The White House
Flags To Be Lowered To Half Staff
By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89),
the Congress has designated September 11th of each year as "Patriot
Day." President Bush has accordingly ordered that the United States flag
be flown at half staff from sunrise on Saturday, September 11th, until
sunset of the same day.
INCIDENTS
Southeast Region
Parks Take Stock Following Frances' Passage
Because Hurricane Frances' course skirted most National Park Service areas (at least in its incarnation as a hurricane), it caused only modest damage to parks in the Southeast Region. Reports on those impacts appear below. As a member of the federal interagency wildland fire community, however, NPS employees are among those responding to the larger impacts of the hurricane on residents of Florida. An area command team and six Type 1 incident management teams have been committed to assist FEMA with disaster relief and the operation of receiving and distribution centers, base camps and logistics staging areas for essential supplies. Also committed (as of Tuesday morning) are eleven helicopters and four buying teams. According to the a press release from the Forest Service's Region 8, "this mission represents the broadest application of the incident command system to a natural disaster or federal emergency." Reports from the parks follow:
Big Cypress NP — The park is back to normal operations.
Biscayne NP — The park's mainland and island areas have been reopened, but most hurricane shutters are being left in place and only a minimum number of boats are being moved back due to the prospect of Hurricane Ivan making landfall in Florida late this week. No major damage has been found, although there's a great deal of floating debris in the bay. Some staff members report minor roof damage, and one employee had reported a tree down on his house. No assessment has yet been made of the Stiltsville area. The park has offered to help the Fish and Wildlife Service staff in Vero Beach, which was hit hard by the storm.
DeSoto NM — An initial assessment revealed only moderate damage. The park has power and email, but the phone system is out. Several large trees have been downed, including one of the specimen gumbo limbo trees for which the park is famous. The trail is impassable in places due to flooding and several downed trees and limbs. The greatest damage was to the primary visitor center's beach. A renourishment/beach stabilization project has been underway this fiscal year. The first phase entailed the depositing of 140 dump truck loads of sand on the beach. A good portion of this sand is gone. The landscaped area of the park should open to the public today. The trail make take some time.
Canaveral NS — The park came through the storm better than expected. The park has completed a preliminary survey of the impacts of the hurricane. Frances had its greatest effect here along Florida's east coast. Brevard County (directly north of hurricane landfall) and Volusia County were two of the hardest hit areas and damages are expected to be significant given the duration of time the storm spent thrashing east central Florida. Although damages exist, assessment personnel have been surprised at the lack of severity:
New Smyrna Beach/North End — Numerous electric/cable utility lines are down outside of park boundaries and on Route A1A approaching the park entrance. A curfew exists on the barrier island and admittance is on a "resident only" basis and enforced by local law enforcement. The park sustained minor to moderate roof damage on many buildings, primarily lost shingles. Several garage doors were damaged on facilities that faced east and endured direct winds off the oceanfront. One inholder residence suffered a partial roof failure. Two boardwalks were damaged, one of which is primarily administrative in use. The ranger station suffered minor to moderate damage, such as destruction of an upper story handrail and the collapse of a small park radio antennae. North district visitor access roads are primarily clear of debris. Some internal administrative roads are blocked with tree and vegetation debris, but will be cleared relatively quickly. The district can reopen to the public as soon as local utility companies clear electrical lines outside of the park entrance, restore electrical service, and all curfews/restrictions are lifted. Estimated time: Three or four days.
South District near NASA Complex — Phone and electrical service to the district have been restored, and visitor access roads are clear. Three boardwalks are damaged, although one of them is used primarily for administrative purposes. Most structures have minor roof damage, including lost shingles. The roof covering the small water pump station was destroyed. Several outdoor storage sheds at the Wilson Interchange maintenance facility suffered moderate damage. Blown sand covers most parking lots and comfort station facilities beachside and will have to be cleaned off prior to opening. Some sign damage occurred, but is relatively minor. South District facilities will open today.
