NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, October 18, 2012

INCIDENTS

Olympic NP

Highway 101 Closed Along Lake Crescent

Highway 101 along Lake Crescent was closed yesterday following a rock slide that occurred while construction crews were working on a rock bolting and scaling project on the cliff face next to the road. Two men sustained minor injuries and an excavator was damaged by the falling rocks. Rocks up to six feet in diameter have covered a 10 foot stretch of the road. Due to the nature of the loose rock, geotechnical engineers have been called in to examine the rock face and determine if it is stable enough to continue construction and reopen the road. Until they determine that US 101 can be safely reopened, motorists will be detoured onto State Routes 112 and 113. Current road information is available by calling Olympic National Park's information line at 360-565-3131 or online at the park's HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/current-road-conditions.htm" road conditions web page. [Barb Maynes, Public Affairs Officer]

Lake Mead NRA

Las Vegas Man Dies In Cliff Jumping Accident

A 28-year-old Las Vegas man died on October 13th while cliff jumping near Wishing Well Cove in Lake Mead. Park dispatch received a call around 1 p.m. reporting that the man had been severely injured in a jump from the cliff and was unresponsive. His friends pulled him from the water and took him to Hemenway Harbor, where they were met by ranger/paramedics and state wardens. He was declared dead shortly thereafter. Preliminary reports indicate that alcohol and drug use were contributing factors. [Kevin Turner]

Great Basin NP

Visitor Center Closed Due To Presence Of Explosives

On October 12th, park visitors brought some old blasting caps that they'd found to the park's Lehman Caves Visitor Center. Rangers Nathan Snyder and Jacob Wahler responded and found an old metal can with the words “Blasting Caps - Dangerous” on the unopened lid. Although the visitor center was already empty, the rangers also immediately evacuated the attached administration building and Lehman Caves Café, the latter with assistance from café employees. The White Pine County Sheriff's Office was contacted and officers came and removed the can and caps. The building was closed for about three hours. Cave tours had to be canceled due to the incident, but all tours were either rescheduled or refunds are being processed. [Jacob Wahler, Park 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/):

Fort Scott NHS - Fort Scott recently partnered with Fort Scott Community College's Gordon Parks Center to commemorate the First Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the center's annual Gordon Parks celebration.

Intermountain Region - Judy Rosen, an interpretive ranger and exhibit designer at Fort Union National Monument, passed away on October 13th after a prolonged and courageous struggle with cancer.

Office of Communications - Secretary Salazar has announced the designation of 26 new national historic landmarks and one national natural landmark. Currently there are 2,527 designated national historic landmarks and 592 national natural landmark sites across the country that bear this national distinction.

CESU Network - The NPS Natural Sounds Program and their collaborators at Colorado State University are recipients of the 2012 Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units Network National Award.

Northeast Region - Rose Fennell has been selected as the new deputy superintendent for Boston National Historical Park and Boston African American National Historic Site.

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The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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