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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, July 25, 2014 INCIDENTS Glacier NP St. Mary Visitor Center Damaged The St. Mary Visitor Center on the east side of Glacier National Park has been closed temporarily due to damage inflicted by its sprinkler system. Rangers responded to an alarm at the visitor center around 4 a.m. yesterday morning. It is believed that the visitor center furnace may have malfunctioned and the water sprinkler system activated. There is water damage to the building and contents, as well as to some of the utilities. The extent of the damage is being assessed. A visitor contact and information center has been set up in the visitor center parking lot. Backcountry permits and aquatic invasive species boat inspections are now available at the Hudson Bay District Office located in the park administrative area in St. Mary. The park shuttle system and transportation services by Xanterra and Sun Tours were unaffected and are operating as scheduled. The restroom facilities at the visitor center are available. Evening interpretive programs continue at the St. Mary Campground as scheduled. There is no phone service at the St. Mary Visitor Center at this time. Visitors are encouraged to contact the park at 406-888-7800 for park information, or visit HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm" http://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm. [Public Affairs Office] Lake Mead NRA Body Of Missing Swimmer Found; Search For Two Others Continues The body of a 30-year-old Las Vegas man who disappeared while swimming on Tuesday was recovered from Lake Mead around 8 p.m. on Wednesday evening. D.G. had jumped from a houseboat to swim to shore with others. When everyone got to shore, they noticed he was missing. An interagency search ensued. Around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, family members who were searching the area with snorkel gear discovered what they thought was a body underwater. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Search and Rescue Dive Team recovered D.G.'s body, which was about 13 feet underwater and 75 feet from shore. He was not wearing a life jacket. The Clark County medical examiner will determine the cause of death. Meanwhile, the search continues for two other swimmers who went missing on July 20th. A 53-year-old Las Vegas man was last seen going underwater south of Willow Beach on Lake Mohave. Rangers continue to patrol the area by air and boat. Crews are also looking for a 25-year-old Las Vegas man who was last seen going underwater near the Boulder Islands on Lake Mead. Volunteers from Earth Resource Group are planning to help with the search next week, using advanced underwater search equipment. [Christie Vanover, 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): Yosemite NP - Last month, the park hosted a group of military veterans from the Warrior Hike “Walk off the War” program - a non-profit initiative that supports veterans in their transition from wartime experience by thru-hiking America's long distance trails as a form of outdoor therapy. Northeast Region - An exhibit recently opened at Saint-Gaudens NHS entitled “The Hairstyle Files: Hirsute Gentlemen and Coiffured Ladies of the Gilded Age.” The exhibit's theme and objects were selected by members of the park's Facebook community. Intermountain Region - Richard J. Welch, a protection ranger at Petroglyph National Monument, is retiring after 20 years with the National Park Service. North Cascades NP - On July 1st, InsideNPS reported that retired Stehekin District Ranger Bill Fitzpatrick had disappeared while flying a small aircraft in Africa. Both are in fact still missing. Servicewide Training Calendar - Added to this week's calendar is a FLETC-sponsored ARPA training course at Valley Forge NHP in August. 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). --- ### --- |