NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

INCIDENTS

Katmai NP&P

Air Search For Missing Plane Continues

Searchers have flown over 41,000 flight miles to date in the search for a missing floatplane carrying National Park Service employees Mason McLeod, 26, Neal Spradlin, 28, and Seth Spradlin, 20, and pilot Marco Alletto. The plane has been missing since August 21st. Improved weather over the past several days has allowed aircraft to cover some remaining search areas and to search some areas again. No sign of the plane or passengers has yet been reported. Aircraft travelling in the area of the search should be aware of increased air traffic in the area due to search operations. Dedicated and contracted Department of Interior aircraft, along with volunteer aircraft and aircraft from the Alaska Air National Guard, US Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and Alaska State Troopers have participated in the search. The multi-agency effort includes the National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska Fire Service, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of the Interior Aviation Management Directorate, Federal Aviation Administration, and National Transportation Safety Board, as well as local air taxi operators and others. As in all park operations, the safety of searchers and the public is the top priority. Inclement weather, limited visibility, and rough and varied terrain throughout the 14,000 square mile search area contribute to the complexity of the search. Anyone who was monitoring radio traffic or heard a signal from an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) on 121.5 MHz between August 21 and today around the Katmai/Kodiak area is asked to contact Park Dispatch at 907-246-3305. Additionally, visitors and staff who were in the Katmai/Kenai area during that time period are asked to contact authorities whether or not they saw any evidence of an aircraft. Doing so can help determine where searchers should focus their efforts. For more information, please visit the HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/katm/parknews/newsreleases.htm" park website for updated information. A 3-dimensional map of the park is available at HYPERLINK "http://www.shadedrelief.com/tom/katm_pano.jpg" this website. [Adrienne Freeman, Kathleen Kavalok]

East Coast Parks

Hurricane Earl Heads North

Hurricane Earl passed over the eastern Caribbean yesterday and is at present headed toward the Carolinas. Here's a summary of reports received yesterday:

Virgin Islands NP - Heavy rain and strong winds struck the park early yesterday, knocking down numerous large trees. The park remained closed, with all public buildings and park houses closed up. Hurricane shutters will remain in place until it's determined where and when Tropical Storm Fiona, following in Hurricane Earl's wake, will hit. Cleanup operations and a damage assessment will begin today.

Christiansted NHS - At the time of the report (early Monday), the park was receiving some wind and rain, but the most consequential impacts were expected in the afternoon.

San Juan NHS - Heavy rain and winds were reported on Monday morning. The park was secured prior to the hurricane's arrival and all staff were released. Current plans are to reopen on Wednesday.

Outer Banks Group - The superintendent has issued a delegation of authority and put ICS into place (Paul Stevens, IC) for the three parks in the group - Cape Hatteras NS, Wright Brothers NM and Fort Raleigh NHS - due to the expected arrival of the hurricane by week's end.

Additional updates will be posted in tomorrow's edition. [Mark Hardgrove, VIIS; Aleta Knight, SAJU; Elizabeth Centeneo, CHRI; Paul Stevens, CAHA; Mark Ruggiero, SERO]

Grand Teton NP

Injured Climber Evacuated From Valhalla Traverse

Rangers received a call for help from an injured climber on the Valhalla Traverse on the Grand Teton last Thursday afternoon. A 29-year-old woman from Jackson, Wyoming, was traversing across snow and ice at that location when she slipped and fell 30 feet. She and her climbing partner were planning to do a one-day trip up the Enclosure Couloir (12,000 feet) on the northwest side of the Grand Teton. Both climbers were using ropes while crossing the Valhalla Traverse, and both have extensive climbing experience in the Teton Range. Three rangers were flown from Lupine Meadows to the Lower Saddle at 12:40 p.m. to meet up with two other rangers who were already on patrol at the Lower Saddle. From there, two of the rangers were short-hauled below the helicopter and delivered to a spot near the accident site. One ranger hiked to the injured climber and reached her at about 2:30 p.m. The ranger provided emergency medical care before preparing her for aerial evacuation. She was flown to the Lower Saddle via short-haul, then placed inside the helicopter for the flight down to Lupine Meadows, where a park ambulance was waiting to transport her to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson. [Jackie Skaggs, 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/):

Learning and Development Division - Applications are now being accepted for the 2011 Albright-Wirth Grant program. They must be submitted by October 22nd.

Intermountain Region - The annual NPS Founder's Day employee picnic held by Intermountain Regional Office and Denver Service Center became a “zero waste” event this year, reducing nearly 100 percent of the usual stream of trash through recycling, reuse and composting. Photo.

Midwest Region - Brianne Billups, the first recipient of the National Park Services' new “Our World Underwater” scholarship, is engaged in projects at Isle Royale and Saint Croix this summer. 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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