|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, July 1, 2014 INCIDENTS New River Gorge NR Employee Injured In Rollover Accident A park maintenance heavy equipment operator was driving a service truck in a remote part of the park yesterday afternoon when it rolled over while he was descending a steep section of road that was muddy from recent rains. The employee was able to radio for help. NPS rangers and a maintenance supervisor began responding to the remote location just after 2 p.m. The injured man's partner was able to quickly locate him and rendered aid until other units arrived. Responding rangers called for local EMS and rescue units to respond as well. The emergency medical evaluation indicated a back injury. He was stabilized in a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendrick_Extrication_Device" KED, placed on a backboard, and carried up the steep hill in a Stokes basket. He was then transferred to a waiting ambulance, taken to a Health Net Life Flight helicopter, and flown to a Level 1 trauma center in Charleston, West Virginia, where he is currently being evaluated. The injured man is in good spirits and being well cared for. The family was notified prior to air evacuation and the injured man's wife and a close family friend drove to the hospital. At the time of the report yesterday evening, an NPS maintenance supervisor was on scene at the hospital with the injured man; another NPS maintenance supervisor was driving to Charleston with OWCP paperwork. The F-250 service truck is a total loss. There was a 40 to 45 gallon off-road diesel spill and a one gallon anti-freeze spill. Resource management personnel were notified and responded; the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection was also notified. A spill kit was deployed for initial stabilization of the spill. During the cleanup operation, a heavy rainstorm passed through the area. Rangers are investigating the accident. [Jeff West, Chief Ranger] Ozark NSR Staff Respond To Flash Flooding Over six inches of torrential rain fell on a small concentrated area of the Current River watershed on the afternoon of Sunday, June 29th. At 3:30 p.m., the Carter County Sheriff's Department requested emergency assistance to rescue threated and trapped residents in the Fremont, Missouri, area (population approximately 125) from flash flooding. Park staff responded with a Type 4 incident commander, eight rangers, and four park boats. Several dozen rescues were performed as the flash flood waters passed through the rural town west of the park. At 6:30 p.m., the flash flood waters moved from the tributaries into the main channel of the Current River above the town of Van Buren, Missouri, and caused extensive localized flooding. The Big Spring Campground was evacuated, but no water affected the campground facilities. Multiple rescues were performed in Carter County until midnight. On June 30th, the waters receded and Big Spring Campground reopened at 9 a.m. Two unaccounted for families were located and rescued at 10:30 a.m. The Lower Current River remains closed from Paint Rock to the southern park boundary due to flood waters. State Highway M in Carter County is closed beyond Mill Creek due to road damage caused by the flooding. This impacts travel to the Waymeyer River Access. The park is working closely with MODOT to get the road repaired and reopened by the July 4th weekend. [Faye Walmsley, PIO] Golden Gate NRA Two Saved Through Effective EMS Responses It is rare to have a successful outcome to a medical incident requiring CPR and the use of an AED, but to have two such rescues in two days is highly unusual. Golden Gate park rangers had just that happen earlier this month. On the afternoon of Sunday, June 8th, lifeguards on busy Stinson Beach in Marin County responded to the report of an unconscious 70-year-old woman on the beach. A lifeguard called Stinson Beach Fire Department for assistance and headed to the scene. When he arrived, he found two off-duty Marin County Fire Department paramedics providing CPR. Park lifeguards arrived on scene and transferred the needed equipment, including an AED, to the paramedics. NPS rangers soon joined them and assisted with crowd control and setting up a helicopter landing zone. One took over chest compressions for one of the paramedics just before the AED advised to provide a shock. The woman's pulse returned after the AED administered one shock, and she was transferred to a medevac helicopter and flown to Doctor's Hospital in San Pablo. At last report, she was awake and speaking to doctors. It's expected that she will recover from this incident. Then, on Monday, June 9th, rangers responded to the Point Bonita YMCA to a report of a 46-year-old woman who was unconscious and not breathing. She was visiting Point Bonita Lighthouse with her husband when she slumped over in their vehicle and stopped breathing. YMCA staff called 911, attached an AED, and initiated “hands-only” CPR. Rangers arrived on scene and took over CPR. In addition to being in cardiac arrest, she had severe hemorrhaging from the mouth which complicated CPR efforts. During CPR, the AED advised and delivered five shocks. By the time Southern Marin Fire Department paramedics arrived on scene, she had regained a pulse. The woman was transported to Marin General Hospital, where she was admitted to the ICU. Doctors expected her to recover. INCLUDEPICTURE "https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET [Alexandra Picavet, Public Affairs Specialist] Grand Canyon NP Search In Progress For Man Missing In River On the afternoon of Friday, June 27th, the park received a satellite phone call from a commercial river trip reporting a missing passenger at Havasu Rapids. V.T. of Phoenix reportedly fell from a ledge into the river in mid-afternoon. V.T. was not wearing a personal flotation device at the time and was last seen by members of his party below Havasu Rapids. Searches have been conducted by air and boat, but no sign of V.T. has so far been found. [Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski, Public Affairs Officer] 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): Kennesaw Mountain NBP - Over the four-day period from June 26th to June 29th, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain with ceremonies, interpretive programs and living history demonstrations. Intermountain Region - Seventy-five years ago, hundreds of young CCC workers completed the largest adobe office building in the United States in Santa Fe -- the Service's Old Santa Fe Trail Building. An event today will commemorate that event. Hagerman Fossil Beds NM - A sister park agreement has been signed between Hagerman Fossil Beds NM and Sibiloi NP and the National Museums of Kenya - the first time that the NPS has established a sister park agreement with an African nation. Women's Rights NHP - On June 1st, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and several Congresswomen visited Women's Rights National Historical Park, the site of the First Women's Rights Convention held in 1848. Director's Office - Tim Reid has been selected as the Service's 2014 Albright Fellow. He will work out of the office of the deputy director, performing a variety of special projects and assignments. North Cascades NP - Bill Fitzpatrick, retired NPS ranger and former district ranger at Stehekin in North Cascades, died in a plane crash in Africa early last week. 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). --- ### --- |