NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
BLACKBERRY EDITION
Friday, September 2, 2005
INCIDENTS
Eastern Areas
Commitments to Recovery Operations Continue to Grow
The National Park Service, Department of Interior and overall Federal commitment to hurricane relief and recovery operations took another step forward yesterday.
Three NPS incident management teams (IMTs) have now been committed to Hurricane Katrina recovery operations:
One Eastern IMT (Gordon Wissinger, IC) is at Everglades NP, assisting the park staff with repairs to damage at Flamingo and Dry Tortugas NP.
A second Eastern IMT (Rick Brown, IC) is at Gulf Islands NS working with that park's staff on recovery operations in the Mississippi District.
The National IMT (JD Swed, IC) is en route to assist the staff at Jean Lafitte NHP&P with employee support and park recovery operations when the latter become possible. The team is currently in Houston, Texas, but will be moving closer to New Orleans once support facilities are found.
Other teams of specialists are on standby and will be committed when the necessary ground work has been laid to accommodate them. So far, the National Park Service has committed about 110 people to recovery operations.
The NPS response is just a small part of a massive federal response that grows day by day. As of yesterday morning, DOI estimated that more than 400 employees had been committed to Hurricane Katrina support operations.
The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise is preparing for an even more extensive Interior/Agriculture commitment. In a report released yesterday, NIFC calculated what resources it could release for the recovery effort while still maintaining a sufficient reserve to fight wildland fires. Managers of NIFC's participating agencies are prepared to make available two area command teams, eight Type 1 IMTs, 20 Type 2 IMTs, and 155 crews. They are also prepared to dispatch aircraft, materials stored in the eleven geographic area caches, radios, and contracted services.
Here's today's summary, based on email reports (including a couple of parks that haven't previously appeared in this summary) and information gleaned from a conference call yesterday morning:
Everglades NP/Dry Tortugas NP
Two more areas of Everglades National Park will reopen to public use today and tomorrow. The Shark Valley Visitor Center, located west of Miami, will open on Friday with some adjustments to keep visitors from entering the one area of roadway that still is covered with water. Another 20 miles of the park's main entrance road will open on Saturday. All established public use trails between the Ernest Coe Visitor Center and the Mahogany Hammock area will open for day use only at this time. A security plan will be in place to allow for the partial reopening. A barricade will be established and staffed by law enforcement rangers from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to keep the public from entering the closed section to Flamingo and to allow IMT members and other authorized personnel to enter.
One third of the Everglades is covered by water and recreational fishing is a popular activity. Much interest is coming from recreational fisherman as to the status of the park's waterways to boating after the storm and the opening of Flamingo boat ramps and boat slips. The Florida Bay, south of Flamingo, is a popular fishing area, particularly for the snook fish (the snook season just opened). The park is cautioning recreational boaters and fishermen of navigational hazards which include missing channel markers and damaged lighted navigational aids along the coast. In addition they are being warned of storm effects that include erosion of shore lines, floating and submerged debris, and shifting of bottom sands.
Superintendent Dan Kimball will hold a meeting today for Flamingo employees. Flamingo employees were allowed to move back into employee housing yesterday. All of the Flamingo complex remains closed. Debris has been collected and piled for removal in the employee and concession housing areas and debris collection will continue in the marina and visitor center area. Stoves, refrigerators, and water heaters have been ordered and will be installed in the employee housing in the near future.
The critical incident stress management team members Mike Murphy (Blue Ridge Parkway), Don Knisley (Santa Monica Mountains NRA), and Donna Cuttone (Shenandoah NP) have held four debriefings for park employees. A major concern among many of the employees was the welfare for the hurricane victims in Mississippi. A debriefing will be held for Xanterra concession employees tomorrow. The team members will be demobilized on Sunday.
Gulf Islands NS
All park employees have now been contacted and found to be okay. The flyover of the park that took place yesterday revealed extensive damage to facilities on Horn and Ship Islands. Staff are still working to clear the road into the Mississippi District maintenance complex, which will serve as the ICP for the incident. Some phone service has been restored. A SET team has been requested to provide additional security for the area.
Jean Lafitte NHP&P/New Orleans Jazz NHP
Eight employees have still not been contacted and efforts to reach them continue. One employee is stuck in the French Quarter and unavailable to evacuate. Priority efforts will be made to resolve that situation. As noted previously, it's not yet possible for staff to return to sites in New Orleans, so the status of facilities remains unknown. Staff at Jean Lafitte are hoping to arrange an overflight of the Chalmette and Barataria units to assess the condition of those two units.
Natchez Trace Parkway
Park staff flew over the parkway from Tupelo to Natchez and back yesterday to assess conditions on the closed section of the parkway. Although nearly all trees have been removed from the roadway, power lines remain down and getting them removed may be a challenge. Phone problems persist.
Catoctin MP
A microburst spawned by Hurricane Katrina ravaged park headquarters between 10 p.m. and midnight on Tuesday, August 30th. Approximately 30 mature hardwood trees toppled or were subsequently taken down as hazard trees. Looking at the surrounding area, it was surprising that park headquarters did not receive more damage. Vehicle access to the area was completely blocked until 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Park maintenance crews were joined by a saw crew from adjacent Cunningham Falls State Park and worked throughout the day on Wednesday clearing, chipping and removing the damaged trees. Power was lost, but Alleghany Power crews were on the scene before noon to repair downed lines. The damage included loss of trees, the total loss of a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid and the puncture of the headquarters roof. The damage estimate has been placed at about $50,000. The park trail system remains open, but there has been an unconfirmed report of a 300 foot trench of downed trees near Wolf Rock. Park headquarters was expected to reopen yesterday.
