NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, August 18, 2008

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INCIDENTS

South Florida Parks

Parks Prepare For Tropical Storm Fay

Tropical Storm Fay is expected to reach South Florida some time between this evening and tomorrow morning. Parks in or near its projected path are accordingly making preparations:

Everglades NP/Dry Tortugas NP - The parks activated their hurricane plans on Saturday. Boats, vehicles, maintenance equipment, structures and office spaces have been secured, and both frontcountry and backcountry campsites have been temporarily closed. Dry Tortugas was closed to visitors as of 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Licensed commercial transport to the park, including ferry boat and seaplane services, has been suspended until it reopens. Everglades National Park closed to visitors at 5 p.m. on Sunday. All entrance stations will remain closed until the park reopens. No visitor-related services will be available at the Flamingo, Shark Valley, or Gulf Coast (Everglades City) areas during the closure.

Big Cypress NP - The park began closing offices and other facilities on Sunday to ensure protection of government property and to allow staff time to prepare their personal property prior to the storm making landfall. The park's visitor center closed at 2 p.m. on Sunday and all park campgrounds closed as of 8 p.m. Visitors are being allowed to access the backcountry throughout this administrative closure, but those venturing into the park are advised to be prepared for severe storm conditions, particularly flooding, and to keep themselves apprised of the storm's location and movements. This backcountry advisory is in place, in part, to accommodate those private landowners who wish to access their properties.

Biscayne NP - The park has shutdown in accordance with its hurricane plan. As of 5:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon, all park facilities (including those on Boca Chita, Elliott and Adams Keys) and the mainland area at Convoy Point (nine miles east of Homestead), boat tours, and visitor services were closed to the public. Park waters, however, remain open for vessel transit. The closure will remain in effect until further notice. Additional information can be obtained on the park 's website ( HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/bisc" www.nps.gov/bisc) and on the park's information line at 305-230-PARK (7275). The public should contact these information sources for ongoing updates on park operations.

[Larry Perez, IMT, Everglades; Mark Ruggiero, SERO; Bob DeGross, Big Cypress; Susan Gonshor, Biscayne]

Grand Canyon NP

Hundreds Evacuated Due To Flooding, Search For Others Continues

Officers and rescuers from eight public safety agencies worked together yesterday to evacuate more than 400 campers and residents from Supai Canyon, which is located approximately 75 air miles west of the Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The evacuation is a direct result of significant flooding following heavy rainfall throughout the area (according to Arizona emergency management officials, early reports that the flooding was caused or aggravated by the breach of an earthen dam appear to be unfounded). Late on Saturday afternoon and through the evening, the Northern Arizona high country received heavy rainfall that resulted in partial flooding of Supai Canyon, a popular destination for hikers and campers due to the presence of majestic waterfalls in the area. Supai Village is also the home of approximately 400 year-round residents. At 6 a.m. on Sunday morning, Coconino County officials received a report that a high volume of water had rushed down Cataract Canyon in a westerly direction, eventually feeding into Supai Canyon. Heavy flooding in Supai Canyon and the potential for additional flooding necessitated the evacuation of an undetermined number of campers and all residents. Rescuers worked to locate visitors who were staying at the Supai campground, which is above Havasu Falls, and escort them to a safe landing zone in Supai Village. Campers and residents were flown to Hilltop by Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopters and Arizona National Guard Black Hawk helicopters, then bussed to an American Red Cross shelter located at the Hualapai tribal gymnasium in Peach Springs. The road into Havasupai is closed at Route 66 and Indian Road 18 leading into Hualapai Hilltop. Residents and campers will not be able to access Supai Village and the Havasupai Indian Reservation at this time. Meanwhile, park dispatch received a report on Saturday from Western Rivers Adventures that five unmanned rafts were observed floating down the Colorado River with lifejackets and other supplies still onboard. Park employees determined that the rafts belonged to a private party of 16 people; they were subsequently found uninjured but stranded on a ledge at the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River. At last report, efforts were underway to move them to an area where rescuers could reach them. Plans were to short haul them to the other side of the Colorado Rover, where they were to be airlifted by helicopter to Hilltop, then taken to the American Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs. National Park Service employees were also in the process of contacting members of rafting parties who had not yet reached the confluence, which is located at about river mile 157, in an effort to inform them of the flooding that has occurred in that area. Rescue operations were suspended due to darkness, but will resume at first light this morning. The Coconino County Sheriff's Office advises that ten or eleven people may be unaccounted for; most of them are believed to have been at the campgrounds below Supai Village. This information is based on interviews with evacuees, camper registrations and calls from concerned friends and families. Air patrols will be conducted today along the Colorado River between Havasu Creek and Lava Rapids for people who may still be stranded. Ground searches will be conducted if conditions allow. Public safety agencies that responding to this emergency include Grand Canyon National Park, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, Coconino County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Coconino County Emergency Services, the Arizona National Guard and American Red Cross. [Maureen Oltrogge and Shannon Marcak, Public Affairs Officers, Grand Canyon, plus information from the DOI Watch Office]

