NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

INCIDENTS

East Coast Areas

Parks Continue Irene Assessments, Recovery

Although many East Coast parks have reopened and resumed normal operations, a number are still completing assessments and a few are dealing with serious problems. Most parks affected by Irene have reported some downed trees, minor structural damage and/or water infiltration, and some flooding. Those with more significant issues appear below, from south to north.

Cape Lookout - The park is being assisted by the Midwest IMT (Jim Hummel, IC) and a regional assessment team. Reports pending.

Cape Hatteras - Assessments have revealed wind and water damage at facilities throughout the park - not serious, but a lot of it. Road issues, particularly the breach in NC 12 in Pea Island NWR, adjacent to the park, are the main problem. A partial reopening is expected today. The park is being assisted by the Eastern IMT (Zeph Cunningham, IC), a SETT team, a regional assessment team and sawyer teams. Yesterday, the team was briefed by park staff and received a delegation of authority. Assessment teams deployed to the field and began assessments of Bodie Island and Oregon Inlet. Forty people were committed to the incident.

Colonial - The Colonial Parkway between Yorktown and Jamestown, which was closed due to the many trees that had fallen on it, has reopened.

Petersburg - Many trees are down throughout the park and it's estimated that it will take at least a week to clear the tour roads. A trail crew of six individuals has been ordered to assist the park with tree and debris removal.

George Washington Birthplace - The park will remain closed until further notice due to downed trees.

Fort McHenry and Hampton - Although there no problems are reported, both will likely remain closed for several days due to massive power outages throughout the region.

Delaware Water Gap - Although the Delaware River, which crested yesterday, caused only minor flooding, the park sustained significant damage, particularly in downed trees - thousands are thought to have fallen throughout the park, closing many roads and trails. There are also a number of serious washouts, and assessments have yet to be made of park structures. U.S. Route 209, a main north-south route that runs through the park, is closed due to flooding and downed trees and will likely remain closed through at least tomorrow. Complicating problems are power outages throughout the area that will take days to resolve. The park IMT is managing the recovery effort. Staff from Upper Delaware NSR&R are providing support. A trail crew consisting of eight individuals has been ordered; also miscellaneous equipment. A team of FMSS assessment specialists from NER has been assigned to evaluate damage,

National Parks of New York Harbor - Parks in this group include all Manhattan Sites, plus the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Gateway and Governors Island. Problems include widespread power and phone outages. water infiltration and downed trees at Gateway, possible problems with water in the electrical system at Castle Clinton, and some facility damage and water intrusion at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The source of the power problem reported yesterday at Ellis Island turned out to be off-island. Park staffs are being assisted by Pacific West the IMT (Denny Ziemann, IC) and an interdisciplinary support team. The team will be based at Fort Wadsworth. The emphasis will be on cleanup of trees and assessing impacts on the parks' infrastructure. These efforts will be supported by the interdisciplinary team, which includes FMSS assessment specialists and contract support from DSC with the ability to process IDIQ actions or modifying existing contracts. Because of widespread tree damage requiring technical skills, seven arborists from the Olmsted Center have been ordered.

Fire Island - Assessments are still underway. The island was not breached, as was reported yesterday; rather, there have been several overwashes. The park has reported a need for assistance with tree removal at the Floyd Bennett Estate and debris removal on the beach. Outside resources to assist the park will be coordinated by the IMT based at Fort Wadsworth.

Weir Farm - The park reports significant water infiltration into the basements of park buildings. It remains closed.

Saratoga - Major water infiltration into the Saratoga Monument has been reported. The visitor center will probably reopen today, but not the tour roads.

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller - The storm inflicted significant damage on the park's carriage roads, but will reopen today.

Additional reports on Hurricane Irene's impacts will be posted as they are received. [Bill Halainen, Editor]

HYPERLINK "http://latimesphoto.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/la-na-0829-irene03.jpg?w=165"

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/):

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The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced with the support of the Office of the Assistant Director for Information Resources 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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