Southeast Region
Tropical Storm Isaac Arrives In Southeast
Tropical Storm Isaac has moved into the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to become a hurricane shortly. Landfall is expected along the Louisiana-Mississippi coastline on Wednesday. Since last week and through this past weekend, Southeast Region has held daily hurricane planning teleconferences with forty or more participants, including all affected and potentially affected parks, key central office staff from WASO, SERO and NERO, the Eastern Incident Management Team, meteorologists and other principals. All necessary preparations have been made and actions taken. Here's how things stood as of late Sunday night:
- Gulf Islands NS – The park's Mississippi islands were closed at sunset on Saturday and protection rangers spent yesterday checking the areas to assure nobody was still out there. The Florida islands were closed yesterday at 6 p.m. Preparations on the mainland will be completed this morning and will be followed by employee checkout.
- Dry Tortugas NP – The park was closed on Saturday. All licensed commercial transport to the park, including ferry boat and seaplane services, was suspended, as were all visitor services in the park.
- Everglades NP – The park, including the Gulf Coast Visitor Center, Shark Valley Visitor Center, East Everglades, Flamingo and the main park road, were closed to visitors on Friday evening. All licensed commercial services and visitor services in the park were suspended until the storm's passage.
- De Soto NM – The park is operating under ICS. All facilities were secured by late Saturday. The park is closed and employees have been released.
- Big Cypress NP – Temporary closures were put into effect on Saturday. Effective at noon that day, all licensed commercial services and visitors services and recreational access to the backcountry were suspended until the storm's passage.
- Biscayne NP – The park was closed over the weekend. Because Isaac has moved past South Florida and is no longer a threat to the park, it will reopen this morning. The incident commander has reported that the park has not sustained any damage as a result of the heavy rains and strong winds that Isaac brought over the weekend.
The Eastern IMT remains on standby to report to any park or parks
needing assistance after the storm's passage.
[Submitted by Compiled
from IMT and park reports]
Denali National Park & Preserve (AK)
Grizzly Bear Attacks And Kills Backpacker
R.W., 49, of San Diego, was killed by a grizzly bear on
Friday while on a solo backpacking trip in the park. R.W. had been in
the Denali backcountry for three nights when he was killed. He may have
recently hiked in other areas of Alaska prior to coming to the park, but
it is not known at this time if he had previous backcountry experience
in Denali. On Saturday afternoon, state troopers assisting rangers and
park wildlife biologists shot and killed a bear that was defending the
kill site along the Toklat River as the recovery team attempted to reach
R.W.'s remains. The bear killed was a large male bear. After
determining the area was safe, a team of five rangers moved in to
complete the field investigation. R.W.'s remains were removed Saturday
evening and will be sent to the medical examiner in Anchorage. The
body of the dead bear was necropsied Saturday evening. The results of
the necropsy, combined with the photographs taken by the victim prior to
the attack, confirm that this was the animal that killed R.W. On
Friday afternoon, three day hikers discovered an abandoned backpack and
evidence of a violent struggle along the Toklat River approximately
three miles south of the Toklat River rest area and immediately notified
the park. Rangers launched a helicopter and an airplane from park
headquarters that evening. At least one grizzly bear was still at
the site, although there may have been multiple bears. The bear(s)
moved away when the helicopter approached and landed. Two rangers
on board the helicopter got out and confirmed the location of the
victim's remains. After a short time a bear returned to the cache site
while the rangers were investigating the scene, forcing the rangers to
retreat to the gravel bar. The bear then began to circle around them.
Rangers fired two rifle shots at it, but the bear was not hit. The
rangers were able to leave by helicopter as darkness was setting in.
Evidence indicates that the attack occurred near the river's open
braided gravel bar and that the bear subsequently dragged the remains to
a more secluded, brushy cache site. An emergency closure has been
put in place prohibiting all backcountry hiking and camping in that
backcountry unit and those adjacent to it until further notice.
