NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

INCIDENTS

East Coast Areas

Some Parks Still Dealing With Hurricane Issues

Most parks affected by Hurricane Irene have reopened and returned to normal operations, but several continue to deal with serious issues. Today's status reports follow. As of yesterday morning, a total of 173 NPS employees were committed to hurricane recovery operations. Here are updates from parks reporting significant issues, as of yesterday morning (south to north):

Cape Lookout - The park is being assisted by the Midwest IMT (Jim Hummel, IC) and a regional assessment team. The full IMT moved from Guilford Courthouse to the park on Monday and met with the superintendent and staff. Sawyers from around the NPS have cleared downed trees at headquarters and on Harkers Island. The SER assessment team is conducting surveys throughout the park and has so far found the following:

Overwash has covered most areas with over two feet of sand

The park dock was damaged and needs to be rebuilt

Damage to headquarters was minimal

All cabins on Great Island have been damaged (cabin reservations throughout the park have accordingly been cancelled through September 12th)

The dump station at Cape Point is missing

Cape Lookout Village has suffered heavy damage.

Biologists have also been conducting surveys. They'd determined that there was a significant loss of turtle nests, but that the park's horse herd was in good shape.

Outer Banks Group - The three parks in the group - Cape Hatteras, Wright Brothers and Fort Raleigh - are being supported and assisted by the Eastern IMT (Zeph Cunningham, IC), a SETT team, a regional assessment team and sawyer teams - a total of 80 people from 22 parks and 13 states. Damages confirmed so far to park and concession/permitted service providers include damaged rooftops, water intrusion either through flooding or roof leakage in numerous facilities, scattered debris and tree limbs, and missing or damaged boardwalks, signs, posts and fencing materials. Resource advisors are in the field assessing natural and cultural resource impacts as well. Efforts to open additional ramps to popular park beaches are moving forward. On Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches, all ocean and sound-side beach areas have been evaluated for safe access for both pedestrians and vehicles. Beaches are open to pedestrian access throughout the park unless otherwise posted, but park visitors can expect to see some resource protection closures in effect. Many boat ramps have been reopened. Fort Raleigh and Wright Brothers are open and have resumed normal hours of operation. All park facilities on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands remain closed.

Petersburg - Hurricane Irene caused significant damage to the park. Staff, volunteers and cleanup teams from other areas are working hard to clear roads and trails and get the battlefield reopened as safely and as quickly as possible. Power has been restored to park headquarters and to the ranger station, but remaining buildings are still off-line. At present there is no estimate when power might be restored. Many battlefield staff are still without power in their homes and thousands of people in the surrounding area are still without power. The Eastern Front Visitor Center should reopen by the end of the week. However, because of extremely hazardous conditions, the battlefield tour road and surrounding trails will not be reopened until the cleanup work is complete. Crews are using heavy equipment and chainsaws to clear roads and trails. Because of the inherent danger to the crews as they complete their work and to the public if they were in these areas, the closures will remain in effect until further notice. The City Point unit, the Five Forks battlefield and the Poplar Grove National Cemetery are still closed to the public because of cleanup activities.

Richmond - Field assessments are revealing additional damage, particularly from trees falling on earthworks.

George Washington Birthplace - The park is still closed. Tree removal is underway. The earliest that power will be restored will be Friday.

Assateague Island - The Maryland end of the park has reopened with about 90% of park facilities ready for the public and employees. One parking lot remains closed and a few developed area campsites are still underwater. The west side of the backcountry remains closed because it is still underwater and staff cannot get in to conduct evaluations. Damage to backcountry roads and campgrounds is suspected. The Virginia end of the park will open on Friday when one of the district's four parking lots reopens. It does not make sense to repair the other three until next spring because the public demand is not there and the hurricane and nor'easter seasons will continue until spring.

Delaware Water Gap - The park is still in ICS. An assessment team and two trail crews - one from Acadia and the other from Shenandoah - arrived in the park yesterday to provide assistance, joining staff from Upper Delaware already on site. Roads and trails remain impassable in both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey portions of the park. Fast moving streams overtopped roads, undermined road surfaces and shoulders, inundated trail bridges, and flooded park buildings. The Delaware River crested yesterday, causing minor flooding and washing over low-lying sections of U.S. Route 209. The majority of park buildings and residences are without electrical power. Park staff are performing initial damage assessments and cleanup operations throughout the 70,000 acre park. Extensive closures to park roads and facilities are expected to continue through the Labor Day weekend. Damage:

The Delaware River and all river access points from Milford to Delaware Water Gap remain closed until the river recedes to a safe level.

