NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
BLACKBERRY EDITION
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
INCIDENTS
Hurricane Katrina Recovery
Gulf Islands' West Ship, Horn Islands Found Leveled
The East IMT at Everglades has begun finishing up its operations, the second East IMT at Gulf Islands has determined that all facilities on the two offshore islands were wiped out by the storm (with one or two exceptions), and the National IMT, now relocated to Thibodaux in Louisiana, continues assisting employees and working toward restoration of park facilities.
Information Directory
A web site has been established as a repository for official documents related to hurricane recovery operations: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/waso.cfm?prg=15&lv=1" http://inside.nps.gov/waso/waso.cfm?prg=15&lv=1. Now posted there are:
NEW: A new subsection entitled “National Response Plan” (left hand column) contains the emergency support functions (ESFs) in the National Response Plan - the document which is guiding the entire federal response
The newly-released guide to controlling infectious diseases in responders (under WASO documents)
A copy of the NPS National Emergency Response Plan (under WASO documents)
Guidance on vaccinations and environmental health (WASO documents)
Incident management team delegations of authority, ICS 209s and incident action plans received to date (under respective team document folders)
Current reports on total resource commitments made through the National Interagency Fire Center (under NIFC hurricane response documents).
There are also web pages that are now available that provide a good deal of additional information. We will post some of the more significant of these:
Disaster Help - This is a major federal public site on the Katrina recovery which includes a wide variety of important links. HYPERLINK "https://disasterhelp.gov/portal/jhtml/index.jhtml" https://disasterhelp.gov/portal/jhtml/index.jhtml
Park and IMT Updates
Everglades NP/Dry Tortugas NP
An Eastern IMT (Gordon Wissinger, IC) is at Everglades NP, assisting the park staff with repairs to damage at Flamingo and Dry Tortugas NP.
The IMT is beginning to demobilize resources and begin its transition plan. A closeout with the superintendent and staff of Everglades National Park/Dry Tortugas National Park is scheduled on Friday morning. At that time, all files, paperwork and ongoing projects will be transferred to the park. The team will demobilize on Friday and travel back to their homes on Saturday.
The total number of personnel currently committed to the incident is now 86. Forty-eight are NPS employees, 22 are U.S. Forest Service, two are North Carolina and Oklahoma Forestry Department employees, and 14 are private.
The Everglades fire crew was demobilized on Monday. The 20-person Mingo Job Corps Crew (U.S. Forest Service) from Missouri, which mainly helped in the Flamingo area performing debris removal and grounds clean up, will be released on Wednesday. The other skilled tradesmen will be released on Thursday, except for a couple that will help with the installation of the generators if they are delivered on Friday or soon after.
Florida Power and Light engineers are traveling with park staff to Dry Tortugas on Tuesday to obtain final information and specifications to help them develop the proposal for the three new generators.
Work in Flamingo consisted of screening facilities, hazardous tree removal, roof work, and electrical repairs. Finishing grounds duties involved spreading mulch in the housing area, grinding tree stumps, filling in stump holes, and filling dumpsters with debris. The IMT contract specialist met with potential roof contractors in Shark Valley.
Gulf Islands NS
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.
All 24 NPS employees assigned to the Mississippi District have been accounted for and contacted. No one was injured as a direct result of the storm. The park's employee assistance group, supplemented by IMT resources, continues to aid them and to contact park volunteers, partners and cooperators. A four-person CISM team continues to reach out to park employees and cooperators.
The storm destroyed all man-made structures on West Ship Island with the exception of Fort Massachusetts, a range tower and some of the pier. NPS quarters, maintenance and concession facilities are gone, as well as the reconstructed lighthouse. Housing and other facilities on Horn Island were destroyed, except for the National Guard tower and much of the pier. NPS housing at Davis Bayou is uninhabitable.
Katrina appears to have done more damage to Fort Massachusetts than did Hurricane Camille in 1969. Katrina ate away at the earthen berm atop the fort and knocked some of the large granite blocks just beneath them down into the moat. The interior of the fort is filled with mud and debris several inches thick.
At least 108 people are now assigned to Davis Bayou Unit of the park for hurricane recovery. The Hopi 7 and Virginia State 10 crews and personnel from Shenandoah, Great Smokies, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, New River Gorge and Cane River Creole are making great progress in clearing roads to facilitate safe transportation, reducing the number of hazard trees and clearing debris. The Southeast Region SET team has dealt with many security and safety issues.
Water tests returned on Sunday showed that tap water at the park was safe to drink. The nearby FEMA facility that has been supporting the park started taking laundry the same day. Internet access and cell phone service has improved, but can still be problematic. This, of course, is nothing compared with what the residences of the Gulf region have endured.
Jean Lafitte NHP&P/New Orleans Jazz NHP
The National IMT (JD Swed, IC) is in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and is charged with both assisting the employees of the two parks and with overseeing the overall NPS response to the hurricane.
The team and its ICP are now located at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux, Louisiana, part of Jean Lafitte NHP&P. As an area command, the team oversees Hurricane Katrina recovery operations at Everglades National Park and Gulf Islands National Seashore, and manages operations at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.
For Jean Lafitte NHP&P and New Orleans JAZZ NHP, three operational branches were established by the management team for efficiency and effectiveness.
Employee Assistance Branch - The branch determines the urgent needs of affected NPS employees and provides appropriate immediate assistance. At this time, more than 100 employees have been contacted. The branch enters information received about the status of affected employees into the employee status database. The center also gathers information concerning long term housing needs and availability as well as temporary employment opportunities for affected employees. An NPS Employee Assistance Center is located at the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center, 250 West Park Avenue, Eunice, Louisiana (337-457-8499, 8490 or 7700) and at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux (337-250-2161 or 2184).
