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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, January 7, 2014 INCIDENTS Great Smoky Mountains NP Three Hikers Rescued From Park Backcountry On the evening of January 2nd, park dispatch began receiving reports of a three person hiking party in distress somewhere along the Appalachian Trail. The cell phone signal indicated that the group was between Mollies Shelter and Fontana Lake, approximately five to six miles from the nearest trailhead. At the time, the park was experiencing heavy snowfall and single digit temperatures associated with a large storm affecting much of the East Coast. Cell phone contact was established with the three men from South Carolina, who ranged in age from 21 to 32 years old. The three men indicated that they were ill prepared for the weather conditions, that they had no shelter, and that they were cold, wet, suffering from hypothermia and unable to move. Through a series of broken phone calls, they stated that one member of the group was shivering and had gone to sleep and could not be awakened and they were burning their clothes in an attempt to provide warmth. Rangers Brad Griest, Kent Looney, and ranger/medic Phil Basak hiked throughout the night to locate the group. During the hike, the rangers experienced wind chill temperatures between -10 and -15 degrees. Due to the high winds and blowing snow, it was difficult at times for the rangers to locate the trail. Early the following morning, rangers found the three men, all of them suffering from various stages of hypothermia and possible frostbite. While the rangers provided medical aid and attempted to re-warm them, a Blackhawk helicopter from the North Carolina National Guard with hoisting capabilities responded. By early afternoon, all three men had been safely hoisted aboard and flown to Mission (Memorial) Hospital in Ashville, North Carolina, for treatment. The rangers hiked back out with assistance from a second rescue team utilizing UTVs on portions of the trail. [Steve Kloster, Tennessee District Ranger] OTHER NEWS The following stories are among those in today's InsideNPS. To see the full text, 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 Morning Report web page ( HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/): John Muir NHS - More than 140 visitors participated in the inaugural Winter Solstice Campfire at John Muir NHS. Visitors celebrated the shift to winter with candle dipping, wreath making, and campfire stories. Office of the Comptroller - Proposals for hosting business plan interns for this coming summer are due by January 8th. Both traditional park business plans and targeted analysis projects for parks, regional or national programs are acceptable for consideration. Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - A free 300-page book describing the duties of the ICS Planning Section during a search incident is now available online. A link to it is provided. Northeast Region - Ed W. Clark has been selected as the new superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site. Fire and Aviation Management - Jeff Manley, deputy for fire program planning at the National Park Service's Fire Management Program Center in Boise, Idaho, retired on January 3rd after a 33-year career with the NPS. * * * * The Morning Report is 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). --- ### --- |