Canyonlands National Park (UT)
Correction to Report on Road Reopenings
The following report, which appeared on March 15th, has been corrected
as follows: The Flint Trail, which provides access to the Maze but is
actually in Glen Canyon NRA, remains closed due to rock and mud slides.
A crew and equipment from Glen Canyon are scheduled to work on the road
within the next couple of weeks. Road access to the Maze area of
Canyonlands NP is still possible via a longer route from Hite, or
visitors can hike in from the Hans Flat
area.
*******************
Several rock slides this past winter closed the Shafer, Flint and White
Rim trail roads in the park's backcountry (click on "More Information"
below for the original report). The biggest of these was a major slide
on the west side of the latter, in which a large section of a sandstone
cliff several hundred feet above the road fell and created a debris
field about 200 feet wide and up to 40 feet deep. A contract blasting
crew was brought in to break up larger rocks in that slide along with
boulders blocking the Shafer trail road and another spot on the White
Rim road. All of these areas were cleared out by late February, and a
bulldozer was employed to build a new road up and over the White Rim
slide. All of the roads and trails are now open. [Submitted by Peter
Fitzmaurice, Chief Ranger] More Information...
Fort Scott National Historic Site (KS)
Fire Destroys
Historic Buildings in Downtown Fort Scott
On the afternoon of Friday, March 11th, a fire started in the
basement of a bar located in old downtown Fort Scott. The fire spread
quickly to other buildings, driven by strong winds. By late afternoon,
150 firefighters from 25 departments had responded to the incident and
were able to contain the fire by 9 p.m. The fire destroyed seven
buildings, dating from 1863 to 1890, and damaged at least seven
additional buildings. Wind-driven embers threatened historic
buildings in the park, but did not ignite any fires or cause any damage.
Park staff performed fire watch and security at the park and assisted
the city of Fort Scott with traffic and crowd control. The Kansas State
Fire Marshal's Office, the Wichita office of the ATF and an ATF National
Response Team are investigating the cause of the fire.
[Submitted by John Daugherty, Superintendent]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Glacier National Park
Rangers Represent NPS at Service for Four Slain Mounties
On March 10th, Glacier NP chief ranger Steve Frye and deputy chief ranger Fred Vanhorn represented the National Park Service at the national memorial service for the four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers who were killed in the line of duty on March 3rd. The memorial service for constables Anthony Gordon, Lionide (Leo) Johnston, Brock Myrol, and Peter Schiemann was held at the Butterdome, a cavernous indoor sports facility on the campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton and was attended by over 10,000 law enforcement officers representing federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies from across the continent. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Giuliano Zaccardelli, Alberta Prime Minister Ralph Klein, and Assistant Superintendent Bill Sweeney, commanding officer of the RCMP in Alberta, all offered comments during the service. The service received extensive national and international media coverage, including special programming by all Canadian television networks. Frye and Vanhorn were invited to be guests on Canada AM (Canada TV's version of the Today Show or Good Morning America) on the morning of the service.
[Submitted by Steve Frye, Chief Ranger] More Information...
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 Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.