Although no park visitors were sighted or known to be in the immediate
vicinity of the incident, park staff contacted three parties in adjacent
areas and flew them via helicopter to the Toklat River rest area. This
incident is the first known bear mauling fatality recorded in Denali.
All backpackers in the park receive mandatory ‘Bear Aware'
training prior to receiving a backcountry permit, including a 30-minute
safety video and a safety briefing from the backcountry ranger staff.
Backpackers are also required to carry a bear
resistant food container. More details on this fatal incident
will be released as the investigation continues.
[Submitted by Kris
Fister, Public Affairs Officer]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
One Killed, Eight Injured In Head-On Collision
A two vehicle head-on collision was reported to park dispatch via a
911 call last Monday afternoon. The accident occurred on the Grand Loop
Road between Lake Village and Grant Village, about two miles north of
Pumice Point. Initial responding emergency units, primarily from
Lake, Grant and Old Faithful, quickly extinguished a small fire in one
vehicle and then began treatment of nine injured people. ICS was
established and nine NPS ambulances and three NPS fire engines were
dispatched in addition to more law enforcement and traffic control
personnel. A hand line and extrication tools were also sent. A total of
22 EMS professionals (both ALS and BLS) and nine firefighters were
eventually on scene. The three victims identified as most critical were
taken to the Lake Clinic and then flown to Eastern Idaho Regional
Medical Center in Idaho Falls. Two of three who were not in critical
condition were taken by ambulances to Old Faithful Clinic, with the
third transported to West Park Hospital in Cody. The remaining three
victims were assessed and treated on scene and then released. One of the
visitors taken to Idaho Falls subsequently succumbed to her injuries. A
total of 44 NPS employees, including an additional ambulance from Grand
Teton NP, responded to this accident; dispatch, maintenance,
interpretation and resource management employees also assisted. The IC
was Klint Powell, Lake backcountry ranger. The accident remains under
investigation.
[Submitted by Bonnie Schwartz, Deputy Chief Ranger]
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve (AK)
Tour Boat Evacuated After Hitting Rock In Bay
On the morning of August 19th, the tour boat Baranoff Wind
struck a rock while travelling in the upper west arm of Glacier Bay,
causing the vessel to begin taking on water in its engine compartment.
There were 84 passengers on board at the time, including one NPS
interpretive ranger and five crew members. The Holland America cruise
ship Volendam was nearby and provided immediate assistance by
evacuating stranded passengers. Rangers were on scene shortly
after the incident occurred and provided EMS care. US Coast Guard Air
Station Sitka responded with an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and provided a
dewatering pump. Injuries were minor and only one patient and his
companion asked to be transported via NPS vessel rather than continue on
the trip in the cruise ship. No pollution was released into the water
and the vessel was towed to Sitka for repairs. The National Park
Service is working with the USCG on the accident investigation.
[Submitted by Gus Martinez, Bay District Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire/Incident Situation Highlights
National Fire Activity – Preparedness Level 4
NIFC is at PL 4. Twenty-five uncontained large fires are burning nationwide. Sixteen incident management teams are committed, down from 21 on Friday.
Fire Weather Forecast
Strong, gusty winds and areas of low relative humidity will create critical fire weather conditions from northern California to western Montana and northern Wyoming. Isolated, high-based thunderstorms are possible in the Wyoming and western Montana mountains. Widely scattered afternoon thunderstorms will also form across the central and southern Rockies and the higher elevations of Utah and Arizona. In the East, showers and thunderstorms will form along a weak front stretching from the Great Lakes to North Texas. Meanwhile, Hurricane Isaac will bring strong thunderstorms and heavy rain to the southern Florida as it moves through the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
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 |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Mon |
|
Date |
8/21 |
8/22 |
8/23 |
8/24 |
8/27 |
|
Initial Attack Fires |
105 |
160 |
141 |
99 |
98 |
|
New Large Fires |
4 |
8 |
5 |
10 |
1 |
|
Large Fires Contained |
2 |
5 |
6 |
11 |
4 |
|
Uncontained Large Fires |
34 |
36 |
33 |
26 |
25 |
National Resource Commitments (Five Day Trend)
|
Day |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Mon |
|
Date |
8/21 |
8/22 |
8/23 |
8/24 |
8/27 |
|
Area Command Teams |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
NIMO Teams |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
Type 1 Teams |
10 |
8 |
9 |
8 |
6 |
|
Type 2 Teams |
9 |
10 |
11 |
10 |
7 |
NPS Fire Summaries
No updates on National Park Service fires have been received since yesterday.
