NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

INCIDENTS

Ozark NSR

Park And Staff Recover From Major Storm

Park staff at Ozark National Scenic Riverways have cleared hundreds of trees from park roads and opened pathways for people to travel in Shannon, Dent, and Texas counties following the passage of a severe storm. At approximately 9 a.m. on Friday, May 8th, the area was struck by a storm with driving rain and winds gusting from 70 to 90 mph that knocked down thousands of trees throughout the park. By 9:15 a.m., park staff were out clearing roads, using chainsaws and whatever heavy equipment was needed to ensure the safety of park staff and visitors. Through a memorandum of understanding with local counties, park employees cleared emergency lanes on state highways, county highways, and park roads in order to gain access to park areas. All major park points on the river were accessed by Saturday evening, which was the end of the second day of searching for stranded or injured visitors. Park staff worked in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Department of Transportation, and local road authorities. The park also assisted the community of Eminence, which had major damage and no power, by providing NPS generators to keep their sheriff's office and dispatch center open and their radio repeaters working while the county generator was repaired and power lines replaced. There were no immediate injuries, but a number of park visitors and local residents needed to be located and rescued. Due to the amount of area to be searched and roads cleared of downed trees, the park operated under the incident command system, with chief ranger Greg Moss serving as incident commander. All park visitors and local residents have been contacted and evacuated, but there will be weeks of parkwide clean-up of the downed trees and power lines. [Greg Moss, Elisa Kunz]

OTHER NEWS

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

Fort Union Trading Post NHS - The park is featuring a temporary middle school student exhibit of buffalo pot effigies. Many of the students are descendents of members of the Assiniboine and Dakota tribes, who historically created such effigies to contact the spirits of those animals.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7664" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7664

Grand Teton NP - Grand Teton NP has become the first park to earn National Weather Service status as ready for severe storms under the StormReady program.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7665" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7665

Glen Canyon NRA - The Castle Rock Cut, a boat passage linking Wahweap and Warm Creek Bays, has been opened to boat travel. The NPS recently completed an excavation of the cut that increased the depth by about eight feet.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7666" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7666

Office of Public Affairs - Several National Park Service employees were recognized for outstanding achievements at the annual Department of the Interior Honor Awards Convocation held on May 6th.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2341" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2341

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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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