NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
===============================================================================================================
INCIDENTS
Gulf Coast/East Coast Parks
Updates On Gustav, Hanna And Ike
Reports have been received from parks regarding each of the above noted tropical systems:
Biscayne NP - As Hurricane Ike moved toward the Gulf of Mexico yesterday, the park began a phased reopening. The Dante Fascell Visitor Center and grounds at Convoy Point, located nine miles east of Homestead, reopened to the public at noon yesterday. All other park facilities and services, including concession-operated boat tours, canoe and kayak rentals, park facilities and docks on Boca Chita, Elliott and Adams Keys, are expected to reopen today if wind and weather conditions are favorable.
Everglades NP/Dry Tortugas NP - The park IMT continues to monitor Hurricane Ike, thought it appears both parks have fortunately escaped major impacts. While Dry Tortugas did experience tropical storm force winds yesterday, Everglades suffered relatively few effects. All areas of Everglades National Park will remain closed to visitation on Wednesday, September 10th. The closure is being extended to provide ample time to survey visitor areas, mitigate any damage, stage necessary equipment, and allow for the return of evacuated employees. All employees are asked to report to their IMT supervisors for their regularly scheduled shifts tomorrow. Efforts will be focused on reconnaissance, clearing trails, staging equipment, and preparing for a return to normal park operations. It is anticipated that all areas of the park will reopen to visitor use on Thursday, September 11th. The Main Park Road is scheduled to open at 6:00 a.m., while outlying districts will operate under regular business hours. Dry Tortugas will also remain closed today. Employees evacuated to Orlando have been instructed to begin the return trip to the park on Wednesday morning. Similarly, the M/V Fort Jefferson will begin the return trip from the Miami River on Thursday morning.
Jean Lafitte NHP&P/New Orleans Jazz NHP - The two parks continue to recover from the effects of Hurricane Gustav. Two 10-person saw crews and a team leader are currently assisting in removing the numerous downed trees in all of Jean Lafitte's six units. Power and other services have been restored at all but the Thibodaux Unit. Park headquarters, the French Quarter Visitor Center, Lafayette, Eunice and the Barataria Visitor Centers are now open. Most schools are going to open up this week as well. Overnight curfews in most areas have now been lifted. Recovery efforts are still being conducted under the supervision of the park's incident management team.
Acadia NP - On September 6th and 7th, the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna dropped between 5 and 7.5 inches of rain on the park, causing extensive gulley erosion to the historic carriage road system and unpaved park roads. The park staff is continuing to assess storm damage to the park's trails and facilities. Most of Acadia's carriage road system and fire road system were closed early Sunday morning because of major washouts. Most affected on Mount Desert Island was the Seal Cove Road, which cuts across the island from Southwest Harbor to Seal Cove. Several sections of that road were totally washed away, and it could take two weeks to repair. On Schoodic Peninsula, the Schoodic Head Road was also greatly damaged, and repair of that road may take three weeks. The carriage road system has reopened for foot traffic and about half of the carriage roads have re-opened to bicycle and horse use.
[Stuart West, Acting Chief Ranger; ACAD; Susan Gonshor, Public Affairs, BISC; John Hughes, Chief Ranger, JELA; Larry Perez, IO, EVER]
Whiskeytown NRA
Visitor's Life Saved Through Quick Response
On August 30th, staff at the Whiskeytown Visitor Center received a call from a hiker who'd run down from the trail to Whiskeytown Falls to summon help for another hiker. D.P. and his wife, L.P., both of Shasta, California, were nearly to the falls when his chest began to hurt and he felt tingling in his extremities. EMT rangers and firefighters from Whiskeytown and Engine 10 from Redwood responded on the ground along with a CHP helicopter, a ground ambulance, and a REACH air ambulance. D.P. was stabilized on scene and hoisted out of the heavily-timbered area in a “screamer suit” by the CHP helicopter. He was transferred to the waiting air ambulance, which then delivered him to Mercy Medical Center in Redding. Doctors confirmed that D.P. had suffered a heart attack. He was treated, then released on September 3rd. Doctors credited his quick transport to the hospital for his successful outcome. Park staff in turn cited the multi-agency cooperation and prompt response that is typical in the park. Ranger Gary Panich was incident commander. [Jim Richardson, Chief Ranger]
Big Thicket NP
Taser Display Defuses Confrontation In Drug Arrest
While conducting an assessment of possible hurricane damage on the afternoon of September 2nd, rangers Josh Clemons and Johnny Stafford interrupted a drug deal in progress. The rangers were checking a day use area when they encountered five men and a woman engaged in the drug transaction. As Stafford took control of one man who had marijuana in his possession, a second man attempted to walk away. Clemons ordered him to stop, but he ignored the command. Clemons then grabbed hold of the man and took him to the ground. The man ignored orders to stop resisting and tried to wrestle free of Clemons. Stafford approached the man with his taser drawn and the cartridge removed and displayed the spark. The man immediately submitted to Clemons and was handcuffed without further incident. During a frisk of the others in the group, a number of bags of marijuana and Vicodin pills were found. Possession, distribution and resisting charges are pending. [Keith Flanery, District 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:
Pinnacles NM - A team from Pinnacles National Monument left on Saturday for Buenos Aires as a first step in creating a partnership to support condor recovery across continents.
National Capital Region - From July 12th to July 15th, 33 college students from around the country gathered in the National Capital Region to participate in the fourth annual National Park Service recruitment event.
Visitor and Resource Protection - Rick Obernesser has been selected as the new chief of investigative services in the Washington Office. He will oversee all special agents and special agent supervisors throughout the country.
Yellowstone NP - Brian Smith, Intermountain Region's special agent in charge, will be leaving the National Park Service this month to become the deputy chief of the police department in Port Angeles, Washington.
Pinnacles NM - Jesse Robles, law enforcement ranger at Pinnacles National Monument, will be transferring to Lake Mead National Recreation Area on September 14th.
* * * * *
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).
--- ### ---