East Coast Areas
Hurricane Jeanne Cleanup Underway
The following reports were received through yesterday evening:
Biscayne NP — The park was completely reopened as of
3:30 p.m.on Monday. Employees who reside
on the park's islands checked out of local hotels and returned to their
homes yesterday. No damage was reported to park facilities. Winds never
exceeded 40 mph and less than an inch of rain fell at Convoy Point.
Shutdown and re-opening went smoothly for the fourth time in six weeks,
a new park record.
Canaveral NS — The park will reopen today, except
for Seminole Rest and the damaged boardwalks in the North and South
Districts.
Castillo de San Marcos NM/Fort Matanzas NM — Significant
erosion occurred at two separate locations on the sea wall near the
Castillo; emergency stabilization will be required. No other structural
damage was noted at that site. There was significant beach erosion and
some sign and dock damage at Fort Matanzas. The beach ramp was severely
eroded and has been closed. Both sites have power and planned on
reopening yesterday.
Timucuan E&HP/Fort Caroline NM —
All public use areas in Timucuan remain closed. Power is out at both
Fort Caroline and Kingsley, but not at headquarters. Park employees
returned to work yesterday to begin assessments and cleanup operations.
Three assessment teams have been put together and are conducting initial
inspections of park facilities.
Fort Fredericka NM — The park has reopened after
being closed on Sunday and Monday. Some cleanup will be required, but
there was little damage otherwise.
Fort Pulaski NM — The park reopened at
7:30 a.m. yesterday and is fully operational. Damage
was limited to a few downed tree limbs.
Carl Sandburg Home NHS — The park closed to the public at
noon Monday in anticipation of the arrival
of the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne. Heavy rain fell throughout Monday
night; due to the expectation of high winds, the park remained closed to
the public on Tuesday. Plans are to open today, but trails will remain
closed until they are cleared.
Blue Ridge Parkway — Tropical Depression Jeanne produced
mostly minor flooding and some tree-falls along sections of the Blue
Ridge Parkway, but rain was still falling along the parkway corridor in
Virginia early yesterday afternoon and high winds were expected along
the entire 469-mile scenic route. Because wind and saturated
ground increase the danger of additional tree-falls, some high-elevation
sections of the parkway and most campgrounds remained closed yesterday.
They will likely reopen today. Mt. Mitchell State Park, which adjoins
the parkway at mile 355, reported receiving 4.75 inches of rainfall from
Jeanne, as compared to 18 inches from Ivan and 23 inches from
Frances. Parkway sections in Virginia, which received relatively
moderate rainfall in the first two storms, reported upwards of six
inches of rainfall from Jeanne. As of 1
p.m. on Tuesday, the parkway was closed from milepost 317 at Linville
Falls (US221) to mile 325 just north of NC 226 near Spruce Pine, from
mile 344 at NC Highway 80 to mile 375 at Ox Creek just north of
Asheville, and from mile 412 south of Mt. Pisgah (US 276) to mile 469 at
Cherokee. Access remained open to the Little Switzerland community and
to Mt. Pisgah; also open were the corridor in Asheville and all of the
motor road from mile 0 in Virginia to mile 317. All campgrounds were
closed, except for Roanoke Mountain and Peaks of Otter. Maintenance
crews have been working 12-hour days and on weekends to repair
facilities and remove trees downed by storms Frances and Ivan.
Barring additional tree-falls yesterday, plans were to reopen the
parkway today from Asheville to Mt. Mitchell State Park and from US
23/74 near Waynesville to Cherokee. Campgrounds in Virginia were also to
reopen, along with those at Doughton Park, Price Park and Mt. Pisgah.
Delaware Water Gap NRA — Due to the rainfall from
the remnants of Jeanne, the park had to again close River Road in
Pennsylvania from Shawnee to headquarters and Old Mine Road in New
Jersey from Millbrook Village to Worthington State Forest. The two roads
had just reopened earlier on Tuesday. Bushkill Access was again closed
due to flooding. It's expected that both roads and the river access will
reopen tomorrow afternoon once river waters have receded and park crews
have had a chance to clean debris from the roads.
From reports by Ken Garvin, FMO, SERO; Rick Clark, Plans Chief, IMT,
BISC; Gordie Wilson, Superintendent, CASA/FOMA; John Breen,
Superintendent, FOPU; Mike Tennent, Superintendent, FOFR; Norman
Williams, IC, TIMU/FOCA; Connie Backlund, Superintendent, CARL; Bruce
Ross, IC, CANA; Phil Noblitt, PAO, BLRI; Chris Nelson, PAO, DEWA.
Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL,MS)
Update on Hurricane Ivan Recovery
Recovery efforts from the impact of Hurricane Ivan continue, with
tremendous success being made in cleaning up hazardous materials and
trash and immediate mitigation of damage to historic structures.
Two crews are set up in spike camps on Santa Rosa Island in order to
tarp roofs and board up doors and windows of damaged buildings. A
press trip is scheduled for Thursday with local media to
demonstrate the extent of damage. Trailers for use as
temporary headquarters offices should be arriving by Monday. OSHA
visited the Naval Live Oaks area yesterday to interview incident
employees and examine the headquarters and visitor center.
[Submitted
by Peter Givens, IO, Eastern IMT]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Assault on Rangers
Canyon Subdistrict rangers were called to a concession employee dorm at 1 a.m. on September 7th to deal with a man who was attempting to start fights with various people. When rangers Ryan Adrian and Sara Cavallaro arrived at the dorm, they came upon a man — subsequently identified as J.H. — who was visibly drunk and arguing with concession managers. They handcuffed him and continued their investigation. A second man jumped into the scene from a second floor balcony and challenged the rangers to arrest him. As the incident evolved, J.H. broke free, charged Adrian and attempted to head-butt him. Adrian deflected the assault, but was still struck and knocked backward several steps. While the rangers were struggling with J.H. and attempting to move him to their patrol vehicle, the second man began shouting and throwing sticks to instigate other employees in the dorm to help obstruct the arrest. A crowd of about 30 people gathered and surrounded the rangers, who put out a radio call for help. Five of the primary instigators yelled obscenities and threats and challenged the rangers from a distance of less than two feet, continually refusing orders to back away. In order to motivate members of the crowd to disperse, the ranger drew their tasers, removed the air cartridges, switched the safeties off, and used them to make spark displays — all the while still fighting to control J.H.. The spark display proved sufficient to back up the crowd about 15 feet. Six additional rangers from the Canyon and Lake areas soon arrived on scene; with this show of force, it proved possible to get the still combative J.H. into a patrol car. The rangers also moved into what remained of the crowd, seeking the primary troublemakers. Three of them were ultimately arrested, as their interference had seriously threatened the safety of Adrian and Cavallaro. On September 8th, J.H. appeared before the federal magistrate and pled guilty to misdemeanor charges of assault against a ranger, public intoxication, and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to 14 days in jail and an additional 31 days of suspended time, banned from the park for two years, placed on two years probation, ordered to pay a $400 fine, and remanded to the custody of a US Marshal. Three other defendants pled guilty to various charges.[Submitted by Brian Smith, Supervisory Special Agent]
Arches National Park (UT)
Follow-up on Homicide at Moab Fault Overlook
On Tuesday, September 7th, a preliminary hearing was held in state court in Moab regarding the August 10th traffic accident/homicide that occurred at the Moab Fault overlook. James Cunningham pled not guilty to ten criminal counts:
- One count of felony first degree murder
- Three counts of felony second degree attempted murder.
- One count of felony third degree DUI.
- One count of Class B misdemeanor aggravated assault.
- Two counts of Class B misdemeanor DV assault.
- One count of Class C misdemeanor speeding (60 mph in a 30 mph zone).
- One count of Class C misdemeanor improper usage of lanes.
The judge bound him over for trial and he remains in custody. The
trial is set for February 7th. Click on the following for the
original report on this incident:
http://data2.itc.nps.gov/morningreport/
morningreportold.cfm?date=2004%2D08%2D19%2000%3A00%3A00[Submitted by
Jim Webster, Chief Ranger]
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (AZ,NV)
High Speed Pursuit and Confrontation
During the early morning hours of September 4th, Boulder City PD
notified the park of a high-speed felony pursuit of a stolen vehicle
heading into park jurisdiction. The chase had begun in Henderson and
several officers from that department were also involved. The driver,
R.V.T., was distraught about a fight that she'd had with her
boyfriend and was reported to be suicidal and possibly armed. When she
entered the park on Highway 93, she was driving at speeds in excess of
100 miles per hour and was headed towards Hoover Dam. Rangers staged at
a local casino in order to be ready to provide assistance where needed.