Grand Teton NP

Commercial Vehicle Safety Inspections Conducted

An interagency effort by rangers, Federal Motor Carrier Administration personnel and Wyoming Highway Patrol officers on August 12th and 13th resulted in 45 commercial vehicles being inspected for safety issues that could lead to motor vehicle accidents, visitor injuries and resource damage. A complete safety inspection station was established at Colter Bay, where every commercial vehicle traveling on the North Teton Park Road was inspected by federal and state personnel. The vehicles inspected included many passenger vans being operated as touring vehicles by hotel groups, others operated by bicycle touring companies, commercial passenger buses, delivery vehicles, construction vehicles, and one commercial well drilling truck illegally transiting through the park. The inspections resulted in five vehicles being parked because their drivers had worked too many hours or had failed to log hours worked, one bus being shut down until the emergency exits were repaired, one delivery truck being shut down until the brakes were repaired, and three buses being shut down due to tire, brake and steering failures. Two of the latter were operated by Holiday Tours, which had to arrange to have them towed from the park. Twenty-one warnings were issued for seatbelt violations, and one person was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. [Patrick Hattaway, North District Ranger]

North Cascades National Park Complex

Major Marijuana Plantation Eradicated

On August 14th, law enforcement officers from nine agencies raided a marijuana plantation in Ross Lake NRA, destroying 16,742 plants with a value of nearly $48 million. The site was the first known marijuana plantation within an NPS area in Washington and the first one found in western Washington. Over 1,000 pounds of garbage, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, irrigation piping, propane canisters and equipment were also removed from the site. Damage to the park by the growers included cutting of trees to clear the grow sites, terracing of the land, impounding of creeks and installation of irrigation systems, spreading of chemical fertilizers, harassing and trapping wildlife, construction of living quarters and fences, and the spreading of garbage and human waste. The site was located by the pilot of a helicopter working on a maintenance project for the park. The appearance, location, and techniques used at the site are consistent with Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTO) that have been cultivating marijuana at several National Park Service sites in California in recent years. Mexican DTOs have traditionally smuggled marijuana into the United States, but as strengthened border controls have made smuggling more difficult, cartels are moving production inside the United States. The remote character of public lands, such as national parks, can prove attractive to such operations. Over 50 officers were involved in the operation. Key roles were played by personnel from the National Park Service's Investigative Services Branch, the Whatcom County Sherriff's regional drug task force, the Washington State Patrol, the Clark County Sherriff's Office, Mount Rainier National Park, Pacific West Region's special events and tactics team (SETT), the United States Park Police, the Washington National Guard, the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Washington Fish and Wildlife. The NPS SETT is comprised of park rangers from Olympic National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Yosemite National Park, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The operation was supported by the staff of North Cascades National Park. [Chip Jenkins, Superintendent]

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:

Natural Resource Program Center - Gary L. Williams, chief of the Office of Inventory, Monitoring, and Evaluation within the Natural Resource Program Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, retired on August 1st after nearly 29 years of federal 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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