Resources and Facilities Branch - The branch conducts safe access into New Orleans Jazz NHP and Jean Lafitte NHP&P to assess damages. It consists of three groups - facility assessment, utilities, and cultural resources. If utilities are not restored today, the cultural group will remove the cultural collection from Jean Lafitte's French Quarter Visitor Center at 419 Decatur Street in New Orleans.
Law Enforcement Branch - The branch continues to evaluate requests for assistance, determine the safest routes to specific sites, and provide security for all personnel throughout the recovery and evacuation processes. Yesterday, law enforcement personnel escorted NPS employees to their residences in New Orleans and assisted them with the removal of property from residences, with securing damaged houses, and with scouting houses for access. Eagle One, a Park Police helicopter, will provide over-flights for damage assessments and serve as the NPS medivac ship.
Currently 130 employees work on the NPS National Incident Management team.
For more information, contact team's information office at HYPERLINK "mailto:Katrina_info_nps@yahoo.com" Katrina_info_nps@yahoo.com
Employee Relief Fund
A relief fund has been established to assist National Park Service and cooperating association employees who have experienced catastrophic loss or damage from Hurricane Katrina. Donated funds will be distributed immediately to provide for basic, daily needs, such as food, water and temporary housing. Please help members of the NPS family by making a donation to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund today.Checks can be made payable to E&AA and sent to: E&AA, Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, 470 Maryland Drive, Suite 1, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please direct questions on this fund (applications or donations) to Jack Ryan or Chesley Moroz at 215-283-6900.
[Debbie Santiago, IO, IMT, Houston; Nancy Gray, IO, IMT, EVER; Barb Stewart, IO, IMT, GUIS]
East Coast Areas
Parks Prepare for Ophelia's Arrival
Coastal parks in North Carolina, where Ophelia will most likely make landfall, have begun preparing for the storm:
Cape Lookout NS - The park has been closed to visitors and ferry operations have been suspended. The mandatory evacuation of visitors from Core Banks was completed around noon on Sunday. A full, land-based evacuation check of Shackleford Banks could not be conducted due to high seas. Final shutdown procedures were to be completed by Sunday evening.
Cape Hatteras NS - In accord with the park's hurricane plan, ICS has been put into effect to manage the park's response. On Saturday afternoon, county authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation of Ocracoke Island for non-residents. The NPS campground at Ocracoke was accordingly closed and visitors evacuated. Campers at Frisco and Oregon Inlet campgrounds were individually contacted and given informational handouts. Most were expected to leave by Sunday. Dare County (which includes Hatteras and Bodie Islands, Fort Raleigh NHS, and Wright Brothers NMEM) has not yet issued any evacuation orders. The Frisco Campground on Hatteras Island will close at 9 a.m. on this morning. The Oregon Inlet Campground on Bodie Island has been closed. The Hatteras Island Visitor Center, Bodie Island Visitor Center, and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse closed at the end of the day yesterday and will not reopen until storm recovery is complete. The Salvo Day Use Area facility is closed. Due to the flooded condition of park beaches and unpredictable tidal flooding, beach driving is not advisable. Park beaches may be closed to vehicle use starting this morning. Wright Brothers National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site also closed at the end of the day yesterday and will not reopen until storm recovery is complete.
[Wouter Ketel, Chief Ranger, CALO; Pat Reed, Acting Superintendent, Outer Banks Group]
Sequoia National Park
Body of Missing Hiker Found
Search and rescue teams at Sequoia National Park discovered a body near Crescent Creek late on the evening of Saturday, August 10th. The body has been positively identified as P.A., the hiker who had been missing since September 7th. Park SAR teams began looking for P.A. after he was reported missing by his brother late on September 7th. Initial searches near Crescent Meadow, the area Arnes was last seen by his brother, were narrowed down to points off the Sugar Pine Trail after search teams located his sunglasses in that area. The area has heavy vegetation and steep embankments, making search conditions difficult. A full-scale search continued through September 10th, involving more than 40 ground searchers, five dog teams, mounted patrol, and a helicopter. A line search of the area led to the discovery of the body late that day at the bottom of a steep embankment near Crescent Creek and within a mile of the Crescent Meadow parking area. There was no sign of major trauma; the exact cause of P.A.'s death remains under investigation. This is the eleventh fatality in Sequoia/Kings Canyon this year. The National Park Service received mutual aid support from the Tulare County Sheriff's Office mounted patrol, Wilderness Finders, Inc. (WOOF), California Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) search dog teams, and the California Office of Emergency Services (OES). Ground search teams consisted of National Park Service personnel, employees from Sequoia Natural History Association (SNHA), Delaware North Company in Sequoia, and volunteers working in the parks. [Alexandra Picavet, Public Affairs Specialist]
Cape Hatteras NS
Drowning in Pea Island NWR
On September 3rd, C.J., 37, of Midlothian, Virginia, was at a beach on Pea Island NWR (within the park's legislative boundary) with his wife and three-year-old daughter. C.J. and his daughter were in waist deep water when they became caught in a rip current. Surfers in the area went to help them. C.J.'s daughter was rescued first and taken to shore. When the surfers returned to get C.J., he was unconscious. They brought him to the beach, where CPR was begun by ranger Doug Murphy. Dare County EMS arrived on scene and provided advanced life support. He was then taken to the Outer Banks Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. [Paul Stevens, LES]
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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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