R.V.T. eventually stopped at a small roadside turnout in the park
and got out of the car holding a small caliber handgun to her head.
Rangers and Hoover Dam, Boulder City, Henderson and Las Vegas Metro
officers cordoned off the area, closing the busy interstate highway to
all traffic. A tense, three-hour standoff ensued, during which police
negotiators from Henderson and Las Vegas kept the woman talking and
considering other options. R.V.T. was eventually convinced to lay
down the handgun and surrender. Henderson PD is handling the case.
Counseling has been sought for R.V.T. While quickly set up "on the
fly," the successful resolution of this incident came about as a result
of effective coordination among all of the state and federal agencies
involved.
[Submitted by Art Gunzel, Supervisory Park Ranger]
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Falling Fatality
On September 7th, park SAR personnel were contacted by the FAA control tower at Grand Canyon Airport with an emergency relay from a tour helicopter that was flying over the park. The tour pilot had received a ground-to-air radio report from a person reporting that a 57-year-old man had been killed in a fall in the area of North Canyon. The park's helicopter was dispatched with a ranger/paramedic and an investigator on board. They found that the victim — G.W. of Michigan — had been on a private river trip through the park. He and others on the trip were on a day hike in the canyon when G.W. fell about 35 feet while traversing a slickrock ledge. A doctor in the group provided immediate care, but G.W. died within minutes, evidently from head trauma.[Submitted by Marc Yeston, IC]
Acadia National Park (ME)
Visitor Succumbs to Injuries Suffered in Fall
The park received word of a falling accident on South Ridge trail across from Blue Hill overlook on Cadillac Mountain early on the afternoon of September 15th. B.P. of Haddenfield, New Jersey, had been hiking with her husband Dennis when she fell backwards while descending through a series of rocks. She fell about eight to nine feet, landing on her back and hitting her head on a rock. According to Dennis B.P. and first responders, she was immediately unable to respond or move and began losing blood. Park emergency staff were on scene about 15 minutes after receiving the first call and an estimated 20 to 25 minutes after the accident had occurred. B.P. was able to speak but unable to use her left arm and hand. She was treated on scene, transferred to a Bar Harbor ambulance, taken to Bar Harbor Hospital, then flown to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. She succumbed there to her injuries later that evening.[Submitted by Neal Labrie, Backcountry Supervisor]
Wright Brothers National Memorial (NC)
Airplane Crash
On the morning of Friday, September 17th, pilot Mark Guthrie was
performing touch and go landings/take-offs at First Flight Airstrip in
his 1970 Cessna 172 when he crash landed short of the runway and ended
up in a 12-foot-deep drainage ditch. Guthrie had to be extricated from
the plane; he was flown by Dare Medflight helicopter to Norfolk General
Hospital, where he underwent surgery to his hip. There were no
passengers in the plane. Due to fuel leakage, the FAA and NTSB approved
immediate removal of the Cessna. Preliminary investigation revealed that
weather and/or pilot error may have contributed to the short
landing.
[Submitted by Paul Stevens, Law Enforcement
Specialist]
Yosemite National Park (CA)
BASE Jumping Arrest
At dusk on Sunday, September 12th, Valley ranger Carly Lober was on foot patrol in El Capitan Meadow when she heard parachutes open above her. She saw C.P., 23, and C.H., 19, of Bremerton and Gig Harbor, Washington, respectively, land at the east end of the meadow. They gathered up their chutes and ran into a grove of trees. Lober caught up to them as they were trying to finish packing their equipment into stash bags and arrested them. All their gear, including a helmet-cam video tape of the approach and jump, was seized as evidence. On September 14th, C.P. and C.H. appeared in federal magistrate's court in the park and pled guilty to illegal jumping charges. They were sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation, fined $2,000 each, and forfeited all their jumping gear.[Submitted by Dan Horner, Special Agent]
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Follow-up on Search
On the morning of Tuesday, September 14th, park dispatch received a
satellite phone call reporting the discovery of a body in the Colorado
River. The caller, a trip leader for a commercial river company, said
that he'd seen the body at the mouth of Forster Canyon. Park personnel
flew to the spot in the park helicopter. The body was retrieved and
flown to the South Rim, then taken to the county medical examiner's
office. The victim has been identified as P.S., 48, of Newcastle,
Washington, who was reported missing from his commercial tour group on
September 8th. P.S. evidently walked away from his campsite and
inexplicably ended up in the river. The investigation is continuing.
