NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, June 3, 2011

INCIDENTS

Yellowstone NP

Road From Mammoth To Cooke City Reopened

The road from Mammoth Hot Springs through the Lamar Valley to Cooke City, Montana, reopened on Wednesday following a rock slide that closed it on May 28th. Park geologists and road maintenance crews, along with representatives of the Federal Highway Administration, examined the slide area just east of Blacktail Plateau Drive and determined the road was safe for vehicle travel after heavy equipment operators removed several car-sized boulders from the roadway. Park managers will aggressively monitor the slide area over coming weeks, especially during precipitation events, to assess the risk of any future slides. Internationally-recognized falling rock warning signs and no-stopping signs have been installed along a four-tenth-mile stretch through the slide area as a precaution for visitors, as the road has historically been a site for occasional “bear jams” - backups caused by visitors stopping to watch bears. No new material has fallen from the hillside since the original slide. Progress is also being made to clear the road between Tower Junction and Canyon Village over Dunraven Pass. Crews and snowplowing equipment were pulled off the spring clearing of the Beartooth Highway last weekend to focus on Dunraven pass, and are expecting to have the route opened, weather and avalanche conditions permitting, by this weekend. Once Dunraven is cleared, crews and equipment will return to US 212 to resume clearing operations on Beartooth Pass, which links the park's northeast entrance with the community of Red Lodge, Montana. The highway is currently scheduled to open the weekend of June 10th. Visitors can still travel into the Northeast Entrance of the park from Cody, Wyoming, by taking WY 120 to US 296 to US 212 through Cooke City, Montana. The north, west, and south entrances to Yellowstone are open, yet are subject to last-minute, temporary closures due to weather. Unstable snow conditions and the threat of snow slides continue to limit travel on the East Entrance Road through Sylvan Pass to between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 a.m. Information on park road conditions is available 24 hours a day by calling the park's road information hotline at 307-344-2117. [Dan Hottle, Public Affairs Officer]

Kaloko-Honokohau NHP

Mason Wall Crew Rescues Scuba Diver

On the morning of May 24th, the mason wall crew responded to calls for help from a scuba diver just offshore of the Kaloko Fishpond picnic area. Two men from Kailua-Kona were scuba diving when one of the divers suffered a stroke. His partner swam him to a rocky outcrop and called for help. Crew members responded and helped pull the injured diver to safety, while another worker called for an ambulance through the Pacific Area Dispatch Center. Park rangers responded with a litter and park staff assisted the Hawaii Fire Department in carrying the diver through tide pools and across the beach to a waiting ambulance. The diver is recovering at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu. The mason wall crew and rangers have participated in water rescue training and rescue scenarios to prepare for emergencies at the site. [Janette Chiron Gillespie, Acting Chief Ranger]

Glacier NP

Injured Hiker Medevaced From Stanton Peak

A hiker fell over a 30-foot cliff and slid an additional 80 feet on snow before coming to rest while descending from the summit of Stanton Peak at the head of Lake McDonald on Tuesday. He'd climbed the peak with three fellow concession employees from Lake McDonald Lodge and was glissading on a snowfield when the accident occurred. He attempted to self-arrest with his ice axe, but tumbled over the cliff and slid the additional distance on snow. Two of his companions hiked out to seek help. An ALERT medical helicopter was summoned and flew a medic to the scene to assess the man's condition. He was then flown out to a regional hospital for treatment. [Ellen Blickhan, Public Affairs Specialist]

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 National Park Service joined other San Francisco organizations in playing host to thousands of delegates and exhibitors to the International Pow Wow, a major travel industry show held last week in that city.

Great Sand Dunes NP&P - The park recently received an award for the role firefighters played in the protection of "Indian Grove," a group of 72 culturally modified ponderosa pine trees that were at risk during last year's Medano fire. Photo.

Fire and Aviation Management - The Branch of Structural Fire has announced the unveiling of a new structural fire data management system and the scheduling of two new park structural fire coordinator classes.

Great Smoky Mountains NP - Ann Schlichting, an interpretive ranger at Great Smoky Mountains, was involved in a single car accident on May 26th and sustained serious injuries that resulted in her passing a few days later. A graveside ceremony will be held on Monday.

Office of Communications - Gerry Gaumer, deputy chief of public affairs in the Washingont Office, retires today, June 3rd, after 30 years with the National Park Service. Photo.

Servicewide Training and Conference Calendar - A compilation of upcoming training courses and conferences across the nation, plus online training.  The following have been added to this week's calendar - an interagency regional wilderness stewardship training course in Tennessee and a NAGPRA training session in Denver.

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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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