Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
Climbing Fatality
M.L., 23, and A.K., 21, both of Monroe, Washington, were exploring a crevasse on the Ingraham Glacier on the afternoon of October 24th when they were caught in a small avalanche as the snow ramp they were on slid.
A.K. was completely buried by the slide and M.L. was left with only one arm and his head free. M.L. was able to dig himself out, then unbury his partner, but A.K. did not survive.
While en route to the emergency shelter at Camp Muir (10,180 feet), M.L. was able to contact a hunter outside the park via radio. The park received the 911 call from the hunter at 5 p.m. M.L. hiked out to the trailhead that night.
On Monday morning, climbing rangers Mike Gauthier, Adrienne Sherred and Bree Loewen were inserted near the accident site by helicopter. They retrieved A.K.'s body from the crevasse, and body and rescuers were flown off the mountain.
For additional information, contact IC Steve Klump 360-569-2211 ext. 3304.
[Submitted by Lee Taylor, Information Officer]
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (CA)
Attempted Suicide, Cliff Rescue
On October 26th, park dispatch received a 911 call that had been transferred from Marin County reporting a stranded woman on a cliff near a battery in the Marin Headlands.
Park Police officers and rangers responded and found a 47-year-old Canadian woman on a narrow ledge about 50 feet from the top. The cliff, located near Battery Rathbone, falls another 200 feet into the Pacific Ocean.
Six rangers and four Presidio firefighters made a technical cliff rescue and raised the woman to the top of the cliff. A Presidio paramedic examined the woman, who was physically uninjured.
A Park Police officer and investigator found the woman's purse before the rescue was completed. Subsequent phone calls and questioning revealed probable suicidal intentions.
Park Police transported the woman to Marin General Hospital for
observation.
Ranger Robert Del Secco was IC.[Submitted by John
Evans, Acting Operations Chief]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Friday, October 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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National Situation Report
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
Fire and Aviation Management
Change Your Clock, Change Your Batteries
On Sunday, October 31st, it will be time to change your clocks from daylight to standard time — and time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs launched a campaign called "Change Your Clock, Change Your Batteries" in 1987 to raise awareness about the fact that non-working smoke alarms are often responsible for the increasing number of home fire deaths and injuries that occur each year.
It's estimated that about 80% of fire deaths result from fires in homes without working smoke alarms. Half of the home fire deaths resulted from fires in the five percent of homes without any smoke alarms. On average, three children under the age of 20 die each day in home fires.
For details on the campaign, cosponsored by Energizer, click on "More Information" below.
And when you go home tonight, or when you change your clocks on Sunday, change your batteries as well.
[Submitted by Mike Warren, Structural Fire Program Manager] More Information...
PARKS AND PEOPLE
NPS Office at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Southeast Region's Ranger Intake Class Arrives at FLETC
Thirteen trainees began their careers with the National Park Service at FLETC on Monday, October 18th, as Southeast Region's first intake class.
The program, developed by Southeast Regional Director Pat Hooks and former superintendent of the NPS Law Enforcement Training Center Paul Henry, brought the vision of an efficient system for recruiting, selecting, hiring and training new commissioned personnel into reality.
The trainees arrived at FLETC two days prior to the start of class to complete paperwork for new employees, order uniforms, and receive an orientation to the NPS.
Some of the new trainees have extensive NPS seasonal experience. Some have never been in a national park. All possess an enthusiasm for being at the center, knowing that they were at the top of 5,000 candidates that applied for the positions.
The intake trainees have been joined with rangers coming to FLETC in the traditional manner, and members of this new class, NPRI-501, have begun their training program, integrating instruction from FLETC and the National Park Service.
Beginning in October, new FLETC classes have returned to a five-day-a-week training schedule. After completing the basic academy, trainees will move on to field training at parks across the country.
Due to the expanded FLETC schedule, the combined training program will last 38 weeks.
The staff of the NPS Law Enforcement Training Center wishes to thank all involved who helped make this program a success.
Harpers Ferry Center
Bill Brown Retires, Receives Sequoia Award
Bill Brown, long-time historic furnishings specialist and military historian par excellence at Harpers Ferry Center, retires from the National Park Service on Friday, October 29th.
On Monday, November 1st, Bill will begin working as a consulting planner for the National Museum of the United States Army under development at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The location in Virginia has been selected rather than the National Mall because it will enable planners to build Civil War trenches, demonstrate how tanks maneuver, or show how helicopters are deployed in a combat zone.
