NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, December 11, 2009

INCIDENTS

Bryce Canyon NP

Park Firefighters Provide Mutual Aid At Local Sawmill Fire

On December 8th, park structural firefighters assisted in the suppression of a blaze at a sawmill in nearby Escalante. When Escalante VFD firefighters reached the scene of the blaze, they discovered that the dry kiln building was fully involved and asked for support from all fire departments in Garfield County. The park sent its Type 1 engine with certified firefighters from its visitor and resource protection and resource management divisions. The park engine supported a defensive operation and drafted from a dip tank supplied by a pumper relay that included several tenders from various parts of the county, two other Type I engines, and a USFS Type III engine staffed by BLM employees. The dry kiln building was a complete loss, but the control building, located just two feet from the kiln building housing all the controls, furnaces and mechanical equipment, suffered almost no damage. The Escalante Sawmill is the biggest employer in Escalante. [Mark Hnat, Deputy Chief Ranger]

Natchez Trace Parkway

Fatal Fall From Highway 96 Bridge Deemed Probable Suicide

The body of a 51-year-old Nashville woman was found below the Highway 96 bridge on Monday, December 7th. She evidently jumped from the 155-foot-high bridge late Monday afternoon. Rangers, assisted by an NPS special agent and Williamson County detectives, are investigating the case. [Terry Wildy, Acting Chief of Interpretation]

OTHER NEWS

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

National Park Service Partners - An address by Director Jarvis was one of the highlights of the Association of National Park Rangers' week-long Ranger Rendezvous, which concluded in Gettysburg yesterday morning.

Chief Information Officer - The Web Content Services Team is hosting a servicewide call next Thursday to discuss plans for NPS.gov, InsideNPS and social media.

Organ Pipe Cactus NM - On Wednesday, December 2nd, Organ Pipe rangers held an introduction to tactical combat casualty care class at the Lukeville Port of Entry. Photo.

Lincoln Home NHS - On January 1st, Lincoln Home NHS superintendent James A. "Jim" Sanders will hang up his Stetson for the last time after serving nearly 44 years with the U.S. government.

Servicewide Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by the NPS and its partners across the nation. Added to this week's listing are an NREMT basic refresher at Mesa Verde, two ARPA training classes (one at Glen Canyon and the other at Hawaii Volcanoes), and two other FLETC training classes.

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/

* * * * *

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).

--- ### ---