NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

INCIDENTS

Bandelier NM

Park Resumes Limited Operations

Several areas of Bandelier National Monument reopened to visitors on Friday, July 15th, after a closure of nearly three weeks. The entire monument was closed to the public as a result of the Las Conchas Fire, which began on June 26th. Since that time, park staff and the Intermountain all risk incident management team have been working diligently to resolve safety issues and threats to valuable resources in order to resume park operations. The areas reopened last Friday were the Tsankawi Unit, Juniper Campground and Amphitheater, Overlook Trail, and Burnt Mesa Trail. With many trails in the surrounding area still closed due to fire danger, Bandelier received heavy visitation over the weekend. Visitors at the Tsankawi Unit were very appreciative of improvements to the parking area, which is being upgraded to safely accommodate the additional traffic that is anticipated. The remainder of the monument is still closed in the aftermath of the fire, which burned 20,800 acres of Bandelier. The severity of the fire resulted in a loss of vegetation that provides soil stabilization and caused a water-repellent condition in the soil. With the monsoon season beginning, these conditions could lead to devastating floods in Frijoles Canyon, where the park's visitor center, administrative offices, and a large number of cultural and historic sites are located. Diversion dikes, waterproof barriers and sandbags have been installed to mitigate the potential damage from flooding. The decision to implement flood mitigation measures, remove bridges, and close the facilities in Frijoles Canyon was validated by a recent flood in a nearby canyon that resulted in numerous mud flows containing rocks and woody debris that reached a height of six feet on standing trees. [Dena Matteson, IO]

Joshua Tree NP

Light Plane Crashes In Park

Rangers and rescue personnel from several agencies responded yesterday morning to a report of a plane crash in the northwest section of the park near Covington Flats. The plane, a small home-built aircraft constructed from a kit, was flying from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, to Compton, California, when it crashed in a hilly area of the park and caught fire. The lone occupant of the aircraft, J.T., 28, was given emergency treatment at the scene for injuries sustained in the crash and airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. The crash occurred at approximately 9:20 a.m. Members of the park's trail crew who were working in the vicinity saw a puff of smoke that alerted them to the crash. Local agencies sending personnel to the crash site included the National Park Service, San Bernardino County Fire Department, the Bureau of Land Management, San Bernardino County Sheriffs' Department, California Highway Patrol, and Morongo Basin Ambulance. Helicopters from Mercy Air and San Bernardino County Sheriffs' Department also supported the incident. The crash site is located in rocky terrain inside the park south of the communities of Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree. Rescue vehicles were able to get within about a mile of the crash site via La Contenta Road after which rescuers had to hike to the actual crash location. Rescue personnel were clear of the incident by about 12:30 p.m. The cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. [Joe Zarki, Public Affairs Officer]

Glacier NP

Hiker Suffers Fatal Fall

An interpretive ranger leading a hike on the Grinnell Glacier trail late yesterday morning received a report that a hiker had taken a 50 to 100 foot slide on a steep snow field elsewhere on the trail and needed medical assistance due to head injuries he'd received in the fall. Rangers, Kalispell Regional Medical Center's ALERT helicopter, and a Minuteman Aviation helicopter responded. The hiker was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The Glacier County Coroner's Office is establishing the cause of death. [Denise Germann, Public Affairs Officer]

Lake Mead NRA

Driver Killed In Early Morning Accident

A 20-year-old man was killed and his passenger injured in a high-speed accident that occurred during the early morning hours of Thursday, July 7th. The accident occurred sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. that morning as the two men were leaving the park. Speed and alcohol appear to have been factors. Containers of alcohol were found at the scene, and accident reconstruction indicates that the vehicle was traveling at over 75 mph in a 45 mph speed zone. The vehicle was found off the road and over a hill in a ravine. A park visitor reported seeing debris on the road at 4:36 a.m., but said that he didn't see a vehicle in the area. The wreckage was discovered by a National Park Service employee at 6 a.m. The two men were treated at the scene by Bullhead City Fire Department and transported by air to the hospital, but the driver did not survive. [Andrew S. Muñoz, 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/):

Timucuan E&HP - Staff from the park's Kingsley Plantation and the Florida Public Archaeology Network recently co-hosted the state's first Project Archaeology teacher workshop. Photo.

Policy Office - The Arrowhead Pride program continues to add new products - such as dress shirts for non-uniformed employees - aimed at promoting esprit de corps. Photo.

Office of the Comptroller - Barbara Murphy, 51, an employee of the National Park Service for 18 years, died last Wednesday of complications resulting from a recent illness and surgery.

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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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