NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
INCIDENTS
Organ Pipe Cactus NM
Rangers Rescue Illegal Immigrant Suffering From Heat Exposure
Rangers rescued a dehydrated and hyperthermic undocumented alien from the backcountry of the park on June 6th. While conducting a backcountry patrol, the rangers observed debris in the roadway on Ajo Mountain Drive, tracked nearby footprints for a short distance, and came upon an unconscious, severely dehydrated and hyperthermic 58-year-old man. They immediately began treating him, providing IV fluids. When the man regained consciousness, he said that he'd crossed the border into the park from Mexico and was without food or water for three days. Other rangers helped transport the man to a waiting ambulance. Rangers and members of the US Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) Unit have conducted several similar rescues in the park this year due to triple digit temperatures in the region. [Marshall Anderson, Supervisory Park Ranger]
Grand Teton NP
Park Personnel Respond To Multiple Weekend Incidents
Last weekend was an exceptionally busy one for rangers and emergency responders, who dealt with two search and rescue missions, eight medical calls (including one fatality), and multiple reports of property damage plus a serious personal injury in the aftermath of a significant wind event in the Colter Bay area:
Just after 11 p.m. on Saturday night, Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received a report of two overdue hikers in the Pilgrim Creek area. Two rangers canvassed the area but were unable to locate either any overdue hikers or associated vehicles. The rangers determined that the hikers were likely on the Bridger-Teton National Forest and not in the park, so search efforts were transitioned to Teton County Search and Rescue in coordination with Forest Service personnel. The missing hikers were located in good condition the next morning by Teton County searchers.
Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received a report of another overdue party just after 12:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. A 38-year-old visitor from Israel was reported missing by his friends when he did not return from a solo day hike. The hiker planned to spend the day in Cascade Canyon and return to his group about 7 p.m. That night, rangers searched the Jenny and String Lake areas, but were unable to locate the missing man. A ranger on a routine backcountry patrol in Cascade Canyon had not received word of any distressed hiker, so rangers decided to begin a ground-based search at first light on Sunday morning. The man was found uninjured near String Lake around 11 a.m. Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon at 2:15 p.m., a 74-year-old man from Troy, Michigan, had a heart attack while on a ranger-led hike of Swan Lake near Colter Bay. The ranger naturalist leading the hike immediately realized what was happening and began CPR while also alerting emergency responders of the situation. Six rangers and a Jackson Hole Fire/EMS employee responded to the scene, which was just over one mile from the Hermitage Point trailhead. Efforts to revive him proved unsuccessful.
Just after emergency personnel returned to the Colter Bay developed area following the cardiac arrest, a significant wind event occurred, knocking down or breaking over 100 live trees. The most significant damage occurred in the Colter Bay Campground and RV Park, where three or four trees struck vehicles. A tree branch struck a 30-year-old German woman, causing life-threatening injuries. The branch was estimated to be 40 feet long with a diameter of over 10 inches. The injured woman was transported by park ambulance to St. John's Medical Center before being flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.
[Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]
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/):
Florissant Fossil Beds NM - Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument celebrated the grand opening of its first new visitor center this past weekend following a quest that began when the monument was first established in 1969.
Air Resources Division - The recently introduced new Call to Action item entitled “Enjoy the View” is off to a strong start. Eighteen areas have expressed an interest in getting assistance in protecting scenic views and air quality.
New England National Scenic Trail - Representatives from the Appalachian Mountain Club and Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation joined the National Park Service in a National Trails Day celebration of the completion of the New England National Scenic Trail.
Northeast Region - Jonathan Meade has been selected as chief of business services for Northeast Regional Office. He assumes his new duties on August 5th.
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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@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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