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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, July 9, 2014 INCIDENTS Lake Mead NRA Storm Leads To 70 Distress Calls, 11 Rescues Rangers and other first responders conducted numerous search and rescue operations at Lake Mead yesterday afternoon after a thunderstorm struck the Boulder Basin. The storm began around 3:45 p.m. and created five-foot waves and reports of eight-foot swells. Park dispatch received more than 70 distress calls from boaters, 11 of whom required rescue. As of late last night, all had reportedly made it to land, but one group of four remained unaccounted for. Rangers had contact with them and confirmed their GPS coordinates, which were within walking distance of Callville Bay Marina. Rangers made repeated attempts to reconnect with them to make sure they made it to safety, but cellphone calls were not answered. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Search and Rescue conducted aerial searches around the area but could not locate the group. If rangers don't hear from them by this morning, the search will continue. A woman in her 30s was rescued around 8 p.m. in the middle of the lake after treading water without a life jacket for more than three hours. She was on a personal watercraft and decided to take her life jacket off to go swimming just before the storm hit. She was rescued, treated and released. Her husband and stepson were rescued earlier in the evening. The remaining individuals who were rescued were wearing their life jackets. At least one vessel sank and others had to be towed back to the marina. [Christie Vanover, Public Affairs Officer] Sleeping Bear Dunes NL Five Kayakers Rescued From Lake Michigan On the afternoon of June 29th, five teenagers were rescued from the waters of Lake Michigan after being overcome by 25 mph winds and four- to five-foot waves while attempting to kayak approximately eight miles from South Manitou Island to the mainland of the park at Glen Haven. A ranger stationed on South Manitou Island received a phone call from a sailing vessel captain who reported picking up three kayakers who were in jeopardy. Two other members of their party were reported missing on the water and had not been seen for two hours. Rangers and personnel from Glen Lake Fire Department, Leelanau County Sheriff's Office and the Coast Guard conducted a search and rescue mission in and around park waters. Through joint search efforts, the two missing teens were located approximately one mile off the shore of Glen Haven. One was found in their boat and the other in the water. The two were hoisted from the water by a Coast Guard
helicopter and transported to emergency personnel at a boat ramp in Glen
Arbor. The sailing vessel transported those on board to a waiting
ambulance in Leland Harbor. Due to timely reporting, quick actions of responders and interagency coordination, all five teenagers avoided life-threatening injury and only suffered minor to moderate hypothermia. The water temperature on the surface of the lake was approximately 55 degrees. Ranger Jennifer Langel was the incident commander for the park. [Phil Akers, Chief Ranger] 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): National Interagency Fire Center - The National Interagency Fire Center has updated its significant wildland fire potential forecast for the months of July through October. Visitor and Resource Protection - Bill Kaage has been named chief of the National Park Service Division of Fire and Aviation Management. He succeeds Tom Nichols, who retired on January 31st. Wilderness Stewardship - Garry Oye, chief of the Wilderness Stewardship Division, will retire on July 31st following 36 years of government service, the last six with the National Park Service. Biological Resource Management Division - The Integrated Pest Management Program has identified tools that park and concession managers can use to protect their forest resources. A link is provided. Chattahoochee River NRA - Chattahoochee River National Recreation hosted 150 middle school students on June 24th for the National Youth Leadership Forum's “Explore STEM” event. Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP - Visitors looking for Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park will find new signs to enhance their visit. These new signs are the first navigational aids to be installed since the creation of the park in 2002. 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). --- ### --- |