Lake Mead National Recreation Area (AZ,NV)
Fire Destroys Six Boats, Damages Dock and Two More Boats
On March 5th, park firefighters responded to a report of boats on
fire at the Lake Mead Marina. They found four boats fully involved in
their slips at a marina dock. Additional resources were ordered and
boats were removed from the dock to slow down the fire's spread. The
marina staff assisted by cutting boats loose and providing fire boats
from Lake Mead Marina and Las Vegas Bay Marina. Park fire chief Bob
Trodahl took command when he arrived on scene and asked for further
assistance from Boulder City FD. Six boats were destroyed by the fire
and a house boat and large power boat were damaged, as was the dock. The
park's dive team was to dive on the six boats yesterday to further
investigate what happened. The park committed two engines and one
rescue, two LE and one VIP boats to the incident. During the park's last
structural fire training session, they used this type of fire as a
scenario. The crew of the first engine on scene did their job by
stopping the fire's spread by moving boats, then cutting the burning
boats loose and moving them away from the dock.
[Submitted by Bob
Trodahl, Fire Chief]
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (NC)
Fishing Trawler Grounds and Breaks Up Offshore
The Coast Guard received a distress call from the 74-foot wooden
fishing trawler Angel Dawn on the afternoon of March 5th. The
boat was heading out into the Atlantic through Oregon Inlet when it ran
aground near the outside bar and began taking on water. The Coast Guard
dispatched a 47-foot rescue boat, but it was unable to reach the
Angel Dawn due to shoaling in the channel. The Coast Guard then
dispatched an H-60 helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City and
rescued the boat's captain and two crewmen. The Angel Dawn was
carrying 3,200 gallons of number two diesel fuel when it grounded. It
began breaking up in the surf yesterday, and it's expected that the fuel
will accordingly leak into the ocean. The boat's owner has pollution
insurance on the vessel; salvage companies have been notified and steps
are being taken to mitigate any spill that might occur. The debris is
expected to wash up on beaches within the park and Pea Island NWR.
[Submitted by Paul Stevens, Assistant Chief Ranger]
National Capital Parks-East (DC)
Weapons Offense
USPP field training instructor Carl Holmberg and field training
officer Sean McFarlane were patrolling the Suitland Parkway just after 3
a.m. on February 24th when the came upon a green Lincoln traveling at 15
mph in a 50 mph zone. The driver stopped the car, approached the
officers, and told them he'd run out of gas. When they told him to
return to his vehicle, Holmberg saw the passenger throw something heavy
into the snow. The officers investigated and found it was a loaded .357
Smith and Wesson handgun. Both men were arrested without incident. A
preliminary test indicated that the driver was intoxicated, so he was
taken to a county hospital to have his blood tested. Weapons remain a
serious issue on this busy traffic artery, which connects populous
Prince George County with the nation's capital. This year, officers
assigned to District Five have confiscated seven handguns; last year,
they seized 40 handguns, ten of them during traffic stops on the
parkway.
[Submitted by East District Commander, USPP]
Natchez Trace Parkway (AL,MS,TN)
Fatal Auto Accident
Rangers Regina Klein and John Hearne investigated a report of a
vehicle accident with an entrapment at mile marker 161 in the Kosciusko
District on the afternoon of March 5th. The driver, who survived the
accident, was taken to a hospital and released later that day, but
passenger D.F., 48, of Fulton, Mississippi, was pronounced dead
at the scene. The vehicle, a Ford Ranger pickup, had gone off the road
and hit a tree.
[Submitted by Jackie Henman, Assistant Chief
Ranger]
Padre Island National Seashore (TX)
Suicide on North Beach
A visitor driving along North Beach on February 26th saw a pickup
truck turn toward the dune line, then suddenly stop on the beach. When
the visitor reached the truck, he saw a 50-year-old man from Corpus
Christi lying on the ground with a rifle nearby. The truck's engine was
still running. The man died from a single gunshot wound. Ranger Tom
Crowson and county sheriff's office personnel investigated. The death
has been ruled a suicide.
[Submitted by Randy Larson, Chief
Ranger]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
White Sands National Monument (NM)
GS-404-6 Biological Science Technician
The park has an opening posted for a GS-404-6 biological science technician. The person selected will undertake a variety of indoor and outdoor tasks from mid-May until late September, including assisting in a survey of reptiles and amphibians, monitoring bats, mapping and controlling exotic plants, establishing soil/vegetation monitoring plots, and writing reports. She/he will use GPS and GIS equipment, photography, aerial photos, topo maps, and web-based databases in accomplishing these tasks. There is no government furnished housing, but an RV hookup site is available and the city of Alamogordo, which is just 16 miles away, offers a wide range of rentals and other city services. For further information, contact Bill Conrod at 505-679-2599 ext. 223. The announcement closes on March 14th.
[Submitted by Bill Conrod]
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.