NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
BLACKBERRY EDITION
Friday, September 16, 2005
INCIDENTS
Hurricane Katrina Recovery
Update on Recovery Operations
Summaries of yesterday's operations follow the information directory that appears below:
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:
Personnel Issues
NEW: A memo with a policy clarification on transportation of DOI employees in military aircraft.
A copy of the September 2nd Human Resources memo on “absence, leave, overtime pay and hiring flexibilities” (under WASO Documents).
A copy of the September 9th memo with “guidance on campground waivers for Hurricane Katrina evacuees” (under WASO Documents).
Information from the National Team on employee assistance for NPS employees affected by the hurricane (found under “Employee Information” on the left hand column on the main page).
Response Topics
A subsection entitled “National Response Plan” contains the emergency support functions (ESFs) found in that plan (found on the left hand column of the main page).
A copy of the NPS National Emergency Response Plan (under 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 Interagency Hurricane Response Documents).
A high-quality, reproducible map from NIFC showing the location of all teams dispatched from the center (under Interagency Hurricane Response Documents).
Health and Safety Issues
NEW: A Power Point entitled “Hurricane Katrina PPT For Watchstanders” (under WASO Documents).
NEW: A Power Point entitled “Hurricane Katrina Safety for Responders” (under WASO Documents).
Guidance on vaccinations and environmental health (under WASO Documents).
A guide to controlling infectious diseases in responders (under WASO Documents).
Other Useful Sites
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
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.
Report pending.
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.
Employee Assistance Branch
Twelve follow-up calls and three personal contacts were made to employees at the two parks as staff continued to assist employees replace their losses, establish bank accounts, and stabilize their lives. Four CISM contacts were made throughout affected parks. A database of employees interested in temporary details and a database of housing available to displaced employees at other NPS locations were completed. The branch organized and facilitated an all employee meeting and lunch for Gulf Island Mississippi District employees and partners (there were approximately 60 attendees). During the lunch, superintendent Jerry Eubanks addressed the employees and presented an overview of storm impacts and current status of the recovery effort. The Smoky Mountain bucket truck crew and the Virginia 10 crew continued to work with Gulf Island park personnel to assist park employees with hazard tree damage and debris clean up.
Employee Assistance Centers are located at the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center, 250 West Park Avenue, Eunice, LA and at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux, LA. Please call 337-250-2161 or 2184. Peer support groups are also located at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center and the Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette at 337-232-0789.
Resources and Facilities Branch
The New Orleans Jazz visitor center was secured with plywood. An inspection of the interior indicates little damage at this time, contrary to earlier expectations. The removal of cultural resources at Decatur Street was completed yesterday.
Law Enforcement Branch
Branch personnel escorted staff and a contractor to Jean Lafitte headquarters and assisted with packing and removing cultural resources. They escorted an employee to New Orleans Jazz to secure the building. Two Public Health Service employees were escorted to Chalmette and 419 Decatur Street. Air operations supported the NPS Southeast Regional Director's visit to Gulf Islands, Jean Lafitte and New Orleans Jazz.
Community Services
National Park Service personnel are providing a variety of services to communities affected by Hurricane Katrina and to neighbors of NPS areas. These services include one-on-one service to 12 visitors to the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center visitor center in Thibodaux who were interested in information on general assistance available to displaced persons. Debris was cleared from neighboring homes (during the past two weeks) in conjunction with clearing NPS employee homes at Gulf Islands. Additional security presence in downtown New Orleans, Jefferson Parish, St Bernards Parish, Lafourch Parish, St. Landry Parish, and Lafayette Parish was provided. Ongoing but limited logistical support was provided for military operations at Chalmette. Personnel provided resources for a church renovation in Lafayette and assisted the Southern Mississippi University research lab in preparing to move a complex herbarium. They also provided CISM services to the staff of Southern Mississippi University (last week) and contacted a Gulf Islands concession ferry operator to discuss contracting boats to ferry work crews to Ship and Horn Islands for clean-up, recovery and assessment operations. Information on FEMA and other available assistance are provided daily via an information table to Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center visitor center visitors and library patrons. NPS sites are positioned to re-open as quickly as possible to provide additional incentive for public to return to hurricane-damaged areas.
Interagency Activities
Law enforcement located two missing Minerals Management Service staff. All staff from that agency have now been accounted for. A cooperative working agreement was established with the military at Chalmette for security, debris removal and removal of downed trees. Contact with the National Guard operation at the Ocean Springs heliport was established to coordinate scheduled flights operations. In case of bad weather, contact with the Ocean Springs Police Department was established in order to consider contingency housing/feeding needs. Navy contacts were established for pending support of heavy equipment operations and shuttles of materials to the island utilizing Navy Hovercraft and LCU. Contact was made with the Ocean Springs Pier harbor master to secure two slips at Ocean Springs in order to dock large concession ferries because the Davis Bayou area is filled with storm debris and too shallow for large boat operations.