Shiloh NMP
The park sustained minor tree damage as a result of the tropical storm winds associated with Katrina. The Shiloh auto tour route was temporarily blocked by downed trees, but was cleared and made passable for visitation by Tuesday morning. The 36-hour rainfall total recorded between August 28th and 30th was 4.68 inches. The battlefield was not adversely affected by local flooding in area streams. Shiloh facilities are open for visitation; they have power, phones, and internet service. Some trees were knocked down at the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, but no structural damage was reported. The facility has power, but phone service is down. The center is open to the public.
Vicksburg NMP
As of Wednesday, the park was still without internet and email service (which is routed through New Orleans) and lacked the ability to make long distance telephone calls. Electric and local telephone service, however, had been restored. Cellular telephone service and the ability to receive incoming long distance telephone calls were sporadic. Water was available.
All employees have reported for work or notified the park of their safety except for two employees on annual leave and one whose National Guard unit was deployed to the Mississippi shore on Saturday before the hurricane. All employees have access to their homes and report varying levels of damage caused by downed trees. Most employees remain without electric and telephone service (over 97% of the Vicksburg area lost electric service and most utility crews were dispatched to the shore prior to the hurricane's arrival).
Numerous trees, some over 50 years old, fell during the storm. The canopy covering the USS Cairo ripped in several places. Shingles blew off the cemetery maintenance shop roof and a tree penetrated the ranger cache roof. Cooper caps blew off the cemetery gazebo.
The park visitor center is open. Staff cleared trees and limbs in order to partially re-open the tour road to Pemberton Avenue and the South Loop. The tour road to Graveyard Road was to open by late Wednesday.
The park is assisting local fire and rescue departments by providing bags of ice. Park neighbors on Fort Hill Road are blocked by numerous downed trees. Logistical arrangements are being made to provide access to their homes through the park.
[Nancy Gray, IO, EVER; John Bandurski, GUIS; John Quirk, JAZZ; Leigh Zahm and Karl Hakala, JELA; Rusty Rawson, NATR; Holly Rife, CATO; Stacy Allen, SHIL; Monika Mayr, VICK]
Lake Roosevelt NRA
Sentencing for Assault on Officers
During the early morning hours on November 27, 2004, ranger Beth Lariviere responded to a callout for a vehicle in the water at the Kettle Falls Marina. Two Stevens County deputies were already on scene with the male driver. While searching the area for more suspects, Lariviere came upon a second man and began escorting him towards the other officers. As one of the Stevens County officers approached Lariviere, the man reached into his coat and pulled a gun out of his waistband. A struggle ensued and he was brought to the ground by force and taken into custody. Recently, the man pled guilty to third degree felony assault on officers and was sentenced to two months in jail and 12 months community custody. [Chris Rugel, Chief Ranger]
Grand Canyon NP
Car Clouting Arrest
On August 14th, rangers investigated two auto break-ins that occurred on the North Rim. On the following morning, two people were taken into custody for these thefts while illegally camping at the Vista Encantada overlook on the North Rim. Both are being held on a multitude of felony charges stemming from over a dozen car clouts that occurred in several western national parks beginning in early August. The investigation into the extend of these car clouts is on-going. [Mark McCuthcheon, North District Ranger]
Theodore Roosevelt NP
Illegal Shooting of Two Elk
On the evening of August 27th, a North Dakota man was hunting in an elk hunting zone adjacent to the park and shot two elk within the park, a cow and a trophy bull. The entire park is surrounded by an eight-foot-tall fence to contain a herd of several hundred bison. Although hundreds of elk also reside within the park, many routinely move in and out of the park by jumping the fence or crawling under it. The hunter admitted to shooting both elk despite having only one hunting tag for the area outside the park. Rangers Kane Seitz, Jamie Denney, and Justin Repine conducted the initial investigation with a North Dakota game warden. Charges are pending while the investigation by officers from the park, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and ND Game and Fish continues. Seitz is the case ranger for the park. [Tom Cox, Chief Ranger]
Cumberland Gap NHP
MVA with Fatality, Four Injuries
On the evening of August 27th, a Toyota pickup with five people on board was heading north on U.S. 25E. Before entering the tunnel, the driver lost control of the truck, which rolled over. The two passengers who were riding in the bed of the truck were thrown out. CPR was started on one of them, a 17-year-old boy from Speedwell, Tennessee, but he was later pronounced dead at the Middlesboro hospital. The other four occupants were taken to the same hospital; three of them were later transferred by helicopter to the University of Tennessee hospital in Knoxville. The investigation was turned over to the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP). Rangers have been working with THP during the investigation. Charges will be filed pending consultation with the United States Attorney's Office and THP. Responding to the accident along with the NPS and THP were the Claiborne County Sheriffs Office, Cumberland Gap Marshals, Cumberland Gap Tunnel Authority and Claiborne County EMS. [Dan Reed, Park Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC is at PL 4. Two more Type 1 teams have been committed to hurricane recovery operations.
Individual fire entries for today for the National Park Service can be obtained at HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/fire/news" http://www.nps.gov/fire/news . The full NIFC Incident Management Situation Report for today can be obtained at HYPERLINK "http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf" http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.
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Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
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