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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, October 7, 2014 INCIDENTS Grand Teton NP Injured Climber Rescued From Lower Exum Ridge A Utah climber required a helicopter rescue after falling on the Lower Exum Ridge of the Grand Teton on Sunday, October 5th. Rangers were able to conduct the late-season rescue despite low staffing levels and challenging weather conditions. T.M., 39, of Murray, Utah, was climbing with a partner below the first pitch of the Lower Exum Ridge when he fell approximately 20 feet and sustained a leg injury. T.M.'s first piece of rock protection failed during the fall. He had taken a smaller fall without injury moments earlier on the same piece of rock protection, possibly contributing to the failure. T.M.'s partner was able to lower him to a ledge and contact the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center via 911 shortly after the accident. The center received the cell phone call for help at 11:15 am. Fortunately, three seasonal climbing rangers, all of whom had completed their seasons and were making preparations to return to their winter homes, were available to assist from the Lupine Meadows Rescue Cache. Permanent climbing rangers were also able to assist. High winds and rapidly changing cloud conditions were a concern for the rescuing rangers. They were able to conduct a reconnaissance flight with a Teton Interagency contract helicopter and determined that a short-haul evacuation was possible. Two rangers were taken to the Lower Saddle by helicopter and made their way to the scene of the accident. The helicopter later returned and evacuated T.M. and an attending ranger via short-haul to the Lupine Meadows Rescue Cache, where he was transferred to a park ambulance and transported to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson. The helicopter later returned to the Lower Saddle and extracted the remaining ranger and T.M.'s partner. [Andrew White, Public Affairs Officer] Mammoth Cave NP Man Wanted For Kidnapping Crashes Car In Park A park employee reported a single car collision on Flint Ridge Road on the morning of October 2nd. When rangers arrived, they found that the driver was unconscious and began providing medical care. While doing so, dispatch advised them that the vehicle was associated with an abduction that had occurred earlier that morning and that the driver should be considered armed and dangerous. The man had kidnapped his wife at gunpoint in Louisville, 90 minutes from the park, but the wife had escaped in Elizabethtown. The man was flown to a hospital in Louisville. An FTEP trainee assisted Louisville Metro detectives in processing the evidence from the crime scene located in the vehicle. [Lora Peppers, Chief Ranger] Mammoth Cave NP Park Engine Crew Suppresses Truck Fire As rangers were clearing from the above-noted vehicle accident on October 2nd, they received a report of a Waste Concessions Management garbage truck on fire in the park. The truck was found to be fully engulfed when responders arrived on scene. The Cave City Road and Mammoth Cave Parkway were temporarily closed. A small grass fire was also ignited by the truck. The park's structural fire engine and crew responded along with the Park City Fire Department and put out the blaze. [Lora Peppers, 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): Office of Communications - Director Jarvis will hold a webchat today at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. This webchat will focus on tools available to start planning for the Service's centennial. Fire and Aviation Management - Three Prevention 52 program award recipients share some words of wisdom with those working to manage successful fire prevention programs. Office of Communications - The NPS and DOI have announced the creation of nine new national historic landmarks, ranging from the oldest operating streetcar system in America to the home of an Arctic explorer. Cape Cod NS - The fourth annual Science in the Seashore Symposium was held in the park on August 28th. During the symposium, scientists and scholars made presentations on their ongoing research in the park. Office of Communications - Michael Allen, community partnership specialist at Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor/Fort Sumter NM and Charles Pinckney NHS, was recognized on September 30th by Clemson University's Institute of Parks with the Robert G. Stanton Award. 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). --- ### --- |