NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

INCIDENTS

Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P

Snowmobiler Buried In Human-Triggered Avalanche

On the afternoon of Sunday, March 11th, a recreational snowmobiler was buried in an avalanche above Kennecott within the park. The avalanche was triggered by another snowmobiler who drove his machine up a gully to an open basin at 5,500 feet, causing a three- to four-foot thick slab of snow to break loose.

The snowmobiler who was buried was about 300 vertical feet below the lead rider when the avalanche was triggered. He turned and tried to outrun the avalanche, but was quickly knocked off his machine. He traveled over half a mile and 1,500 vertical feet inside the snow before the avalanche stopped. He was wearing an avalanche beacon, helmet and other protective gear, though, and had taken avalanche safety training and knew to try and "swim" towards the surface if caught by an avalanche. He was also able to keep part of a hand above the snow as the avalanche stopped. Others at the scene found him with the aid of beacons and then spotted his glove. The rescuers were able to dig him out in approximately four minutes. The victim was unconscious and not breathing; CPR was immediately begun and he began breathing on his own after the tenth rescue breath. He exhibited respiratory distress, a decreased level of consciousness and mild hypothermia, but, amazingly, no physical trauma. His snowmobile was totally destroyed.

The park was notified of the incident shortly after it occurred. The snowmobiler was transported to an NPS facility at the McCarthy airport, where rangers Luke Hodgson and Stephens Harper performed a patient assessment, administered oxygen and treated for hypothermia. A National Guard helicopter was on standby to provide air evacuation if needed, but was called off once the man's condition was determined to be stable and not life threatening. He was rewarmed and released from NPS care that evening. Hodgson and Harper met with the friends and family involved in the incident the following day and learned what had occurred. Thirty plus people who were either directly or indirectly involved spent over two hours reviewing avalanche safety material and made a concerted effort to learn from the mistakes that were made that lead to the incident.

Major factors leading to the accident included travel on an avalanche prone slope without testing snow-pack conditions, travelling in an avalanche chute, and riding directly above another rider in avalanche terrain. Many other factors contributed as well. It should be noted that the group did a good job of search and rescue utilizing their tools and education. The patient was literally seconds away from being a fatality.

[Stephens Harper, Kennecott District Ranger]

Buffalo NR

Injured Falling Victim Rescued

A visitor called the park on the afternoon of March 23rd and reported that a teenager had fallen 15 to 20 feet while exploring off-trail and was lying unconscious in a stream in the Natural Bridge area in Lost Valley. Buffalo National River Search and Rescue (BUFFSAR) was conducting high angle rescue training at Kyles Landing, which is approximately 30 minutes distant from the incident scene, and responded immediately along with an ambulance service from NorthArk Medical Center in Harrison.

The boy appeared to have sustained head and shoulder injuries and was suffering from hypothermia. After stabilization, he was transported via wheeled litter and ATV to the waiting ambulance. BUFFSAR members were staged along the trail to facilitate transfer. Although initially unable to fly due to weather, a medevac helicopter was dispatched from Harrison, arriving at a pullout on Highway 43. The teenager was transferred from the ATV to the ambulance for transport to the helicopter and was flown to Washington Regional Hospital, Fayetteville.

In addition to the NPS BUFFSAR team, NorthArk Ambulance, and Airevac Helicopter, rescuers included representatives from the Jasper Fire Department, Ponca Volunteer Fire Department, Lost Valley Canoe Rental, the United States Forest Service, and a Boxley Valley resident. The Boxley valley resident has a farm near Lost Valley and has repeatedly assisted the park with rescue efforts, often using his ATV to transport injured visitors down the trail. A total of 36 responders were involved.

[Karen L Bradford, Chief Ranger]

Grand Teton NP

Local Resident Sentenced For Threatening Ranger

On July 15, 2011, off-duty rangers contacted H.F. of Jackson in the Kelly Warm Springs area of the park after one of the rangers saw H.F. violate a pet regulation. The ranger identified himself and instructed H.F. to correct the pet violation. During the contact, H.F. threatened that he was going to assault the ranger either then or the next time he saw him. H.F. then left the area, but not before the rangers identified the vehicle he was operating.

Following an investigation conducted by rangers and an Investigative Services Branch special agent, H.F. was charged, located and arrested for violation of 18 USC § 111(a)(1), which prohibits anyone from forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering with a law enforcement officer while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties. H.F. entered a plea of guilty and on December 15th was sentenced to 30 days imprisonment with credit for time served, $750 in fines, and a year's probation.

[NPS Investigative Service Branch]

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/):

Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - The National Park Service has founded a National Search and Rescue Academy to provide comprehensive, standardized Servicewide training in basic search and rescue competencies.

Learning and Development Division - The Albright-Wirth Grant Program has announced the awarding of grants totaling $122,600 to 29 employees from around the country.

Blue Ridge Parkway - On March 22nd, Blue Ridge Parkway celebrated the completion of its new Radio System Communications Center. The center will provide radio communications for the parkway and for Kings Mountain NMP, Mt. Mitchell SP, and the Veterans Administration Police Department.

Bighorn Canyon NRA - Michael Durtsche, the maintenance and operations supervisor in Lovell, Wyoming, passed away on Sunday, March 4th, from injuries sustained in a tragic vehicle accident.

Minority University Outreach Office - US Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers and Lieutenant Pamela Smith were honored in February at a Black History Month program entitled "Black Women In America."

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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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