A near miss occurred when visitors overturned their canoe as they attempted to float over a flooded low water bridge at Cedar Grove, which is normally a portage. One canoeist was sucked into a whirlpool and was swept into a flooded culvert underneath the roadway. The quick action of by park maintenance employee Jerry Cook, who was nearby, pulled the three individuals to safety. As of May 11th, with 60% of the restoration estimates in, damages are at $458,280. [Faye Walmsley, Public Information Officer]

Yellowstone NP

Melting Heavy Snows Cause Slides, Building Damage

Park road crews and avalanche experts are working to clear Sylvan Pass of more than 20 feet of snow and assess the continuing danger of wet snow slides that have kept the road closed since May 11th. Four significant slides in the pass - one resulting in a debris field 70 yards wide and 20 to 30 feet deep across the road - occurred on Wednesday and Thursday. The park is currently redirecting heavy road clearing equipment to support reopening operations. Avalanche crews searched the slide area yesterday with probes and canine rescue teams to ensure no motorists were caught in the slide. An unoccupied government vehicle sustained damage when it was partially buried in a major slide as a ranger was conducting an assessment of the area on foot on Wednesday. The ranger was not injured. Explosives were used yesterday to try and bring down some of the heavy, wet snow. Thirteen of 18 of the detonations were successful in releasing large amounts of snow. This snow slide activity is expected to continue until the weather pattern returns to freezing night time temperatures. The current forecast for the Sylvan Pass area is for daytime temperatures in the 50s over the next two to three days, which will continue to warm the heavy snowpack and make it increasingly unstable. Overnight lows in the past 48 hours have dipped just enough below freezing to create a thin layer of ice, but that crust melts quickly by midday. A blanket of heavy melting snow in the park's interior has also contributed to the roof collapse of the RV repair facility at Fishing Bridge and caused roof damage to roof of the Grant Village Visitor Education Center. No injuries were reported in either incident, and repair work is underway. [Dan Hottle, Public Affairs Office]

Cuyahoga Valley NP

Visitor Falls To Death At Brandywine Falls

A 31-year-old visitor slipped and fell off the top of Brandywine Falls on the afternoon of May 10th. Rangers responded along with several emergency response agencies and began a rescue that turned into a body recovery. It appears that the man was walking along the top of the falls with his female companion when he slipped in the water and went over the edge, falling 60 feet to the bottom of the falls. Divers recovered the body from the base of the falls later that afternoon. The park is investigating the incident. The area has safety railings along the gorge by the falls and warning signs of potential slipping and falling hazards due to the wet rock. A wooden boardwalk is provided for safe viewing of the falls. [Chris Ryan, Chief Ranger]

Denali NP&P

One Climber Rescued, One Killed On Mt. McKinley

Park rescue personnel were able to save the life of an injured climber at 19,500 feet on Mt. McKinley the night of Thursday, May 12th, but a teammate from the same guided expedition was found dead at 18,000 feet. The guided client rescued from 19,500 feet had broken a leg when the four-person rope team fell near the summit ridge very late on Wednesday or early on Thursday. After the fall, the team's guide secured the injured climber in a bivy sack at the ‘Football Field' while the other two clients descended. By morning, the guide and one of the two uninjured clients had separately descended to the 17,200-foot high camp, where they were treated by another team for frostbite to the hands and feet. The third client never returned to high camp. At the request of the National Park Service, the 176th Wing of the Alaska Air National Guard launched an HC-130 aircraft from the 211th Rescue Squadron on Thursday morning in an effort to spot the injured and missing climbers. Pararescuemen from the 212th Rescue Squadron on board the HC-130 spotted the client with the broken leg at 19,500 feet, though they were unable to definitively verify the location of the other client. Winds gusted to 70 mph throughout the day on Thursday, and the park's high altitude A-Star B3 helicopter was unable to safely fly above 14,200 feet. The winds subsided by 5 p.m., though, and both the HC-130 aircraft and the NPS helicopter were able to make a reconnaissance flight up high on the mountain. The helicopter pilot and an NPS ranger verified the location and status of the injured climber at 19,500 feet, and for the first time rescue personnel were able to confirm the location of the second climber above 18,000 feet. With a rescue basket secured to the end of a 125-foot-long rope, A-Star B3 helicopter pilot Andy Hermansky returned to the climber at 19,500 feet. The injured client was able to climb into the basket as the helicopter hovered overhead. Once the patient was secure in the basket, the helicopter flew down to the Kahiltna Basecamp to an awaiting LifeMed air ambulance for transport to Anchorage. The A-Star B3 helicopter then returned to the site of the climber near 18,000 feet, this time with NPS mountaineering ranger Kevin Wright on the end of the 125-foot shorthaul line. Hermansky hovered while Wright set down adjacent to the climber and buckled him into a canvas sling known as a ‘screamer suit'. The climber, who showed no obvious signs of life, was flown on the end of the shorthaul line to the Kahiltna Basecamp. He was transferred to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 52nd Aviation Regiment out of Fort Wainwright for a more thorough medical assessment. Two NPS ranger medics, also on board the CH-47, confirmed that the climber had died. The cause of death is unknown at this time. The guide and the client, both of whom suffer from frostbite, currently remain at the 17,200-foot camp. The names of all climbers involved in the incident are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. [Maureen McLaughlin, Public Information Officer]

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/):

Sitka NHP - A special 35-foot red cedar centennial totem pole created by Tlingit carver Tommy Joseph and team members from the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples will be raised on Sunday, highlighting the final set of events of the park's centennial year.

Chamizal NM - On Tuesday, President Obama delivered a speech concerning immigration reform in the United States to a crowd over a thousand at Chamizal National Memorial. Photo.

Wolf Trap NPPA - Jewel Haskins has been named chief of interpretation at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. Photo.

NPS Alumni - Bruce McHenry, retired long-term chief of interpretation for the old North Atlantic Region, passed away on Tuesday, May 10th.

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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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