Bill has 33 years of federal service. Gary Cummins, Harpers Ferry Center manager, describes Brown as "one of HFC's classiest, most competent, knowledgeable, and admired veteran staff members."
At his retirement luncheon, Brown was surprised when HFC deputy manager Gary Candelaria presented him with the 2004 Sequoia Award. The Sequoia Award recipient is the unanimous choice of the manager, Division of Interpretation and Education, and the four members of the National Interpretive Advisory Council.
Brown was cited for being "the 'go-to' source for researchers in the NPS and for other professional colleagues in the United States, Canada, and Europe. His contributions have done as much as anyone's to help park visitors connect with cultural history meanings and experiences."
Harold Peterson, at that time chief curator, brought Bill into the National Park Service. Since May 1974, Bill has worked with almost every historic area within the NPS and visited every state but North Dakota. He singles out his work for the 200th anniversary of the British surrender at Yorktown, the creation of the Bicentennial traveling living history program, The People of 76 (It toured the country the summers of 1975 and 1976), and the planning for the Lewis and Clark exhibits currently touring the U.S. as projects especially dear to his heart.
His work for parks has brought him into touch with people who produce all kinds of media, and he feels especially fortunate to have worked with people from every single office within the center. For the past ten years, Bill and exhibit designer Dave McLean have been paired on a number of projects in an association that has enriched each other's understanding of creating media. People "want to touch the past," he observes from a long career of watching how people interact with exhibits, films and waysides. "They want to see the spot where something happened. We are so fortunate to have those real, genuine places, such as the Dunkard Church at Antietam, where American history unfolded."
A large part of his job has been sleuthing to find out how things looked, how historic rooms were furnished. Bill and his colleagues once recreated a radio transmission room at Fort Moultrie so faithfully that a World War II sergeant who had been one of those assigned to demolishing the facility could not believe his eyes. Bill used this example to show how important the research is in the kind of work he does and of the "visual responsibility" the National Park Service has to the American public. "Our credibility is on the line. Visitors know they can trust what they see in a national park. So we must keep intact that bond between Harpers Ferry Center and the parks to do the best and most honest job for the American taxpayer."
Bill leaves a tremendous legacy behind him and a void that will be difficult to fill. We all wish him the best and thank him for his years to devotion to the National Park Service and to Harpers Ferry Center.
[Submitted by Gary Candelaria, Gary_Candelaria@nps.gov, 304-535-6058]
Midwest Region
Flo Six to Retire
Midwest Region public affairs officer Florence I. Six has announced her retirement from the National Park Service, effective October 30th. She has served as the Midwest Region's spokeswoman for over 16 years.
As public affairs officer for the Midwest Region, Flo manages the public affairs function for a 13-state area. The program includes media relations, special events, Freedom of Information Act requests, congressional inquiries, and issues development and briefings. She is a fire information officer and worked on the Arch Rock fire in Yosemite National Park, California, in 1990. Flo received the Department of the Interior's Superior Performance Award in October of 1999.
"I love my work and the people with whom I work," she says. "It has been a great run -- friends all over the country, wonderful travels for park events, many challenges, and terrific opportunities. But after 35+ years, I'm drawn to do other things - like spending time with my mom and dad, my husband, and new grandson. My garden is calling me, as well as the numerous projects that have been set-aside for so many years. We'll still visit parks -- we'll just have to get a National Park Pass and plan to stay longer! Our children are all grown and making their way in the world. We have family in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Virginia, Texas, Washington, Nevada, and Canada, so we will be busy travelling to family events too."
A native of Spokane, Washington, Flo served for over four years at the U.S. Marine Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as an administrative clerk and then a supervisory administrative assistant, before she came to the NPS Denver Service Center in 1973.
She was promoted to a management technician position in 1975, then transferred to the Midwest Regional Office in Omaha as a regional training officer in 1976. That same year, she assumed the title of regional employee development officer. She became a public affairs specialist in 1988, a supervisory public affairs specialist in 1995, and assistant regional director, communications (her current position) in 1997.
Flo will be honored at a luncheon at noon on Tuesday, November 23rd, at the Omaha Press Club. Cards, photos and rememberances are welcomed and may be forwarded to Midwest Regional Office, National Park Service, Attn: Patty Rooney, 601 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, Nebraska 68102-4226.
[Submitted by Patty Rooney, Patty_Rooney@nps.gov, (402) 661-1532]
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.