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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, June 27, 2012 INCIDENTS Mount Rainier NP Memorial Services Set For Ranger Nick Hall A memorial service will be held for Ranger Nick Hall at the Paradise Visitor Center in Mount Rainier National Park on Friday June 29th. Nick's friends, colleagues and co-workers will be attending. The visitor center will be closed to accommodate the service. The incident management team is currently working to offer alternative methods of viewing the service. Inquiries regarding memorial services should be sent to Jacqueline Ashwell ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Jacqueline_Ashwell@nps.gov" Jacqueline_Ashwell@nps.gov ). The family has requested that donations in honor of Nick Hall be made through the following accounts: Nick Hall Memorial Fund, P.O Box 431, Patten, ME 04765. Please make checks payable to the Nick Hall Memorial Fund. Donations to this fund will support search and rescue in Maine and assist the Hall Family with expenses related to the tragedy. MORA Search and Rescue Fund, 55210 238th Ave E, Ashford, WA 98304. Please make checks payable to DOI-NPS and note that the donation is in honor of Nick Hall. Cards and condolences may also be sent to the above address. [Rick Jones, Information Officer] Gulf Islands NS Impacts Of Tropical Storm Debby Minimal Due to the threat from Tropical Storm Debby and tropical storm warnings that were issued late last week, both districts of the park's districts put their preparedness plan into effect over the weekend. All islands in both Florida and Mississippi were closed, including the Fort Pickens and Davis Bayou campgrounds. Davis Bayou Visitor Center was also closed. All registered campers were notified and safely evacuated from each campground. The Fort Pickens Road was closed on Saturday and the Santa Rosa, J. Earle Bowden Way and Perdido Key roadways were closed on Sunday. Yesterday, the tropical storm warning for Mississippi was lifted and district operations have accordingly returned to normal. Damage assessments were to be completed for all island areas by close of business yesterday, including Cat, East and West Ship, Horn and Petit Bois Islands. These areas will be reopened as conditions warrant. In Florida, the J. Earle Bowden Way (Highway 399) was reopened on Monday evening. The Opal Beach Cluster area, the Perdido Key Roadway, and the Johnson Beach Area were reopened yesterday. Sand clearing of the Fort Pickens Roadway is being undertaken by park staff, with current projections for the roadway, campground, concession store, and all other public/visitor use areas to be reopened by Friday. All other areas within the Florida District, with the exception of the Fort Pickens Area, are rapidly returning to near normal operations as storm conditions abate and the storm system tracks away from the park. No damages to facilities or equipment in either district have been reported to date, and all personnel are accounted for with no reported injuries. [Deanna Mladucky, IC] New River Gorge NR Fishermen Rescued From Above Sandstone Falls On Friday, June 22nd, two men were wade fishing in New River Gorge National River just above Sandstone Falls when they lost their footing and were swept towards the falls. Sandstone Falls, a 25-foot-high waterfall with powerful undercurrents and massive boulders, stretches across the New River near Hinton, West Virginia. Several drownings have occurred at the falls over the years. The two men, one 20 and the other 40, were both experienced fishermen and were wearing personal flotation devices. They were able to grab onto a rock in the middle of the stream 15 feet upriver from the falls. Bystanders noticed the fishermen's plight and called 911 at about 8:30 p.m. Rangers and Summers County volunteer firemen from Station 13 were dispatched to the scene. Station 13 swiftwater rescue personnel had participated in training with NPS rangers last year, and the teams integrated for the rescue. A safety boat manned by three Station 13 personnel was positioned below the falls for rescue during the extrication operation. As darkness began to settle across the river valley, a team of rangers and volunteer firemen rigged a safety rope and haul system for the extrication team. A three man extrication team made up of firefighters and led by ranger Bill Parker waded across the river and effected the rescue of the stranded fishermen. There were no injuries, and the operation was complete by 11 p.m. [Jeff West, Chief Ranger] 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/): Natchez Trace Parkway - Over 2,000 visitors and volunteers honored the contributions of soldiers from the War of 1812 over Memorial Day weekend at the Gordon House Historic Site on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Jean Lafitte NHP&P - Nearly 400 visitors commemorated the beginning of the War of 1812 on Saturday, June 16th, at an event entitled “Chalmette Remembers.” Natural Resource Stewardship and Science - The recipients of the 2011 Natural Resource Awards, which recognize employees who go above and beyond in performance of their duties, have been named. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |