NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, September 24, 2009

INCIDENTS

Chattahoochee River NRA

Flood Damage Assessments Underway, Many Closures Remain In Effect

The park continues to recover from this week's flood. The Chattahoochee River dropped below flood stage at 6 a.m. yesterday morning and was again fully within its banks by noon. By 9 p.m., it had dropped to its normal level of five feet. Current developments include the following:

The search underway for the missing and presumed drowned 32 year old male was called off when he was located at an evacuation shelter in good condition.

The two park dams were inspected and found to be safe, so Island Ford was reopened at 10 a.m.

Some local roads surrounding the park remain closed due to debris left by high water that covered roadways and bridges. Some of the bridges have been declared unsafe after inspections and will need to be replaced. These bridge closures increase the distance and time necessary to travel between park areas.

River waters contaminated with sewage continue to present a public health issue. Numerous sewer manholes located along the river have been overflowing for the past three days, dumping millions of gallons of raw sewage in to the park. A significant sewer junction located in a major tributary was found to be missing today, washed away by the flood waters. Sewage continues to pour into the tributary and river with no estimated repair date available. The water level is still too high and swift for repair crews to begin any work.

Some sewage treatment plants are still out of service due to flood damage and are dumping untreated sewage directly in to the river. A 25-mile-long segment of the river was posted closed to all use yesterday for public safety reasons after consultation with the US Public Health Service. This closure will likely remain in effect until all sewage can be contained and properly treated.

Damage assessments have begun, but are limited as many areas remain covered by contaminated debris and siltation up to two feet deep in places. Additional damages discovered yesterday included a second automatic fee pay station, boat ramp, gravel roadways washed out, and more downed trees.

A damage assessment team has been requested from the regional office to help speed the evaluation of damages and prepare work plans. A US Public Health Service officer and regional emergency services coordinator will review safe work and cleaning practices with the park staff on Friday morning. The park is assembling teams of employees to begin hiking all 50+ miles of park trails to document damages beginning Friday.

Ten park areas remain closed, with rangers continuing to enforce closures to ensure public safety. These areas will likely remain closed until next week to allow the sewage-contaminated debris to dry and become inert. One closed area was reopened illegally by unknown people and had to be re-secured this evening by rangers. [Scott Pfeninger, Acting Superintendent]

Yellowstone NP

High Speed Vehicle Pursuit Ends In Manhunt And Arrest

During the night of September 4th, a patrol ranger came upon two vehicles blocking the road near the Canyon Junction. On stopping to perform a welfare check, the ranger became suspicious of the occupants' nervous behavior and inappropriate answers to questions, then noticed erratic driving behavior as it drove away. A check of the vehicle's registration revealed that it had been reported stolen in Minnesota. Rangers attempted a felony stop, but the driver sped away when they activated their emergency lights. The subsequent pursuit resulted in the vehicle being disabled through deployment of spike strips and eventually crashing into trees near West Thumb. The passenger, a hitchhiker, immediately surrendered to rangers. The driver, later identified as J.E.R., 43, fled into the woods carrying a machete. Rangers established a perimeter that included the closure of an 18-mile-long section of road. The park's tactical tracking unit, special response team, two special agents, additional rangers, and a search dog were involved in the ensuing manhunt. J.E.R. was captured three hours later as he reentered the roadway. He reported attempting suicide during his escape attempt by hacking at his wrists with his machete. J.E.R. was charged with four felony offenses - transportation of a stolen vehicle, transporting stolen goods, willfully and maliciously attempting to destroy a conveyance, and unlawfully restraining another person and exposing him to serious bodily injury. On September 9th, J.E.R. had an initial appearance before the U.S. magistrate judge in Yellowstone and was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. [David Barland-Liles, Special Agent]

Grand Teton NP

Backcountry Hiker Falls To His Death On Teewinot Mountain

E.K., 24, and J.W., 23, were traversing a steep slope on Teewinot Mountain on the afternoon of September 22nd when E.K. fell and tumbled approximately 300 feet and sustained fatal injuries. Because the two men only intended to hike and scramble, neither was wearing a helmet or carrying climbing gear. The two men arrived in Grand Teton a few days before the accident. After consulting with park rangers about various backcountry hiking and climbing possibilities, they hiked to Delta Lake on Sunday, September 20th, and climbed the Southwest Couloir on Middle Teton on Monday. On Tuesday morning, they parked at the Lupine Meadows trailhead and hiked up a portion of the Apex Trail to reach and explore the east flank of Teewinot. During their excursion, they got off course and onto a more vertical slope than they intended, and E.K. accidentally fell while trying to scramble across technical terrain. After E.K. came to rest, J.W. scrambled down to him and realized that his friend was unconscious, not breathing and without a pulse. J.W. used E.K.'s cell phone to call 911 and the emergency call was transferred to Teton Interagency Dispatch Center. Park rangers summoned the contract helicopter that was already working in the vicinity and used the ship to pinpoint the hikers' location from the air. Rangers determined that no suitable landing spot was available from which they could stage a mountain-based rescue operation, so they conducted a short-haul mission from the park's rescue cache at Lupine Meadows on the valley floor. One ranger with emergency gear was inserted via short-haul into the accident site. Upon arriving, he confirmed that E.K. had died in the fall. A second ranger was inserted with a rescue litter, and the two placed J.W. into an evacuation suit for a short-haul flight to the Lupine Meadows rescue cache. The helicopter then made a second flight to evacuate E.K. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

Amistad NRA

Woman Seriously Injured In Jet Ski Accident

On September 14th, rangers responded to a jet ski accident on the Devils River. Two sisters, ages 60 and 61, were riding jet skis when one turned to look towards a cliff with Indian rock art on it and ran into the other. The rangers arrived to find her still in the water with significant facial injuries. Supervisory park ranger Steve Krisko and ranger Matt Gilbert entered the water to put her on a backboard, while ranger Andrew Sanford maneuvered the patrol boat to load her for transport. She was stabilized and taken by boat to the Rough Canyon boat ramp, where a waiting ambulance took her to the Val Verde County Regional Hospital. [Regina Klein Dissler, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

Minute Man NHP - The park celebrated its 50th anniversary this week with a an opening ceremony featuring re-enactor Minute Man and British units, an address by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, and a rededication ceremony at the North Bridge, site of “the shot heard round the world.”

Glacier NP - Experts from IUCN and UNESCO's World Heritage Centre will make recommendations on long-term protection of the international peace park from external threats.

Northeast Region - John Karish as has been selected as Northeast Region's inventory and monitoring program manager.

To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter): NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index ; non-NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

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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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