NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date: Friday, January 3, 1997 

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-707 - Western Areas - Follow-up on Storm Impacts

Several additional reports have been received regarding the impacts of the
series of storms that have been striking the West Coast.  Forecasters are
predicting more rain in coming days, and U.S. Geological Service's Tacoma
office reports that "there is potential for serious and widespread flooding
in the next several days over all of western Washington."  This is at least
partly because of the potential runoff from melting snow.  USGS hydrographers
estimate that the water equivalent in the snowpack between 3,000 and 6,000
feet in Washington ranges from about 15 to more than 40 inches.

o Yosemite NP (California) - Heavy rains and melting snow have caused
major run-off and flooding problems in the park and El Portal.  The
flooding may be worse than that experienced last winter.  An incident
management team has been established; the park has been split into two
operational areas, based on the likelihood that El Portal will become
separated from the rest of the park by flooding.  Highway 140 and all
roads into the valley are closed.  Valley campgrounds along the Merced
River are closed, but Yosemite Lodge and the Ahwahnee Hotel remain
open.  There are about 2,000 visitors still in the hotels, but neither
they nor anyone else in the valley can get either in or out.  The
weather is so bad that helicopters can not fly in.  The series of
storms also caused a number of rescues and fatalities during the last
weeks of December (see additional reports below).

o Whiskeytown NRA (California) - Almost 20 inches of rain fell on the
park over a 24-hour period on December 31st and January 1st.  Though
access to the park is still possible via Highway 299 and Kennedy
Memorial Drive, all backcountry roads have been closed.  Portions of
South Shore Drive have washed out, and it has also been closed.  Access
to the Brandy Creek picnic area and swimming beach is no longer
possible, and the bridge crossing the creek to Sheep Camp has been
destroyed.  The bridge crossing to National Environmental Education
Camp has also been destroyed by high water and debris.  Lake levels
rose nearly ten feet during the same period, and acres of debris are
now clogging marinas and channels.  The park has accordingly
temporarily closed all lake access points.  Hundreds of trees have
either fallen or are leaning.  The full extent of the damage has not
yet been determined due to the weather conditions.

o Point Reyes NS (California) - Heavy rains caused a major landslide
north of Inverness which has caused the failure of a 100 foot section
Sir Francis Drake Highway.  The landslide traveled about 300 feet down
the steep edge of the road.  Because that highway provides the only
major access to the park's northern district, the district has been
closed until further notice.  Drakes Beach, the Point Reyes lighthouse
and visitor center, the Ken Patrick visitor center, and six beach
access points are closed and will not reopen until county officials can
determine how to stabilize and rehabilitate that portion of the road.  

o John Day Fossil Beds NM (Oregon) - The park has been completely
isolated by flooding along the John Day River.  Roads in Picture Gorge
to the south and Kimberly to the north have been closed, and all
highways entering the valley from the north, south and west have been
temporarily closed.  U.S. 26 to the east remains open.  Three employees
who live between Kimberly and Picture Gorge are able to get to work;
other employees are on administrative leave or working at home. 
Because the park has almost no facilities in the floodplain, physical
damage should be minimal, with the exception of the historic
agricultural fields and associated irrigation systems.  The Sheep Rock
visitor center remains open.

o Grand Teton NP (Wyoming) - An incident management team was organized on
December 29th to manage storm impacts.  Due to heavy snowfall, drifting
and blizzard conditions, Highway 89 through the park was closed to all
traffic for much of a three-day holiday period.  Ranger-directed
convoys behind park snowplows were used to evacuate about 200 motorists
who were stranded in areas without accommodations.  Many secondary
roads in the park remain closed.  Access into and out of Jackson Hole
has been hampered by significant avalanches, forcing the closure of
some highways.  Over the past several days, unseasonably warm valley
temperatures and over ten inches of precipitation (much of it falling
as rain) have caused flooding, threatened to collapse roofs, and
impeded snow removal and the reopening of roads.  While access to most
primary visitor use areas and inholdings has been restored, work
continues to open remaining areas and to prevent damage to park
structures and utilities.  Additional storms are forecast for the area
through the coming week.

o Mount Rainier NP (Washington) - As of the end of December, a total of
449.5 inches of snow had fallen at Paradise - 244 inches above the
average cumulative snowfall by the end of December and 29.5 inches
above the amount of snow that had fallen by that time in the world
record year of 1971-1972.  Of that amount, 158 inches (13 feet, two
inches) is still on the ground at Paradise.  Although the unusually
high snow levels have required some avalanche control work by the
Crystal Mountain Ski Resort patrol and have led to reduced visitation,
the storms have not had any serious impacts on the park.