Seminole Rest Mainland Site/Oak Hill — Severe tree and vegetation damage occurred at this small site. Many of the live oak trees and cedar trees were broken off or severely damaged by winds. Some moderate structural damage occurred to the Instone House (a large house that has not yet been restored). The porch, which was due to have been removed as part of the restoration work, collapsed. The area will likely remain closed until debris can be removed. Work should begin this week.
An assessment of resource impacts is currently underway and will be reported later.
Timucuan E&HP/Fort Caroline NM — All park sites are closed until it is safe to reopen them. Power is out at the Kingsley Plantation and at Fort Caroline. The fort is also without water. Facility management employees are attempting to restore water to park residences, the visitor center and the maintenance facility. Damage assessments are being conducted and should be available shortly. Although many trees are down at the plantation, it appears that none affected historic structures. A 36-inch-diameter tree fell on a front-end loader and its transport trailer at Fort Caroline, and fallen trees block all trees there and in the Theodore Roosevelt area. Power lines are on the ground at Spanish Pond.
Fort Frederica NM — The park was open on Saturday and Sunday and reports significant visitation by "refugees" from Florida. It closed on Monday due to high winds and blowing debris. Only minor damage occurred. It will reopen today.
Fort Pulaski NM — The park was closed on Monday due to high winds and rain and the fact that the entire Savannah area was under severe weather and tornado watches. It has reopened and all facilities are operational.
Andersonville NHS/Jimmy Carter NHS — Heavy rain and gusting winds hit the parks over the holiday weekend. Both areas were closed on Monday but reopened yesterday. Maintenance staff worked through Labor Day removing downed trees and cleaning up debris from park roads at both locations. A scheduled funeral in the national cemetery at Andersonville was rescheduled from Monday to Tuesday. The National Prisoner of War Museum has six to seven feet of water in its basement; several ceiling tiles were damaged, and all electrical power has been cut to the building. No artifacts or exhibits appear to be damaged. The boyhood farm at Jimmy Carter had several large downed limbs and a considerable amount of debris. All other park resources came through okay. The continued rain is hampering the production crew that is at the Plains High School Museum setting up for a Willie Nelson concert scheduled for tomorrow night that is being filmed by the Country Music Network for a December showing.
Based on reports from Ken Garvin, SERO; Linda Canzanelli,
Superintendent, BISC; Fred Sanchez, Chief Ranger, ANDE/JICA; Larry
Belles, FMO, BICY; Timothy Morgan, CR, CANA; Charlie Fenwick,
Superintendent, DESO; Mike Tennent, Superintendent, FOFR; Brian
Loadholtz, Acting Superintendent, TIMU/FOCA; June Devisfruto, Chief
Ranger, FOPU.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
NPS Office at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
New NPS/FLETC Newsletter Out
The latest edition of the NPS Law Enforcement Training Center's newsletter is available online at http://inside.nps.gov/programs/divisioncustommenu.cfm?menuid=2453&div=61
Stories in this issue include a feature on new NPS/FLETC superintendent Don Usher, an article on Paul Henry's second "retirement," and a notice on FLETC's intention to eliminate the national park ranger integrated training program and place rangers in the natural resources police training program.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Denver Service Center
Natural Resource Specialist Mary Magee Retires
After more than 30 years of service for the National Park Service, Natural Resource Specialist Mary Magee retired September 3, 2004.
Mary has worked on many projects throughout her career, including serving as job captain for the 13 Alaska Wilderness Studies/EISs. She helped prepare the first Master Plans or general management plans (GMPs) for Channel Islands National Park, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Fire Island National Seashore, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and Valley Forge National Historical Park. She has also done compliance work for numerous Development Concept Plans and design and construction projects. Mary has also performed compliance for Wild and Scenic River Studies.
Mary started with the Service as a temporary general biologist in May1974, and became a permanent employee in 1975 through the professional intake trainee program. She and her husband Maury Nyquist plan to remain in the Denver area, and will be vacationing in New Zealand in the near future.
Messages of congratulations may be sent to the attention of Cliff Hawkes, Denver Service Center.
[Submitted by S. Richardson, Samantha_Richardson@nps.gov, 303.969.2825]
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.