Reopening Route 209 between Bushkill and Milford is a high priority. Although floodwaters have receded, downed power lines have to be cleared and damaged road shoulders repaired before the road can be completely opened to through traffic. A small section at the south end has reopened.

Also closed are sections of River Road (PA), Old Mine Road and Route 615 (NJ).

The Dingmans Falls and Kittattinny Point Visitor Centers are closed

Other public facilities closed include Millbrook Village, Dingmans Campground, the park's two group campsites, all swim beaches, and picnic areas

Gateway - All park residents have returned to their quarters and employees are back at work. The Sandy Hook, Riis Beach and Fort Tilden areas were still closed yesterday, pending cleanup and restoration of services. The park is being assisted by the Pacific West IMT (Denny Ziemann, IC), an interdisciplinary support team, and a team of arborists from Olmstead.

Boston Harbor Islands - The park came through Irene with minimal damage, but major damage is reported to the pier and float on Peddocks Island.

Marsh-Billing-Rockefeller - The park will likely remain closed for the rest of the week due to a lack of water.

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

Glacier NP

Search Underway For Missing Seasonal Employee

Early on Monday morning, park dispatch received a call informing them that park seasonal employee J.“J.”R. was overdue from a personal day hike in the park. J.R.'s supervisor notified rangers that he did not show for work at his scheduled time later that morning. J.R. is a member of the exotic plant team working at the park. No one knew the location where J.R. was hiking, but rangers soon located his vehicle at the Fielding Trailhead in the southern end of the park along Montana Highway 2. Several ground teams and two helicopters were employed on Monday so search possible hiking routes. A park incident management team was organized to manage the incident. Intensive search efforts continued yesterday, with more than 50 people dedicated to the incident. Ground crews, helicopters, a search dog team and some specially trained human trackers were involved. The Flathead National Forest and Flathead Valley Search and Rescue assisted. Rangers believe that there is a high probability that J.R. signed the summit register at Brave Dog Mountain. Search crews checked the register and found a signature that is believed to be by J.R. dated Sunday, August 28th. Following this discovery, search efforts were concentrated in this area - the route from Brave Dog Mountain toward Mount Despair. This route is located between the Ole Creek and Park Creek Drainages, in the southern end of the park, an area where the terrain is extremely steep and treacherous. It is an area that only the most highly skilled hikers and climbers attempt to access. J.R. is 27 years old and is an avid and skilled hiker and familiar with the park. He has excellent scouting capabilities and enjoys hiking off trail. He is 6 feet tall with brown, short and curly hair. He is of medium build and believed to be wearing a blue t-shirt, blue Patagonia hiking shorts, white/silver Mammut daypack, size 10 La Sportiva boots with Vibram soles, and possibly gators. [Denise Germann, Public Affairs Specialist]

Yellowstone NP

Hiker Killed By Grizzly

Early Friday afternoon, a pair of hikers reported finding the body of a man along the eastern section of the Mary Mountain Trail. The 21-mile-long trail runs between Hayden Valley and the Lower Geyser Basin in the central section of the park. Rangers responding to the scene found the body of 59-year-old J.W. of Michigan along the trail about five miles west of the Hayden Valley trailhead. There were signs of grizzly bear activity at the scene, and an autopsy conducted on Sunday determined that J.W. had died from traumatic injuries sustained in a bear attack. The Mary Mountain Trail, the Cygnet Lakes Trail, and the section of the Hayden Valley west of the Grand Loop Road have been closed to hikers. Rangers, wildlife biologists, and park managers continue their investigation of the incident. Visitors are advised to stay on designated trails, hike in groups of three or more people, be alert for bears, make noise, carry bear spray, and not to run upon encountering a bear. Hikers and backcountry users are encouraged to check with staff at park visitor centers or backcountry offices for updated information before planning any trips in the central portion of the park. [Al Nash, Public Affairs Specialist]

Lake Mead NRA

Teenager Drowns At Echo Bay

The body of a 19-year-old Las Vegas man who is believed to have drowned was recovered on Sunday afternoon by Las Vegas Metro Police Search and Rescue divers in about 12 feet of water at Echo Bay. Park staff had been searching for the man since he was reported missing by friends around 12:30 p.m. The missing man's friends told rangers that he was in ankle deep water when they last saw him. They say that they looked away from the water and that he was gone when they turned back. He wasn't wearing a life jacket. Rangers don't believe that alcohol played a role in the apparent drowning. [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/):

* * * *

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).

--- ### ---