NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, July 16, 2010
INCIDENTS
Gulf Coast Parks
Hundreds Work To Remove Oil From Beaches
Crews totaling several hundred people continued removing oil products from locations throughout the Mississippi and Florida Districts at Gulf Islands yesterday. Here are the details:
Gulf Islands NS - A 35-person cleanup crew worked the east side of Cat Island, while a SCAT team surveyed the east end and another surveyed the southwest portion of the island. Assessment teams are evaluating methods to clean up an oil mat in a marsh area. Cleanup crews worked about three-quarters of a mile east of the lifeguard station on West Ship Island. They have invented a tool made with deep fryer dippers that eliminates most of the sand that those with shovels pick up. According to the workers and their supervisors, the bags contained about 60% sand when using regular shovels, but with the new tools it is nearly 95% tar and oil. Cleanup of existing tar balls continues, but no new oil was observed on the island's south shore. A 130-person cleanup crew worked the south side of Horn Island, and a 40-person cleanup crew worked on the south side of Petite Bois Island - a particularly heavily oiled area. No new oil was reported on beaches in the Florida District. In the Opal Beach/Santa Rosa area, efforts were directed at three lots and Opal Beach. About 100 people were working those locations. In the Johnson Beach/Perdido Key area, crews cleaned areas up to access point K and prepared for operations further to the east. In the Fort Pickens area, crews worked along the eastern boundary and at two lots, Langdon and the point. On July 14th, 2,000 bags of oil were removed by crews totaling 257 people.
South Florida Parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, Desoto, Dry Tortugas, Everglades) - No new developments.
Jean Lafitte NHP&P - No new developments.
Padre Island NS - No new developments.
For more information on the NPS, DOI and national oil spill responses and for a link to the BP online oil spill safety training needed by all incident staff, please see the following sites:
HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm" NPS Oil Spill Response
HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/" Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response
HYPERLINK "http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/index.cfm" DOI Oil Spill Response
HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/" National Oil Spill Response
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Conferences&id=1957" Oil Spill Safety Training
HYPERLINK "http://www.geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/" GeoPlatform
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=1006&id=9336" NPS ICS 209 Incident Status Summaries
HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/documents/NPS%20-%20Public%20Health%20Notice%20SIGNAGE%206-26-10.pdf" Gulf Islands Public Health Precautions Notice
HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/archive/features/oilspillresponse/OilSpillSafety/index.htm" Public Health Service Oil Spill Safety Video
HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/archive/features/oilspillresponse/" Oil Spill Media Page
[Andy L. Fisher, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]
North Cascades NP
Injured Climber Evacuated From Black Peak
Early on July 6th, rangers were alerted to an injured climber on the northeast ridge of Black Peak. Two Seattle men had attempted a one-day ascent of the peak on July 5th. When they were HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simul_climbing" simul-climbing 200 feet from the summit, the lead climber fell approximately 45 feet before his protection caught him. The 28-year-old lost consciousness for 20 minutes following the accident. After regaining consciousness, the pair rappelled much of the route despite injuries that included facial trauma, a possible wrist fracture, multiple lacerations, and chest pain. Eventually the climbers bivouacked for the night and the uninjured man continued solo at dawn to seek help. Four rangers responded with the park's contracted helicopter. A medical helicopter from Airlift Northwest also responded to the selected staging site on a flat snow slope. The injured climber was located, packaged, and short-hauled from the peak to the staging site, where rangers transferred him to the medical crew. He was flown directly to Harborview Trauma Center in Seattle. [Kelly Bush, Wilderness District Ranger]
Yellowstone NP
One Dead, One Injured In Head-On Accident
A Minnesota man is dead and a young girl hospitalized after a head-on accident in the park on Wednesday afternoon. D.P., Jr., 42, was northbound between Norris and Mammoth Hot Springs around 2 p.m. when his motorcycle crossed the centerline near the Grizzly Lake trailhead. D.P.'s 2000 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic motorcycle collided head-on with a southbound motor home, killing him instantly. A young girl who was riding in a sidecar attached to the motorcycle was thrown clear by the impact and injured. She was taken by an Air Idaho Rescue helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, where she was last reported in stable condition. Investigators are still trying to determine if D.P. was wearing a helmet that was found at the scene. The injured girl was wearing a helmet. This is the second fatal motorcycle accident in the park this summer. [Al Nash, Public Affairs Officer]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):
Paleontology Program - Junior Paleontologist Program activity booklets and badges are being distributed to several dozen National Park Service units this week. Modeled on the Junior Ranger concept, the Junior Paleontologist Program is designed to focus on fossils throughout the National Park System, rather than highlighting one park.
Natural Resource Program Center - The NPS, along with other federal land management agencies, has been asked to participate in a short survey designed to help improve the communication of bird conservation science to land managers responsible for planning and decision-making. Photo.
Workplace Enrichment - OPM has released the results of the government-wide Employee Viewpoint Survey, including an itemization for DOI. A summary is provided, with links for more information.
Booker T. Washington NM - Eleanor Long, the park's administrative officer, retired on July 2nd with more than 33 years of federal government service.
Denver Service Center - After almost 32 years with the NPS, Nancy Baker will retire on July 31st. Photo.
Training and Conference Calendar - A compilation of upcoming training courses and conferences across the nation. Added to this week's listing are a revised entry for next week's monthly contracting community call and four backcountry tactics and training courses to be held in late winter in New Mexico.
NPS incident submission standards can be found online at the HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" serious incident notification web page.
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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).
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