[USGS Headquarters, Washington; Colin Campbell, CR, GRTE; Bob Andrew, CR,
YOSE; Superintendent, WHIS; CRO, WHIS; Paul Ducasse, SA, PGBSSO; John
Dell'Osso, Acting CI, PORE; Jim Hammett, Superintendent, JODA; Randy Brooks,
Acting CR, MORA]

96-711 - Yosemite NP (California) - Rescue

Rangers received a report of overdue climbers on Washington's Column on
December 21st.  The climbers initially declined assistance, but cries of help
were heard from the group the following day.  Two climbers were stranded 1800
feet off the ground, had gotten wet, and were now suffering from hypothermia. 
An intense winter storm precluded use of aircraft and ultimately defeated a
ground rescue team, which made two efforts to reach the climbers.  On the
morning of the 23rd, ranger-paramedic Keith Lober was lowered to the victims
by a winch cable from a Lemoore NAS helicopter.  The climbers were perched on
an overhanging wall without leges, and each had to be attached to the cable,
swung out from the wall, then winched into the hovering helicopter.  They
were taken to the park clinic, where they were treated for hypothermia, then
released.  [Brian Smith, Supervisor, YOSE]

96-712 - Yosemite NP (California) - Search and Rescue; Double Fatality

On December 26th, off-duty park employee Deron Mills saw and reported a car
in the Merced River alongside Highway 140 west of the El Portal
administrative area.   The vehicle was upside down, with only the rear wheels
and trunk protruding from the water.  Yosemite rescue, fire, and EMS
personnel responded to the scene.  Rescue swimmers were unable to reach the
passenger compartment due to the water depth and the currents around the
vehicle.  A mechanical extractor was used in an attempt to open the bottom
edge of a rear door which was just above water line.  Although the door could
not be fully opened, it was opened far enough for rescue swimmers to see two
occupants trapped in the front seat.  Winches from two Yosemite rescue units
and one county rescue unit were used to pull the car partially out of the
water and turn it upright.  Once extricated from the car, both victims were
transported to a local hospital, then flown to a regional trauma center. 
Neither victim could be revived.  Twenty-one park personnel participated in
the rescue effort.  [Mark Harvey, YOSE]

96-713 - Yosemite NP (California) - Search and Rescue; Fatality

Just before dark on December 27th, park rescue, fire, and EMS personnel were
dispatched to the report of a car in the Merced River along Highway 140 west
of the El Portal administrative area.  The vehicle was upside down and
submerged in the center of the river.  Because of high instream flows from
recent rains, the vehicle could not be reached by rescuers in the fast moving
water.  A search was started along both sides of the river bank for any
victims who might have escaped or been thrown from the vehicle.  The
following day, Yosemite rescue personnel assisted the county SAR team with
extrication of the car.  This was a complex operation using rescue swimmers,
dive teams, and a high line boat ferry.  The driver and only occupant of the
vehicle was still in the car when it was pulled from the river.  Eleven park 
personnel participated in the initial search.  [Mark Harvey, YOSE]

96-714 - Yosemite NP (California) - Rescues; Fatality

Staff at the Arch Rock entrance station received a report on December 29th
that an eastbound bus on Highway 140 was leaking oil onto the roadway, which
was already slick from rain.  A minute later, park employee Kevin Keheley 
found and reported a car upside down in the Merced River alongside the
highway in the El Portal administrative area.  The vehicle was 20 feet from
shore and the passenger compartment was partially submerged.  One victim was
on top of the vehicle; another was trapped inside.  A third victim, either
ejected or washed out of the car, was floating downstream in a face down
position and was not moving.  That victim was carried the better part of a
mile down the river until he became caught on an obstruction.  A passerby who
attempted a swimming rescue was himself carried downstream until he caught a
rock ledge on the far side of the river.  This meant that rescuers were faced
with three simultaneous rescue situations over a three-quarter mile stretch
of river.  Initial efforts focused on the two victims on and in the car.  The
vehicle was reached by an extension ladder from the river bank, and the first
victim was assisted over the ladder to shore.  A door window was then broken,
making it possible to extricate the trapped victim from the car.  Due to
hypothermia (his body temperature was later measured at 88 degrees
Fahrenheit), a roped litter was needed to move him from the vehicle to the
river bank.  Both victims were transported to a local hospital; the first was
treated and released, the second was flown by air ambulance to a regional
trauma facility.  At the same time, efforts were being made to reach the
third victim, who was located six feet from shore at the base of a 75 foot
river bank.  Fixed lines were set for the descent of rescue swimmers, who
reached the victim and brought him back to shore on a float board.  He was in
full cardiopulmonary arrest and also had a head injury.  Immediate efforts
were made by park paramedics to resuscitate him, but he could not be revived. 
The last victim to be rescued was the good Samaritan trapped across the
river.  He was reached by a rescue swimmer on a float board, then carried
back across the river by a rescue kayak from the county SAR team.  He was
treated and released at the scene.  While this operation was underway,
rangers from the Valley District located and impounded the commercial bus 
reported earlier to the entrance station.  Preliminary investigation revealed
that the bus may have leaked 100 gallons of diesel fuel along the highway. 
The bus was impounded and held for investigation by state police as a
possible cause of the motor vehicle accident.  Thirty-two park rescue, fire,
and EMS personnel participated in the rescue.  [Mark Harvey, YOSE]

97-1 - Whiskeytown NRA (California) - Rescue

During the early afternoon of New Year's Day, rangers received a report of a
capsized boat about two miles north of the Highway 299 bridge and found two
people desperately clinging to the rigging of an overturned 18-foot Hobie
Cat.  It took half an hour to right the vessel in a driving rain and winds
gusting to over 50 mph.  Although slightly hypothermic, the occupants were
okay and the vessel was safely taken to the nearest port.  [CRO, WHIS]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

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MEMORANDA

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EXCHANGE

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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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