NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, January 11, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Wilson's Creek NB
Severe Weather Causes Damage, Closures
Severe weather, including tornadoes, struck much of southwest Missouri late on the afternoon of Monday, January 7th, and through the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 8th, and inflicted considerable damage on the park. The tour road was closed on Tuesday so that debris could be removed and was reopened on Wednesday afternoon. All trails remain closed until further notice. Employees continue to remove debris and hazardous trees and tree limbs from all trails and the picnic area. Several trails are flooded and the Wire Road bridge has tree debris under it with water levels up to the stringers. High winds damaged about 1,000 feet of split rail fence. All park staff members are safe and accounted for. [John Sutton, Chief Ranger]
Golden Gate NRA
Survey Reveals Damage From Last Weekend's Storm
The park has conducted an assessment of the damage caused by last weekend's storm and reports the following:
Stinson Beach - The area was closed last Friday due to numerous trees and limbs down, but reopened on Saturday.
Muir Woods - The park was closed all day Friday and Saturday and reopened on Sunday around noon. Numerous trees are down throughout the park. Power was lost on Friday and not restored until Monday afternoon.
Marin Headlands - The area was without power from Friday until midday on Saturday. Numerous trees were felled by a combination of high winds and saturated ground. About 200 feet of fencing was lost in the housing area. Conzelman Road was closed on Friday and Saturday morning due to rock debris falling from the hillsides. Numerous buildings suffered roof leaks due to high winds blowing shingles off.
Fort Mason - Many trees fell in the area, including one large tree that fell on Van Ness Avenue and took out the power lines for Muni trains. The front glass door of the headquarters building was shattered by high winds and many buildings here also suffered from roof leaks due to lost shingles.
Sutro Park - About 15 large cypress trees fell during the storm, one on a car.
The total damage to date has been estimated at about $100,000. [Don Mannel, Chief of Maintenance]
Mississippi NR&RA
Tanker Spills Gasoline Into River
A tanker truck overturned on a highway west of downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday afternoon, spilling about 7,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline onto the highway. Storm sewers carried some of the gas to an outlet on the Mississippi River a few miles away near the construction site for the replacement Interstate 35 bridge. Construction was halted as the state pollution control agency responded to the accident. Long-term impacts should be minimal beyond some degradation at the point of entry, which is in a very impacted area in downtown Minneapolis. Moderate river flow will dilute the spill - gas is volatile and should vaporize rather than bind into harmful compounds in and along the river. Some fish kill is expected. Impacts to mussel beds are unknown at the time. [Paul Labovitz, Superintendent]
Clara Barton Parkway
Motorcyclist Standing By Road Hit By Car
A man who's motorcycle broke down stopped on the side the westbound lane of the parkway at the ramp to the Cabin John Parkway on the evening of January 8th and was waiting for assistance when he was struck by a passing Chevy Suburban and seriously injured. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. The driver of the Chevy stopped and cooperated with Park Police investigators. A portion of the parkway was blocked for crash reconstruction. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, Public Information Officer]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS (internal) or NPS Digest (external):
Boston NHP - A $3.6 million rehabilitation of the World War II era destroyer, berthed in the park's Charlestown Navy Yard, has been approved. Surveys and analyses are being conducted to determine the scope and preferred methods of work for the project.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6133" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6133
Glacier NP - Mick Holm, who retired as Glacier National Park's superintendent on January 3rd, received a meritorious service award from the Department of the Interior in recognition of his outstanding leadership in the management of the park.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1796" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1796
Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by both the NPS and its partners across the nation. Added this week are eight of this year's upcoming monthly concession “program chats,” a final call for nominations to February's special park uses course (nominations must be called in today), a new closing date for the active shooter course set for February in Florida, a training course on improving the condition of historic orchards, and a course on supervision in facility management.
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=vieweventscalendararticle&type=Conferences&id=775" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=vieweventscalendararticle&type=Conferences&id=775
Events Calendar - Today's listing of upcoming NPS and NPS-related events across the nation. New on this week's calendar are listings for the anniversary of the Battle of Cowpens and for a two-part conference on planning and design of buildings and landscapes in parks (Charlottesville in May and San Francisco in December).
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=776" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=776
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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-686-3828).
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