NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

INCIDENTS

Lake Clark NP&P

Mount Redoubt Erupts

Mount Redoubt volcano erupted early Monday morning, sending ash clouds to 50,000 feet and spreading ash in small amounts at least 120 miles to the northeast. The 10,190-foot stratovolcano is located in Lake Clark National Park, about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage. Park historian John Branson said the small community of Port Alsworth, where the park's field offices are located, did not have any ashfall, but that "there was a definite strong smell of fire and brimstone - you could not escape smelling it." Branson said that he noticed the smell at about 6:45 a.m. on Monday as he was leaving his house. The sulpherous, rotten-egg smell lingered for at least a couple of hours until the winds shifted. The volcano provided seismic hints of activity for several weeks prior to Monday's eruption. The ash resulted in some cancelled commercial airline flights, particularly those headed north or west from Anchorage. It also put park superintendent Joel Hard on "volcano hold" today when he was scheduled to fly from Anchorage to the park. Ash made a thin and spotty dusting in Talkeetna, where the south district ranger station of Denali National Park is located. One small community north and west of Anchorage reported that a quarter inch of ash had fallen. Redoubt last erupted in 1989 in an event that lasted four months and included over 23 major explosive events. “I remember the last time Redoubt went off,” Hard said, “it seemed to go on forever and disrupted everything from aviation to electrical utilities. We'll just have to wait and see how this eruption unfolds. One thing's for sure, they're all different and happen on their own timeline.” Over the last several years, Anchorage has seen ashfalls resulting from Redoubt and other volcanoes which line the Cook Inlet coast. Alaska Regional Office employees in Anchorage are under instructions this week to take some precautionary measures by covering computers and phones. The office air handling systems are also being shut down at night. Volcanic ash is a very fine material, and has very sharp edges which can damage everything from electronics to eyes and lungs. The regional office has also reactivated its incident command team, which is providing daily early morning telephone message updates to employees regarding the volcano and what, if any, effects it is having on normal office operations. Contingency plans have also been updated over the past several weeks to have dust masks on hand at the office, to utilize a system keeping any ash from being tracked in the building, and to provide advice to employees on home emergency supplies, vehicle use and maintenance, and other ash-related issues. Updates on the volcano are made available by the Alaska Volcano Observatory, HYPERLINK "http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php" http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php. The Anchorage Daily News also has regular updates and stories on the eruption at HYPERLINK "http://www.adn.com" www.adn.com . [John Quinley, Public Affairs Officer, Alaska Regional Office]

Shenandoah NP

Additional Details Released On Fatal Shooting In Park

Additional details on the fatal shooting that occurred in the park on March 8th have been made public in court documents. Excerpts from an article in Sunday's Richmond Times-Dispatch follow; a link to the full story appears at bottom: “The Army soldier killed in a standoff with police in Shenandoah National Park on Sunday was acting so bizarrely that day that he painted his face and dressed to look like The Joker, Batman's nemesis. Spc. C.N.L., who attacked a fellow soldier at Fort Eustis with a knife and stun gun while wearing the costume, ‘idolized' The Joker, according to records filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. C.N.L. ‘said everything The Joker did he did for a reason, like killing people, and that he agreed with the philosophy of doing things for a reason,' the records said. C.N.L. also left a note saying he was ‘preparing for war,' according to the records. C.N.L., 25, was shot dead by police in a minivan on Skyline Drive after refusing to drop a shotgun he was holding, with his finger on the trigger, according to the records. The details emerged from an affidavit filed to obtain a warrant to arrest Patsy Ann Marie Montowski of Chesapeake, C.N.L.'s girlfriend. She was arrested Wednesday and charged with being an accessory after the fact in C.N.L.'s attack on his roommate, Spc. Mitchell Stone. Montowski, who was a passenger in C.N.L.'s car when he was killed, suffered a minor wound in the confrontation with police. Montowski told federal agents that the incident started when a fight broke out between the two men early Sunday morning at their Fort Eustis apartment, whose walls were decorated with Joker masks and paintings. She said at one point she used a stun gun on Stone and tried to push Stone off C.N.L.. Stone told authorities that C.N.L., for no apparent reason, shocked him three times with the gun. He said Montowski also shocked him at least four times as he fought with C.N.L.. At one point, Stone said C.N.L. came from behind him and cut at his throat twice, according to the affidavit. Stone was treated and released at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after the attack. C.N.L. and Montowski took off in her car after the attack and ended up on Skyline Drive, where a park ranger noticed the couple ‘because they were both wearing head coverings which covered their hair and one of them stared at the [park ranger] with big eyes, appearing startled,' according to the affidavit.” The chase and confrontation ensued. According to Pete Webster, the park's acting chief ranger, the two rangers involved in the shooting incident returned to full duty status on March 19th. The rangers and park staff greatly appreciate all of the support and assistance they have received from throughout the system.

HYPERLINK "http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/crime/article/EUST131_20090312-234006/230582/" http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/crime/article/EUST131_20090312-234006/230582/

Appomattox Court House NHP

Investigation Underway Into Break-in And Vandalism

The Appomattox County Sheriff's Department, the Virginia State Police and the NPS are investigating a recent break-in that occurred in the park in late February. Someone broke into the historic Peers House, causing several thousand dollars in damage. Furniture was damaged, cabinets and floors were destroyed, and waterlines were cut, causing water to flood the house. A window was also broken in the Isbell House. Nobody was working in the park at the time of the incident, which occurred on the night of February 27th. An award has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the responsible person or persons. [Appomattox Times-Virginian]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Director's Office - On March 20th, Acting Director Dan Wenk transmitted a memorandum to all regional directors with guidance on following the court injunction against implementing the regulation on carrying concealed weapons in parks. The text is provided - but is only available internally at present.

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7471" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7471

Midwest Region - Chris Bernthal, Midwest Region's associate regional director for administration and information technology, received the Department's superior service award in a ceremony at Midwest Regional Offce on March 19th.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2270" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2270

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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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