NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
INCIDENTS
Yosemite NP
Visitor Swept Over Nevada Fall
A 19-year-old visitor from Sacramento was swept over the edge of Nevada Fall on Saturday afternoon. A.K., who came to the park with a church group, was seen swimming about 150 feet above the fall when he was swept away by the current. Ground searchers and a California Highway Patrol helicopter were immediately dispatched to the area and began searching for him, but have so far been unsuccessful. The Merced River, which feeds the 594-foot-high waterfall, was flowing at approximately 500 cubic feet per second this past weekend - a very swift and powerful spring flow of water. The water temperature was in the low 50's. Water levels and temperatures are expected to remain relatively the same throughout the week. The Mist Trail, from the footbridge above Emerald Pool to the top of Nevada Fall, is temporarily closed so that ground teams can continue searching the area below the waterfall. Three dog teams and approximately 20 personnel are searching the area for any signs of A.K. [Public Affairs Office]
Yosemite NP
Climber Killed By Falling Rock
F.K., 28, of London, England, was climbing on the East Buttress of El Capitan around 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon when he was struck by a rock that fatally injured him. F.K. and his climbing partner were about 600 feet up the climbing route when a block estimated to measure about one foot by two feet fell about 150 feet and hit F.K. Climbers immediately below him called dispatch by cell phone and reported the incident. Rangers reached him around 4 p.m. and pronounced him dead. [Public Affairs 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/):
Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Division - Parks and partners across the country celebrated National Trails Day on Saturday, June 1st, with hikes, bike and horseback rides, paddling trips, bird watching, geocaching, gear demonstrations, stewardship projects and more.
The White House - All US flags are to be flown at half staff in honor of Senator Frank Lautenberg, who passed away yesterday. They are to remain at half staff until sunset today.
Office of Communications - Stanley Austin, currently the superintendent at Cuyahoga Valley NP, has been selected as the new regional director for Southeast Region. He will begin his new duties in mid-July.
Northeast Region - On June 15th, Kimberly Coast, a 30-year veteran of the National Park Service, will retire as the branch chief for law enforcement and emergency services in Northeast Regional Office.
Denver Service Center - Pat Davey, the Natural Resources Conservation Service's revegetation technical advisor to DSC's Transportation Division, will retire on June 29th.
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Guidance on incident notification can be found under the “Hot Topics” heading on InsideNPS or at HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504.
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@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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