NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, June 26, 2014

INCIDENTS

Buffalo NR

Snakebite Victim Evacuated From Backcountry

The Searcy County Sheriff's Office contacted the park just before midnight on Friday, June 20th, and advised that they'd received a cell phone call from a member of a group on the river who reported that one of their party had been bitten by a snake and was in severe distress.

Rangers telephoned the callback number and spoke with the reporting party, who said that the man who'd been bitten was suffering from bad trembling, nausea, significant swelling of his entire foot and lower leg, complete inability to bear weight, and pain that was “a 15 on a 10 scale.”

Rangers narrowed down the patient's location from the caller's description of landmarks, but they were able to pinpoint it after the caller sent a map ping locator via text messaging. The incident commander conducted a quick HYPERLINK "http://www.uscg.mil/hq/nsfweb/foscr/ASTFOSCRSeminar/Presentations/ Safety/SPERISKASSESSMENTMODEL.pdf" SPE risk assessment for a canoe-based rescue and determined that the risk level was between “slight and possible.”

Given the alternative of forcing the patient to wait seven or eight hours in severe distress for a daylight rescue, rescuers opted for a nighttime mission. Three rangers, including field trainee Jonathan Jackson, launched canoes and paddled by headlamp under a moonless sky two miles to the victim's campsite.

Ranger/Paramedic Matt Graden and District Ranger/Parkmedic Kevin Moses stabilized the man, loaded him into a canoe in the most comfortable position they were able to fashion, and continued paddling downstream another seven river miles (during which time they floated within two feet of a swimming copperhead) to the next available takeout, where they transferred the man to a waiting ALS ambulance at 4:30 a.m.

The man reported that he'd been unable to identify the species of snake, but odds are good that it was either a cottonmouth or copperhead, both of which are common on the Buffalo. Alcohol may have been a factor, as the patient reported having consumed “about twelve beers, several tequila shots, a rum/vodka mixture, and some whiskey” prior to receiving the bite.

District Ranger Kevin Moses served as incident commander.

[Karen Bradford, Chief Ranger]

Cape Hatteras NS

Visitor Dies In Collapsed Sand Tunnel

On the afternoon of Monday June 23rd, rangers responded to a report of a man entrapped in sand on the beach north of Ramp 27. Also responding were Chicamacomico Banks Volunteer Fire Department and Dare County EMS personnel and Dare County Sheriff's Office deputies

The victim, a 49-year-old man, became buried when a sand tunnel that connected two large holes dug into the beach collapsed on him, covering him in five to six feet of sand. EMS and rescue personnel arrived on scene as the man was being pulled from the sand by family, friends and bystanders.

Resuscitation efforts began immediately. The man had been buried for approximately ten minutes prior to resuscitation efforts. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

[Jon Anglin, Operations Chief]

Lake Mead NRA

Rangers Deal With Multiple Structural Fires

Rangers responded to several structural fires during the ten-day period from May 31st to June 9th.

May 31st - Rangers received a report of a boat fire in the Callville Bay Marina around 6 p.m. and responded via patrol vehicle and engine. They also requested support from the nearby Henderson Fire Department. The houseboat was removed from the slip and brought out into the main channel, where park firefighters and concession employees suppressed the blaze. The cause of the fire is believed to be electrical in nature.

June 1st - Just before noon, rangers were notified of smoke in the Six Mile Cove area near Cottonwood Cove. Rangers responded via patrol vehicle and two engines. The fire was found to be in a dumpster which had been ignited by a BBQ grill that had been discarded. NPS units suppressed the fire.

June 3rd - Park firefighters and volunteers from the nearest county fire station responded to a report of a trailer fully engulfed in flame at the Cottonwood Cove Trailer Village. They found that it was actually a dumpster on fire. The blaze was extinguished.

June 4th - Rangers received a report of a vehicle fire on the Callville Bay Access Road just after 10 p.m. and responded via patrol vehicle and engine along with an engine from Henderson Fire Department. They found a pickup fully engulfed in flames and suppressed the blaze. Investigation revealed that the truck had recently been stolen from North Las Vegas.

June 7th - A vessel fire was reported near Sandy Cove around 11 a.m. Rangers quickly learned that the fire had been extinguished by the occupants and was being towed to Callville Bay. Rangers and state game wardens investigated the incident.

June 9th - Another vessel fire was reported, this time at Katherine's Landing Marina. The fire was suppressed by the concessioner's fireboat. Damage was limited to the involved boat as it was removed from the slip quickly by concession employees. Rangers investigated the incident.

June 9th - That same afternoon, rangers came upon a vehicle fully engulfed in flames on Northshore Road. Additional rangers responded as well as Henderson Fire Department. The fire was suppressed by firefighters. The occupant of the vehicle was treated by NPS paramedics for smoke inhalation and transported to a local hospital. The cause appears to have been accidental.

[Mark Hnat, Mead District Ranger/Park Structural Fire Coordinator]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers):

Gateway NRA - During a visit to the park to announce local community recipients of coastal resilience grants, Secretary Jewell joined students, volunteers and others in a project to restore Sunset Cove, jointly managed by the park and City of New York.

Kennesaw Mountain NBP - Staff and volunteers at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park are completing final preparations for the 150th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS - Nearly 100 people gathered last week on the park's east lawn for an evening of poetry sponsored by Warrior Writers, a Philadelphia-based organization that provides opportunities for creative community and artistic expression among veterans.

Roosevelt-Vanderbilt-Van Buren NHS's - On Thursday, June 12th, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt-Van Buren National Historic Sites and the FDR Presidential Library hosted a panel discussion entitled “Imperiled Promise: Public History and Shared Authority at New York's NPS Sites.”

Office of Communications - The Service has announced the availability of approximately $1.7 million in grant funding for projects that teach about and/or preserve sites and objects related to our nation's maritime history.

Fire and Aviation Management - Tony Bacon, remembered by many as the father of the NPS structural fire training program, passed away on June 11th. He taught hundreds of classes and provided training to thousands of NPS employees.

To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites:

NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index

Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/

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).

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