NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, October 2, 2014

INCIDENTS

Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs

Search In Progress For Missing Hikers

A search is underway in and around the Cedar Grove area for R.P. and M.P., who failed to return from their backpacking trip as scheduled on Monday, October 29th. They planned to hike the Rae Lakes Loop, departing from Cedar Grove on the Woods Creek trail and returning via the Bubbs Creek trail.

In addition to teams on foot, searchers are using the park helicopter and horse patrols. There were 15 searchers hiking trails within the search area and interviewing other hikers yesterday.

The 32-year-old R.P. is described as 6 feet tall and weighing 160 pounds, with short, light brown hair and brown eyes. M.P. is 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds, and has shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes.

Any hikers who may have seen or come in contact with either or both of them should call the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Incident Command Post at 559-565-3341 or 888-677-2746.

Click on the link below to see a flyer with a photo of the P.

HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/seki/upload/Missing-Person-Flyer-2.pdf" http://www.nps.gov/seki/upload/Missing-Person-Flyer-2.pdf

[Jana McCabe]

New River Gorge NR

CSX Train Derails In Park

Rangers Nate Freier and Eric Oaks were on foot in the area of Fayette Station around 10 p.m. on September 26th when they heard a CSX railroad car derailment as it occurred directly across from them on the New River.

Investigation revealed that two sealed cars carrying soybeans had derailed and separated from the rest of the train. The two cars rolled down the steep embankment and came to rest along the shore and partially in the river. No fuel or hazardous materials were spilled and there were no injuries.

Most of the standing trees between the railroad tracks and the river's edge were uprooted and leveled. A small number of soybeans ended up in the river. Cleanup is expected to last at least a week and will involve removing the soybeans and then cutting the two damaged cars into pieces for removal.

[Chuck Noll, Law Enforcement Specialist]

Zion NP

Storm Causes Significant Flooding; Hiker Dies In Narrows

On September 27th, 1.9 inches of rain fell on Zion National Park, including 1.27 inches which fell over a three hour period beginning at 10:30 a.m. The North Fork of the Virgin River rose from a flow of 52 cubic feet per second (cfs) at 10 a.m. to a peak of over 4000 cfs at 1 p.m. The associated flooding forced the closure of the Zion Mount Carmel Highway (Route 9) as well as the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive from late morning through late afternoon.

On the morning of the 27th, the National Weather Service forecast indicated a 90% chance of rain in Zion Canyon, with heavy rain possible. The flash flood potential rating was at the highest level of concern, and many slot canyons were expected to experience flash flooding.

Two men from California drove up Zion Canyon instead of using the required shuttle bus and began hiking upstream from the Temple of Sinawava Trailhead at 8 a.m. Rain started to fall on the pair while they were in the Zion Narrows, but they continued a short distance up the canyon. They eventually turned around due to concern with the weather, but were trapped by the rising river on separate river benches 200 feet apart about a quarter mile north of the end of the paved Riverside Walk.

Both men were on high ground and safe from the swollen river and waited for most of the day for the flood waters to drop. They were able to see each other but were unable to communicate due to the noise of the river. Late in the afternoon, the downstream hiker believed that he could not survive the night because of hypothermia and decided to risk swimming the river, which was still flowing at a rate of about 1000 cfs. He made it to safety and reported to rangers that his companion was safe and on high ground.

Due to the continued high flows, it was impossible for rangers to check on the condition of the stranded hiker. Early on the morning of September 28th, rangers learned that the reporting party had hiked back into the Narrows to the point where he had last seen his companion but was not able to locate him.

A large search team was mobilized and the team located the body of the missing hiker at 2 p.m. on the bank of the river near the Riverside Walk about a mile downstream from the point where he was last seen.

[Ray O'Neil, Plateau District Ranger]

Kennesaw Mountain NBP

Eight-Year-Old Boy Struck By Car

On Tuesday, September 23rd, rangers received a 911 dispatch report that an eight-year-old boy had been struck by a car in one of the park's crosswalks on Cheatham Hill Road.

The boy was waiting to cross the busy road and pressed the activation button on a pedestrian warning signal at the crosswalk. Traffic on one side of the road stopped and he began to cross. He was struck by a vehicle in the opposing lane and suffered minor injuries. He was transported to the hospital for treatment.

The driver, a juvenile, was cited during the accident investigation.

Cheatham Hill Road is one of the park roadways that experiences a high number of non-recreational visits - approximately 6600 vehicles per day (Cobb County DOT 2012 statistic).

[Anthony Winegar, 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):

Canyonlands NP - Canyonlands National Park celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 12th with a birthday cake at the Island in the Sky District Visitor Center and a special commemorative ceremony in the Needles District attended by 350 people.

Denver Service Center - On September 16th, Director Jarvis was the keynote speaker at a gathering of more than 100 transportation professionals at a Transportation Research Board conference on transportation and federal lands.

Governors Island NM - An artist who previously did a stint as an artist in the park at Joshua Tree installed a work called "24 Mirrors" on Castle Williams during the annual month-long 4Heads art festival on Governors Island in September.

Southeast Region - Charles Sellars has been selected as the new superintendent of Andersonville National Historic Site. He is currently the deputy chief of facility management at Great Smoky Mountains.

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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