NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, June 5, 2009
INCIDENTS
Buffalo NR
Military Helicopter Crashes In Park
An Arkansas Air National Guard helicopter experienced a mechanical failure, lost power, and auto-rotated into the Buffalo River at Buffalo Point yesterday afternoon. The three crewmembers were able to reach shore without assistance; two were hospitalized, one sustaining serious injury in the crash. The National Park Service, Arkansas State Police, Marion County Sheriff's Office, and Ralph Caney Fire Department were on scene within minutes of the crash. There is little potential for a fuel spill since the chopper was equipped with a self-sealing fuel system. The river from the Highway 14 bridge to Buffalo Point is closed to river traffic. The gravel bar and parking lot at Buffalo Point are closed until further notice. The UH-58 helicopter was on a routine mission between Clinton and the Flippin Airport for Twentieth Judicial Task Force, National Park Service, and Arkansas State Police when the incident occurred. [Caven Clark]
Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs
Illegal Marijuana Plantation Raided
On Wednesday, May 27th, an NPS special agent, numerous protection rangers from Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Hawaii Volcanoes, and Yosemite National Parks, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents, and California Department of Fish and Game wardens raided a marijuana grow site inside the southwestern boundary of Sequoia National Park. Due to the extremely steep, brushy terrain, lack of helicopter landing sites, lack of trails and access points, high daytime temperatures, and other safety and security concerns, rangers employed helicopter short-haul techniques to access the site. A tactical team, including a canine unit, was flown to an insertion site near the grow site. While a second team of rangers was being inserted into an opening in the vegetation some distance away, the first rangers spotted a man near the short-haul insertion site and took him into custody. He was linked to the marijuana patch and a firearm, flown out in a litter with a law enforcement attendant, and subsequently charged with several felonies. More than 2,400 plants were removed from the site, each valued at about $4,000. A Customs and Border Protection Blackhawk helicopter and crew took part in the operation, and also played a vital role in finding additional grow sites in the area. ICS was used to manage the incident. [Kevin Hendricks, Chief Ranger]
United States Park Police
Crew Of Eagle 1 Save Fisherman From Certain Death
Two men were fishing on the Occoquan River in northern Virginia when the motor on their boat failed. The boat began drifting toward the downstream Occoquan River Dam, which has a 72-foot drop, so the men abandoned it before it was swept over, grabbing onto a pole affixed to the top of the dam. The Prince William County Fire Department asked the Park Police for assistance with a hoist rescue, and Eagle 1 responded with a crew of four - pilot Kevin Chittick, co-pilot Ken Burchell, and rescue technicians Mark Varanelli and David Hurley. One fisherman was pulled to the shore by a Fairfax Police Department helicopter; the second fisherman was only a few feet from being swept over the dam when the USPP officers hoisted him onboard Eagle 1. According to rescuers familiar with the dam, a plunge down the dam face would have been “definitely fatal.” [Sergeant David Schlosser, Public Information Officer]
Grand Canyon NP
Woman Rescued After Fall Into Canyon
Yesterday afternoon, rangers rescued a 38-year-old woman who fell from the rim near Mather Point, sustaining non-life-threatening injuries. Park dispatch received two separate 911 calls from visitors reporting the fall around 4 p.m. Responding rangers found the woman about 50 feet below the rim a quarter mile west of Mather Point and rappelled down to her. She was then put into a litter and brought to the rim using a rope haul system. She was then flown to Flagstaff Medical Center for treatment of her injuries. [Shannan Marcak, Public Information Specialist]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
Saratoga NHP - Saratoga National Historical Park this week unveiled its newest display - a painstakingly researched and constructed overview model of Saratoga Battlefield put together by a man who was first inspired by the park's story as a visiting fifth-grader in the 1960s.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7775" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7775
Environmental Quality Division - Patrick Walsh has been selected as the new chief of EQD's Environmental Planning and Compliance Branch. He is expected to start work at EQD's Lakewood office on June 8th. Photo.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2373" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2373
Petrified Forest NP - Barbara Bean, administrative officer at Petrified Forest National Park, has announced her retirement, effective June 1st, after 37 years with the National Park Service.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2370" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2370
Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by the NPS and its partners across the nation. Added this week are the following - a change in the closing date for applications to the IPM course set for July in Nebraska, an on-line NPS Fundamentals course of study, and four fall offerings of FLETC's archeological resource protection training course.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=1774" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=1774
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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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