NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, August 26, 2010
INCIDENTS
Katmai NP&P
Major Air Search For Missing Plane Continues
The search for a missing aircraft continued yesterday. There have been no radio or emergency locator transmitter transmissions to date. The NPS Alaska Incident Management Team, lead by incident commander Richard Moore, is assisting Katmai National Park by managing the search efforts for the missing aircraft and the persons on board. On Wednesday, aerial efforts to locate the plane and missing employees moved to a grid pattern. Initial operations were driven by topography and the need to follow all routes of highest probability for the flight path of the missing plane. Searchers focused on all recognized low elevation passes, both to the north and south. Operations have now moved to a broader saturation model, based on a grid defined by air miles rather than terrain. This methodical path of using a grid system is based on the same method used by the Civil Air Patrol and will cover all areas regardless of geographical features. The Coast Guard continues to search the coast and the Civil Air Patrol is working on the northern search areas. The single engine floatplane, a deHavilland Beaver operated by Branch River Air Service in King Salmon, carried the pilot and three National Park Service maintenance employees and has been missing since Saturday afternoon. The missing employees are HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/katm/parknews/katmai-missing-plane-employees.htm" Mason McLeod, 26, and brothers Neal Spradlin, 28, and Seth Spradlin, 20. The pilot is Marco Alletto, 47, from King Salmon. [John Quinley, Public Affairs Officer, Alaska Region]
Denali NP&P
Missing Hiker Reappears At Toklat Road Camp
Just after noon yesterday, J.M. of Jasper, Georgia, the object of an intensive multi-day search effort, walked into the Toklat Road Camp with some hikers he had encountered earlier in the day. He was cold and tired, but uninjured. The road camp is located at Mile 53 on the Denali Park Road. It is a seasonal housing facility for approximately 40 people. The employees at the camp warmed him up, got him something to eat, and then transported him to park headquarters. Rangers working on the search will interview J.M. to find out what took place since he left the Eielson Visitor Center Sunday morning. The National Park Service wishes to thank everyone who contributed their efforts to this search. [Kris Fister, Public Affairs Officer]
Hagerman Fossil Beds NM
Park Closed Due To Wildfire Impacts
The park has been closed to the public until further notice due to visitor safety and resources management concerns stemming from the 327,852-acre Long Butte Fire. The fire was sparked by a lightning strike 35 miles south of Glenns Ferry on Saturday, August 21st. A Type 2 IMT is managing suppression operations. “Safety is our number one priority,” said Superintendent Wendy Janssen. “The fire has burned at least 75% of the monument's 4,351 acres and caused numerous threats to visitor safety - several downed power lines, still smoldering ‘hot spots,' and damaged trails, to name but a few.” The monument's paleontology, cultural resources management, and maintenance staffs, assisted by other National Park Service staff from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise and the Pacific West Regional Offices in Oakland and Seattle, have begun to assess the various safety risks, resource impacts, and damage to infrastructure. According to a preliminary assessment, the fire spared the Hagerman Horse Quarry, a National Natural Landmark and one of the six most important sites in the world regarding the fossil history of the horse. Other paleontological sites and sections of the Oregon Trail were burned, and until visitor safety and resource protection can be assured, the monument will remain closed. “We are working to reopen sections of the monument as soon as possible, once we have addressed these concerns, based upon proper risk analyses and sound science,” said Janssen. The monument's visitor center, with exhibits, an introductory film, information and bookstore, remains open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The visitor center is located in downtown Hagerman. [Brannon Ketcham, Acting Assistant Regional Director, Public Affairs, PWRO]
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/):
Rocky Mountain NP - Interpreters at Rocky Mountain have developed several innovative and entertaining programs to educate visitors about the pine bark beetle, which has killed thousands of pine trees in the park and left behind mountainsides covered with dead trees.
Risk Management Division - Two Lake Roosevelt rangers narrowly averted a tragic accident when they lost the hydraulic steering control of their Boston Whaler on August 7th. Information is provided on the cause of the accident, including an illustration. Photo.
Intermountain Region - The employees of Fort Union National Monument and the nearby town of Watrous have been saddened by the sudden and unexpected loss of Max "Brother" Gallegos, Jr., who passed away at his home last Sunday morning.
Delaware Water Gap NRA - Diane and Paul Kimsey have announced that they are retiring on September 3rd after a combined 72 years of service at Delaware Water Gap NRA. During their careers, they have worked for all but one of the park's seven superintendents, six out of seven administrative officers, and seven maintenance chiefs. Photo.
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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