The NPS Southeast Regional Director and Acting Associate Director joined the NPS National IMT at the daily morning briefing and participated in a 9:30 a.m. Jean Lafitte all employee meeting at the Wetlands Cultural Center in Thibodaux.
Currently 133 employees work on the NPS National Incident Management team.
For more information, NPS employees can visit Inside NPS. The public can access information at HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/" www.nps.gov/morningreport. For further information, contact the NPS National Incident Management Team Information Office at HYPERLINK "mailto:Katrina_info_nps@yahoo.com" Katrina_info_nps@yahoo.com
Employee Relief Fund
The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is an avenue for federal employees to donate to relief funds for all hurricane victims and is recommended by the Department of the Interior. The CFC in the Department will begin soon.
Another relief fund - the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund - has also 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 and Morgan Miller, IO's, IMT, JELA/JAZZ; Barb Stewart, IO, IMT, GUIS]
Denali NP
Auto Burglaries Arrests and Investigation
Two vehicles parked in the parking lot of the Wilderness Access Center in the park were burglarized on the morning of September 7th. Windows were smashed to gain entry, and purses containing cash, credit cards, and jewelry were taken. Fairbanks city police were notified that evening that one of the credit cars stolen from a vehicle in Denali was being used to purchase a motel room in Fairbanks. Local authorities subsequently contacted and arrested R.W.H.S. and C.L.F. at their motel room. Many stolen credit cards and other property were seized from the couple's room and vehicle. R.W.H.S. is a convicted felon from Tranquility, California, southwest of Fresno. Preliminary investigation suggests that the couple may have burglarized many vehicles during their trip from California to Alaska. Parks between central California and Alaska with unsolved auto burglaries over the last month or two should contact ranger Dan Fangen-Gritis by NPS email or by calling 907-683-9596. The NPS case number is DENA-05-0282. [Peter Armington, Chief, Division of Visitor and Resource Protection]
Shenandoah NP
Technical Rescue
Just before noon on Labor Day, the park received a cell phone report that a 47-year-old man who was hiking on Old Rag Mountain with his 10-year-old son had fallen and sustained a head injury. The park mobilized its technical rescue team and a ground evacuation team. Meanwhile, passing hikers, including some students in training to be physician's assistants, maintained cervical stabilization and kept him warm. Based on his conditions and the remoteness of the site, a decision was made to extract him by helicopter. A crew and helicopter from the Park Police's aviation unit responded. A ground team packaged the injured man and moved him to an extraction site within the mountain's rock scramble zone. He was then picked up by Eagle One via a litter hoist and flown to a trauma center. About two dozen NPS rescuers and a number of hikers participated in the six-hour rescue. Ranger Kim Mayo was the IC. [Clay Jordan, Deputy Chief Ranger]
Rocky Mountain NP
Fatal Accident on Old River Road
A motor vehicle accident on the afternoon of September 12th claimed the life of J.W., a 32-year-old visitor from Nashua, New Hampshire. The accident occurred on Old Fall River Road approximately one half mile above Chasm Falls. The preliminary report indicates that J.W. and his wife got out of the vehicle to take photographs. Their two-and-a-half year old son was in the backseat of the vehicle, restrained in a child safety seat. The Hyundai began to roll backwards and J.W. attempted to stop the car by opening the driver's side door and getting in. The car traveled backwards for 25 feet down a steep, rocky embankment, dragging J.W. along, before it came to rest. J.W. sustained multiple traumatic injuries and died at the scene. The child was uninjured. [Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]
New River Gorge NR
Investigation into Assault
On the night of August 4th, rangers were called to the Grandview Sandbar campground on a report of a violent incident during a group cookout at a campsite. A young woman had reportedly smashed out the windows of another woman's car with a baseball bat, then physically assaulted the woman with her hands and fists. During the melee, the victim's wallet containing $450 cash had been stolen from the car's glove box. She sustained facial injuries during the assault. Upon arrival, the responding rangers found that both women and some witnesses had fled the campground prior to their arrival. An investigation was conducted by rangers and Beckley PD officers in an effort to identify the principals and witnesses. On August 7th, rangers and officers attempted to contact the assailant and others at a city residence after learning that a variety of warrants in several jurisdictions were active for several of them. On August 31st, a 19-year-old woman turned herself in to rangers and volunteered to be interrogated. During the interrogation, she cooperated with investigators and provided a written statement confessing to the incident. The US Attorney's Office has been notified and criminal charges are pending. Ranger Frank Sellers is the lead investigator. [Chief Ranger's Office]
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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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