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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, November 7, 2012 INCIDENTS Eastern Areas Recovery Ops Continue Along With Nor'easter Preparation The National Park Service incident management team overseeing Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts in New York and New Jersey continued its work yesterday. Operational efforts on Tuesday were similar to the past few days - specialized support crews provided assistance for employee emergency needs, conducted damage assessments, and removed debris in the affected areas. The Employee & Alumni Association of the National Park Service, managed by Eastern National, donated 40 cash cards worth $250 each (total donation of $10,000) to help National Park Service employees displaced by the storm. United States Geological Survey staff visited Fire Island National Seashore to evaluate the breach in the island cut by Hurricane Sandy. The Texas Baptist Men's Group, a non-government organization, arrived with 40 volunteers to set up a First Responders food tent at Floyd Bennett Field in Gateway National Recreation Area. Cape Cod's fire crew worked on debris removal from Liberty Island on the grounds around the Statue of Liberty A nor'easter is forecast for Wednesday and Thursday of this week, bringing high winds gusting to 50 miles per hour and cooler temperatures. Beach erosion and overwash is expected in coastal areas along Long Island Sound and shoreline. A National Park Service task force has put a contingency plan in place based on predicted weather conditions to ensure the safety of individuals responding to the incident during inclement weather. Response operations will continue today to assist National Park Service employees and park units while favorable weather conditions persist. Stabilization and preparation efforts will be a focus with the approaching storm. Alternative support projects, such as equipment maintenance, administrative work, and documentation, have been identified if inclement weather causes unsafe work conditions for crews in the response area. There are currently 283 National Park Service employees committed to recovery operations. Collectively, they represent 101 National Park Service units in 38 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Visitation to the Facebook site has reached nearly 17,360 individuals to date. The Twitter site continues to re-tweet incoming information from the parks and other agencies. More information on the response can be found at these websites: Hurricane response and recovery - A HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/waso.cfm?prg=1168&lv=3" webpage with current information on the NPS response to Hurricane Sandy. Resource needs shopping list - A HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=1168&id=10935" ”shopping list” HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/documents/SHOPPING%20LIST%2011-5.pdf" of incident management team positions that still need to be filled, updated daily. NPS Superstorm Sandy Response - A HYPERLINK "https://www.facebook.com/HurricaneResponseNPS" Facebook page managed by the IMT with updates on the response. SandyResponseNPS - A HYPERLINK "http://mobile.twitter.com/NPS_Sandy?" Twitter page managed by the IMT with updates on the response. Point Reyes NS Seven Rescued From Capsized Vessel On Sunday, November 4th, a vessel containing seven people (including three children) capsized in ocean waters outside the mouth of Tomales Bay near Point Reyes National Seashore. Rangers on NPS vessel Rescue 25 responded from the park. Five of the boat's occupants were thrown into the water and were rescued by helicopters from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and the United States Coast Guard. Two children were trapped inside the hull of the upside-down vessel in an air pocket. Due to the direction of the incoming swell, USCG vessels were unable to reach the capsized vessel. Rangers assessed the response risk, and, due to their location, determined that they would be able to safely approach the capsized vessel from the opposite direction. Rangers maneuvered Rescue 25 adjacent to the capsized vessel and placed it in tow while rescue swimmers remained on the hull of the vessel to communicate with the children. Rangers towed the vessel to shore, where Marin County Fire Department personnel stabilized it and cut through the hull to free the uninjured children. This incident generated significant local media interest. [Chief Ranger's Office] 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/): Women's Rights NHP - Women's Rights National Historical Park yesterday served as a polling station for the voters of District 2 in Seneca Falls, New York. As of 4 p.m., over 400 people had exercised their right to vote at the park's visitor center. Keweenaw NHP - Keweenaw recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with a series of events that included presentations, music and dance, and family activities. Southern Four Corners Group - Tom Clark, superintendent of the Southern Four Corners Group, stationed at Canyon de Chelly National Monument, will be retiring on December 31st with 30 years of federal service, almost 18 of them with the National Park Service. Southeast Region - Southeast Regional Director David Vela was among four individuals recognized at the annual George B. Hartzog Jr. luncheon held at Clemson University on October 30th. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |