NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

INCIDENTS

East Coast Parks

Hurricane Earl Bears Down On Carolina Coast

Hurricane Earl, now a Category 4 storm, continues on its northwestward track toward the Carolinas, and parks in its projected path are in the midst of making all necessary preparations. Reports have also been received from Caribbean parks affected by the hurricane. Here's today's summary:

Outer Banks Group (Cape Hatteras, Fort Raleigh, Wright Brothers) - The hurricane is forecast to begin affecting the Outer Banks tomorrow, with storm conditions continuing through Friday. In anticipation of Earl's arrival, the Ocracoke Visitor Center will close at noon today and the Hatteras Island, Bodie Island, Wright Brothers and Fort Raleigh Visitor Centers will close at 5:00 p.m. The Ocracoke, Frisco, Cape Point and Oregon Inlet Campgrounds will close at oon. The Ocracoke Campground reservation system has been temporarily suspended. The last climb for the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse will be at 2:00 p.m. today and the lighthouse will close at 3:00 p.m. By Thursday, expected ocean overwash and rough surf conditions will create unsafe conditions on seashore beaches and off-road vehicle use will be prohibited until safe conditions allow for this recreational activity.

Cape Lookout NS - The park has implemented its hurricane evacuation plan. A hurricane hotline has been established through the NPS EICC at Shenandoah and employees have been advised to utilize it in case of an emergency. Only day use passengers were allowed on ferries to the islands yesterday, and all visitors with vehicles and/or those staying overnight will be evacuated by noon today. Day use visitors will be evacuated by 5:00 p.m. The park will be closing to all visitor use from 5:00 p.m. until further notice. Depending on the timing of the hurricane's arrival, the park plans to do post-hurricane assessment on Friday and will open once it is determined to be safe to do so. The park has been in contact several times with Denver Ingram, Southeast Region meteorologist, and he has been extremely helpful and insightful.

Christiansted NHS - All employees have been contacted and are doing well. The park is currently conducting a damage assessment. All window and door shutters will remain closed and most computers will remain shutoff and secured in preparation for Tropical Storm Fiona. The islands are expected to feel the effects of Fiona by this afternoon. Although Fiona is expected to pass approximately 150 miles from St. Croix, the park remains cautious. The park's incident team will meet again with staff this morning to determine future actions. Some parts of the island still remain without electricity and there are a few downed trees, but the island overall is in good shape in comparison with nearby islands.

Virgin Islands NP - Park structures appear to be intact, though some are covered by downed trees. The park is without power and under curfew. At Lind Point, satellite dishes are broken off, trees uprooted, and gutters damaged, but windows and roofs seem to be okay. There are trees down in the maintenance area, but it is accessible. The gravel roads to all visitor facilities and north shore road remain closed due to downed trees. All visitor facilities and historic sites remain closed. All park trails are blocked by downed trees. The park boats are in good shape - both the two in the water and the ones on trailers at the seaplane ramp. The park has heard from four employees on St. Thomas; they all made it through the storm okay but are without power. All of St. John is without power and generators are still operating. The park will remain closed for a few days.

[Cyndy Holda and Paul Stevens, CAHA; Barry Munyan, CALO; Elizabeth Centeneo, CHRI; Mark Hardgrove, VIIS; Mark Ruggiero, SERO]

Katmai NP&P

CISM Team Provides Support In Missing Plane Search

The search for the plane with three NPS employees and a pilot aboard that's been missing since August 21st will enter its twelfth day today, with no sign of it yet found. In support of the search efforts at Katmai, a team of critical incident stress management (CISM) peers has been brought in to assist the incident management team and the park's staff. A team of seven employees from parks around the country responded to the incident. Chuck Carlson from St. Croix NSR is the current team leader. Other team members have included Heather Stephens from Olympic NP, Elizabeth Maki from Grand Teton NP, Randy Scoggins from Chickasaw NRA and Chris Fraser from Chickamauga & Chattanooga NMP. The team has met with family members and numerous NPS and concession employees at both King Salmon and Brooks Camp. The CISM team has been joined by family liaisons Erica Francis from Glacier Bay and Liz Yee from Grand Canyon. Family liaisons assure that there is a connection between the family and the incident. Nationally, CISM has about 75 participants who are trained in peer to peer support. For more information on the search, 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. [Erica Francis]

Lake Mead NRA

Man Drowns In Lake Mohave

A 20-year-old Las Vegas man died yesterday at Six Mile Cove on Lake Mohave, an apparent drowning victim. Witnesses reported that he had been underwater at least five minutes before they noticed he was missing. It took bystanders about another five minutes to locate the man underwater and pull him to shore, where they began CPR. The park was notified at about 12:20 p.m. when a visitor alerted a maintenance employee in the area that they needed help. Park rangers and Clark County Fire Department and Mercy Air personnel responded. Rangers were on scene by 12:40 p.m., and continued CPR. The man was declared dead about an hour later. This was the fifth drowning in August and the eighth drowning this year in the recreation area. In all cases witnesses didn't suspect or notice the victims had drowned until at least five minutes after they went underwater. Water safety experts say a person can drown in seconds in as little as a teaspoon of water. Drowning victims typically slip underwater unnoticed. They don't splash or yell for help because their survival instinct is to hold their breath. Last year there were 14 water-related fatalities in the park; of those, 12 were drownings. [Andrew S. Muñoz, 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/):

Women's Rights NHP - On Saturday, August 28th, 2010, the park hosted a series of special programs to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Photo.

Grand Teton NP - Grand Teton National Park was honored to host Shelton Johnson—Yosemite National Park ranger and acclaimed raconteur—for several public events in late August. Photo.

C&O Canal NHP - Michael Seibert has been selected as the park's new chief of maintenance. 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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