Click on the following for the original report:
http://data2.itc.nps.gov/morningreport/
morningreportold.cfm?date=2004%2D09%2D14%2000%3A00%3A00[Submitted by
Bil Vandergraff, Incident Commander]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Fuel Truck Overturns in Park
On the morning of Sunday, September 19th, the driver of a fuel truck
headed east from Mammoth Hot Springs to make deliveries in the park ran
off the edge of the road, causing the truck's tank trailer to overturn
on its side. Rangers, structural firefighters and hazmat specialists
responded. A very small amount of leaking fuel was immediately
contained. The 8,000-gallon capacity trailer was carrying 6,800 gallons
of diesel. The tanker truck was unhitched from the overturned trailer.
The truck, operated by Story Distributing of Bozeman, was driven out of
the park, emptied and returned to the scene to accept fuel pumped from
the overturned trailer. Traffic on the road between Mammoth Hot Springs
and Tower Junction was delayed for periods of up to an hour due to the
accident. The impact on travelers lessened Sunday evening with a drop in
traffic due to nightfall, the end of the weekend and the temporary
closure of the Beartooth Highway due to snow around 8:15 p.m.
Sunday evening.
[Submitted by Public
Affairs]
Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial (OH)
Put-in-Bay Historical Weekend
The weekend of September 11 — 12 was marked by a full program of
events commemorating the 191st anniversary of Commodore Oliver Hazard
Perry's decisive Battle of Lake Erie. On Friday, September 10th,
the actual anniversary of Perry's victory, members of the Navy
League aboard the USCGC Neah Bay laid a wreath on the site of the
battle. Chief ranger Gerry Altoff, an acknowledged expert on the Battle
of Lake Erie, gave a moving presentation describing the events of the
battle. There were 1,200 Boy Scouts encamped at the monument for two
days; some were from as far away as New York. Eighty reenactors also
camped on the monument grounds, providing living history demonstrations,
musket drills and thunderous cannon firing exhibitions. On Saturday, a
parade — complete with marching bands and antique cars — ended
at the steps of the monument, where a memorial ceremony followed. The
commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District (all of the Great Lakes) and
other speakers addressed the theme of "Peace With a Price."
Attention was diverted during the program by four vintage planes flying
in formation overhead. Approximately 400 people attended. On
Saturday evening, more than 900 people enjoyed a free concert featuring
the Toledo Symphony on the steps of the monument as the sun was going
down. Although the weather was perfect, crowds were smaller on Sunday
due to recent press about "the mysterious island illness." There were no
medical incidents reported save one, a non-life threatening bee sting.
Rangers from Cuyahoga Valley NP provided additional security.
[Submitted by Andy Ferguson, Superintendent]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Wednesday, September 29, 2004
NPS Fires
For a brief supplemental narrative on each fire, click on the bar with the arrow. Internal NPS readers can link directly to full reports on each fire by clicking on the notepad icon; public readers of the Morning Report can obtain similar information by going to http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
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The full NIFC Incident Management Situation Report for today can be obtained at http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf. NIFC's national fire news is at http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Law Enforcement and Emergency Services
Openings on Incident Management Program Steering Committee
The National Park Service is seeking candidates to fill four positions on its Incident Management Program Steering Committee, which is charged with providing overall guidance and direction to the incident management program. The committee will be very active in coming months in formulating a new Director's Order and Reference Manual, providing input and guidance on funding needs, establishing a training program, and many other related matters. The four openings on the 11-person committee are in the following categories:
- A regional chief ranger
- A regional incident management team incident commander
- A field representative from the eastern United States (any area east of the Mississippi River).
- A park superintendent.
Candidates must have a strong interest in incident management and have approval from their supervisors. Committee members will be required to attend one or two meetings each year and contribute time to work group projects, as directed by the committee as a whole. The term is for three years. The committee's charter and action plan are posted at (http://inside.nps.gov/programs/programcustommenu.cfm?menuid=2798&div=45&prog=179).
If you're interested, please send a message with the following information to Don Coelho, Chief of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, with a copy to Skip Miller, acting National Emergency Services Coordinator
- Identify the position which you are interested in filling.
- Provide basic contact information, including name, current title and grade, telephone and fax numbers, and the park address.
- Briefly describe your past and current ICS experience and responsibilities.
- Provide any other information that will help the committee to assess your ability to help the NPS improve its incident management program.
Nominations must be submitted by October 15th.
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.