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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, December 2, 2014 INCIDENTS Glacier NP Winter Storm Causes Damage, Closures A winter storm with very strong winds and heavy snow moved across the park late Friday night, downing trees and burying roads. Access to the park is currently very limited and people are being encouraged to postpone their visits, specifically through the West Glacier entrance, until access can be restored and safety concerns can be addressed. Numerous trees fell on approximately 20 structures in the park housing area near park headquarters on the west side of the park. Six residences sustained structural damage and the members of one park employee family have been displaced from their home. A government vehicle was severely damaged from tree fall as well. No injuries have been reported. The full extent of the impacts from the winter storm are unknown at this time. Park crews are prioritizing their response. as there is damage due to tree fall, inaccessible roads due to snow, blowing snow and downed trees, electrical power outages, and continued winter weather conditions. Snow accumulation on the east side of the park is believed to be approximately 24 inches at St. Mary and approximately 18 to 20 inches at East Glacier. Snow accumulations are high and blowing snow conditions are reported in the North Fork and Many Glacier areas as well. [Denise Germann, Management Assistant] 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): Biscayne NP - Over a three-day period in mid-November, the national parks of South Florida teamed up with several partners for a successful public education campaign during the Ford EcoBoost NASCAR championship weekend. Today's Almanac - Moderate to heavy rain will fall along the West Coast today, with heavy snow in the California mountains. A winter storm will bring rain, freezing rain and snow to the Northeast. Lincoln Home NHS - The park presented a series of five programs last June and July honoring the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Rocky Mountain NP - The NPS Air Resources Division, Rocky Mountain National Park, and several federal, state, university, and agricultural partners have received a State of Colorado environmental leadership award. Southeast Region - Jerry Pendleton, assistant regional director for performance management, will retire on December 31st after more than 30 years of local, state, and federal experience, 26 of them with the NPS. Kenai Fjords NP - Elsie Dillewaard is retiring from Kenai Fjords National Park after nearly 33 years of federal service. During her years at Kenai Fjords, she's served as deckhand, logistics coordinator, AO and interpretive ranger. 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). --- ### --- |