Details on these NPS fires have been extracted from current NIFC, InciWeb and other reports:
- Potwisha Fire, Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP – Firefighters are currently containing the Cactus Fire, started by lightning on the morning of August 22nd. The fire is approximately one-half acre in size. The Cactus Fire is located in the cliffs above the Ash Mountain/ Potwisha area. It is at 3,500 feet in elevation. This fire is being contained to protect nearby developments. The fire is at low elevation and has moderate potential for spread. The fire was in an inaccessible area in the cliff, so the parks ordered Sierra National Forest's Helicopter 520. This crew is trained in heli-rappel and was inserted into the fire area. They cut a landing zone near the fire so that he parks helicopter could shuttle firefighters to the fire area. The parks' Helicopter 552 also worked throughout much of the past two days dropping water on the fire to help hold its spread until firefighters could construct fire line. Members of Engine 72, the Fire Effects crew, and Crew 91 are assigned to the fire. The fire is expected to be fully contained today and crews will begin "mopping up" the fire's edge. This process extinguishes hot areas along the fire's edge as part of the effort to control the fire. Several other small (less than 1/10 of an acre) fires were started from the lighting storm. The parks will continue to complete reconnaissance flights looking for additional fires in the upcoming days. For now, the parks firefighting resources are being kept close to front country locations to be ready for fire starts in developed areas during periods of extreme danger. This strategy allowed for quick response to the Cactus Fire as well as assisting with the Forks Fire in Three Rivers. Wilderness fires will be routinely monitored and have low potential for growth. Many may actually be put out by the rain that is coming with these storms.
For additional information on all fires, check the following National Park Service and NIFC web sites:
NIFC
- Summary of current fires – http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf
- Detailed reports on major fires – http://www.inciweb.org/
- Fire news and fire year in perspective – http://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm
- Map of fire locations – http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/lg_fire2.php
NPS
- Details on current NPS fires – http://www.nps.gov/fire/wildland-fire/fires.cfm
- 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
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Outer Banks Group
Barclay Trimble Selected As Group Superintendent
Barclay Trimble has been selected as the next superintendent for the Outer Banks Group –Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.
Trimble has served as the deputy superintendent at Grand Canyon National Park since 2007. He will assume his new duties in late October.
"Barclay recognizes the value of being attuned to park resources and advancing park goals through partnerships and collaborations," said Regional Director David Vela. "With his strong skills of working with park partners, park employees, local constituents and the surrounding communities on a variety of issues that affect both the park and local communities while furthering the National Park Service mission of preserving and protecting the magnificent resources found on the Outer Banks, Barclay is an obvious choice for this position."
Trimble also served as acting superintendent at the Grand Canyon for several months, managing a staff of 535 employees.
"My wife and family are looking forward to living near a seashore environment and are excited about experiencing life on those beautiful, dynamic barrier islands," said Trimble.
In his 21 year career and prior to the Grand Canyon, Barclay served in several business finance positions, including recreation fee manager for Intermountain Region, chief of finance for the Washington Office Concessions Division, acting chief of business management at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and management assistant at Denali National Park in Alaska and the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, DC. With all of these positions, he gained important experience in developing park plans and working with local communities balancing nature with community needs.
Trimble graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio where he earned a bachelor of business administration/accounting in 1989.
[Submitted by Cyndy Holda, Public Affairs Specialist]
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.