Gauley River National Recreation Area (WV)
Man Dies During Commercial Rafting Trip
A 45-year-old Virginia man died last Saturday while on a commercial rafting trip on the lower Gauley River. Rangers and other emergency resources responded to a 911 call regarding an unresponsive passenger, with CPR in progress, on a remote and mostly inaccessible section of the Gauley River downstream of Lower Mash Rapids. An aero-medical helicopter, ambulances, and a Norfolk Southern Railroad high-railer were ordered to assist with the evacuation. As rangers were hiking into the location, they were advised that the helicopter had successfully evacuated the man but that he'd been pronounced dead. Rangers and state conservation officers conducted the investigation throughout the rest of the day. The man had been on a rafting trip with his brothers and friends. He'd fallen out of his raft and into the river while going through Lower Mash Rapids. Passengers on another boat in the trip had picked him up and gotten him back into the boat. Soon after, the man experienced difficulty breathing and became unresponsive. CPR was begun by rafting company employees. The pilot of the responding helicopter made an improvised landing on a roughly 24-square-foot rock near Diagonal Ledges Rapids and the crew continued EMS until the man was pronounced dead. The cause of death is pending autopsy results. At the time, the Gauley River was running approximately 5,500 cubic feet per second (cfs). Lower Mash is a Class IV rapid at 2,800 cfs.
[Submitted by Frank Sellers]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire/Incident Situation Highlights
National Fire Activity - Preparedness Level 1
NIFC is at PL 1. Daily fire reports were begun by NIFC earlier this month, then suspended, and now have resumed again. Because they are not issued until 10 a.m. MDT, well after this publication is posted, the reports will be one day in arrears. They will again appear on the same day when NIFC begins releasing reports at 5:30 a.m. MDT, the normal release time during the fire season.
Fire Weather Forecast
A weak trough will remain over the western U.S. while a ridge slowly builds in the East. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will move into the Northwest and the Great Basin but dry conditions will continue across much of the Southwest. Low pressure over the southern Plains will cause critical fire weather conditions associated with strong winds and low relative humidity over eastern New Mexico and parts of far western Texas. A front across the northern Plains and Great Lakes region will produce scattered thunderstorms from Iowa to the mid-Atlantic. In Alaska, snow will continue across most of the central and northern parts of the state while rain showers move across the southeast.
To see a NOAA map of today's critical fire weather areas, click on this link: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/fire_wx/fwdy1.html
Fire Summary (Five Day Trend)
|
Day |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Tue |
Wed |
|
Date |
4/18 |
4/19 |
4/20 |
5/1 |
5/2 |
|
Initial Attack Fires |
147 |
99 |
73 |
145 |
91 |
|
New Large Fires |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
|
Large Fires Contained |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Uncontained Large Fires |
8 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
7 |
National Resource Commitments (Five Day Trend)
|
Day |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Tue |
Wed |
|
Date |
4/18 |
4/19 |
4/20 |
5/1 |
5/2 |
|
Area Command Teams |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
NIMO Teams |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Type 1 Teams |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Type 2 Teams |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
NPS Fire Summaries
No updates on National Park Service fires have been received since yesterday.
For additional information on all fires, check the following web sites:
- Archived fire news - http://www.nps.gov/fire/public/pub_firenews.cfm?archive=true
- Map of fire locations - http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/lg_fire2.php
- Details on all current major fires - http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
- Fire news and fire year in perspective - http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm
- InsideNPS Fire and Aviation - http://inside.nps.gov/fire
- InsideNPS Structural Fire - http://inside.nps.gov/fire/structuralfire
- NPS Fire and Aviation - http://www.nps.gov/fire
Additional Information on all Fires
For additional information on all fires, check the following web sites:
- Map of fire locations - http://firemapper.sc.egov.usda.gov/modisrr/lg_fire2.php
- Details on all current major fires - http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
- Fire news and fire year in perspective - http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
- National Park Service Fire Website - http://www.nps.gov/fire
- National Park Service Fire News - http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Pacific West Region
GS-0201-11/12 Human Resource Specialist
Dates: 04/23/2012 - 05/07/2012
Pacific West Region is recruiting for a GS-11/12 HR specialist.
The person selected will be duty stationed in either Seattle or San Francisco and will serve as a senior-level HR specialist in the Pacific West Regional Office/Pacific Island SHRO.
Click on the link below to access the vacancy announcement with full details on duties and procedures for applying.
It closes on May 7th.
More Information...
Death Valley National Park (CA)
GS-0404-5/7 Biological Science Technician
Death Valley has issued an announcement for a term biological science technician.
Click on the link below for a copy of the announcement with full details on duties and procedures for applying.
It closes on May 4th.
More Information...
Glacier National Park
GS-1420-9 Archivist
Glacier National Park has an opening for a term archivist.
For a copy of the announcement, click on the link below. For more information, contact Deirdre Shaw at 406-888-7936.
The announcement closes on May 15th.
More Information...
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Memorial Service Set For Jerry Mernin
There will be a fall memorial service in Yellowstone in honor of ranger Jerry Mernin, who passed away last December.
The report on Jerry's death can be found at this link.
"Mernin's Rendezvous" will be held in the Lake area of Yellowstone on September 8th.
Details and updates on the gathering will be posted at www.merninsrendezvous.com and www.facebook.com/MerninsRendezvousMemorialService .
[Submitted by Nick Herring, Deputy Chief Ranger]
NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site:
http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id;=8728&lv;=2&pgid;=3504
All reports should now be submitted via this automated system.