NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, July 21, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Bryce Canyon NP
Park Fire Brigade Assists At Mass Casualty Accident
The park's fire brigade was called out to assist at the scene of a mass casualty incident near Red Canyon campground in the Dixie National Forest late on the morning of Thursday, July 17th. The driver of a passenger bus lost control of his 40-foot-long motor coach, which slid down a small embankment before it rolled over onto its roof in a creek bed. The passengers, a group of teenagers, were able to scramble out of the overturned bus as it caught fire. The vehicle was fully involved when the first engine arrived on scene, a unit from Panguitch, Utah. Incident command was established and the IC requested resources from neighboring counties. Five engines, eight ambulances, and more than ten deputies and troopers from four counties responded along with eight NPS firefighters and EMT's. The fire was extinguished and the 55 victims were triaged and transported to Garfield Memorial Hospital. [Dave Fox, Chief Ranger]
Lake Mead NRA
Two Jailed After Badly Beating Man On Boat
On July 13th, Lake Mead rangers responded by boat to a report of a fight in progress aboard a vessel in Boulder Harbor. They found a badly beaten man lying on the floor of the boat, and determined that he'd been beaten repeatedly by fists, feet and a boat oar by two people who he'd met earlier in the evening at a local bar. The assault took place over a three-hour period. When the man attempted to summon help from passing vessels, he was beaten repeatedly until he stopped yelling for assistance. The victim remains in the hospital, recovering from his injuries. His assailants are being held without bail until trial. [Eric Lisnik, Acting Chief Ranger]
Indiana Dunes NL
Drowning Victim Found After Four-Day Search
A group of eleven people from Chicago Heights came to Indiana Dunes State Park on Sunday, July 13th, to go swimming in Lake Michigan. Due to hazardous surf, the state park was closed to swimming, so they continued a short distance to Kemil Beach, an unstaffed beach in the national lakeshore. It was windy at the time, with surf about two-and-a-half feet high and possible rip currents. Around 3:30 p.m., three of them began having trouble while swimming about 100 yards from the shoreline. Two of them got to shore okay, but the third - a 14-year-old boy - sank below the surface. Boats, divers, a Coast Guard helicopter and side-scanning sonar were employed in the search to find him. The operation was scaled back to beach patrols that night, then resumed on Monday morning and continued until all dive time had been expended. It resumed on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday, when searchers found his body about a quarter mile from the point where he'd disappeared. [Mike Bremer, Chief Ranger]
Chattahoochee NRA
Thieves Break Into Park Fee Machines
Two of the park's electronic fee machines, both made by Miti Manufacturing, were broken into on the night of July 11th. It appears that the thieves pried the ATM-like doors open. They took $1,041 in cash and caused $9,078 in damage to the two machines. Fortunately, receipts had been collected from the machines the day before. The remaining three Miti machines were shut down and emptied of funds as a precaution. The park is looking into a variety of methods to improve security of the Miti machines prior to putting them back into service. [Scott Pfeninger, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
Other stories can be read on InsideNPS at one or the other of these two sites:
NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/
Please note that both publications carry a combined NIFC/NPS fire report. That is generally posted around 8 a.m. Eastern.
Among the stories in today's edition are the following:
Salem Maritime NHS - In late June, the Friendship of Salem, the park's replica tall ship, made a two-day visit to Boothbay Harbor, Maine - the first in a series of such visits that will be made through "Friendship Sails!," a National Park Service Centennial Challenge project in partnership with the Essex National Heritage Area.
Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.
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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363
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).
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