NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

INCIDENTS

Death Valley NP

Investigation Underway Into Shots Fired At Security Guard

Rangers were dispatched to the Furnace Creek Ranch Resort just after 3 a.m. on September 9th to investigate a report of shots fired. The ranch is a large resort complex managed by Xanterra Corporation and is a private inholding within the park. Rangers regularly respond to the full range of emergencies there based on an agreement with Xanterra Resorts and the Inyo County Sheriff's Office. Four rangers and a resident California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer responded and met a Xanterra security guard at the scene. The guard said that he'd just entered the Furnace Creek firehouse to get a drink and use the restroom when he noticed a light on in the security and fire manager's office and saw a man emerged wearing a Nomex fire shroud covering his face. When confronted, the man told him that he was there to "steal some crap and sell it for his family." The man then produced and brandished a handgun. The guard said that he told the man to take what he wanted and that he would not try to stop him (the guard was not armed, per company policy), then started to back out of the building. The burglar left the building, using a side door without taking anything. The guard waited a few seconds, then left the building using the same door, reaching for the portable radio on his belt as he did so. As he approached the front of the building, he saw the burglar, who turned and fired three shots at him. The guard retreated back into the firehouse and called the front desk to request help. Two of the shots entered the firehouse and an adjacent building. One of the rounds went through and flattened a tire on the Xanterra security vehicle that the guard had been driving. The responding rangers secured the crime scene and awaited the arrival of Inyo County officers, who have primary jurisdiction on incidents of this type. The first deputy arrived on scene 45 minutes later. By 6 a.m., additional deputies, a county detective and a crime scene technician had arrived along with a second CHP officer. At daybreak, a CHP airplane arrived and began flying transects over the Furnace Creek developed area and surrounding mesquite bosques. Chief Ranger Brent Pennington also arrived on scene. After Pennington made the required notifications, Lake Mead Special Agent Mike Blandford was assigned to assist. Back at the ranch, it was discovered that bolt cutters had been used to cut the lock on a compound securing golf carts next to the pro shop and that six old car batteries had been placed there while six new interstate batteries were removed and possibly stolen. It's not known at present whether this incident is related to the one at the firehouse. Rangers and officers established a large perimeter, which included most of the Furnace Creek developed area. Before dawn, rangers cleared and evacuated about 30 campers from the Furnace Creek Campground. The Furnace Creek visitor center and headquarters complex was also cleared and evacuated. Non-involved NPS employees worked from the Cow Creek offices for virtually the entire day. A checkpoint was established at the entrance to Furnace Creek Ranch. No vehicles were allowed to enter and all departing vehicles were checked and searched. At 9 a.m., Xanterra management decided to open all their facilities for normal business. Based on recommendations from her senior protection division staff, the superintendent decided to keep the visitor center and headquarters complex closed while there was any chance that an armed individual remained in the area. Responding officers investigated several reported sightings of a man matching the suspect's description, but the reports were either unfounded or the potential suspect had left the area prior to the officers' arrival. By mid-afternoon, the perimeter was withdrawn and only the immediate crime scene remained secured. All but two officers had cleared the scene by 4 p.m. Blandford arrived on scene at about this time and was briefed on the incident. He stayed overnight at the Furnace Creek Ranch in case anything else transpired. All other rangers were demobilized by 5 p.m. The case remains under investigation by the county sheriff's office, but at this time there have been no arrests and no suspects have been identified. [Brent Pennington, Chief Ranger]

Yosemite NP

Lost Backpacker Found After Multi-Day Search

On Saturday, September 4th, a group of backpackers from southern California began a backpacking trip in the Tuolumne Meadows area. The group's plan was to hike for three days and come out of the backcountry on Tuesday, September 7th. All members of the group were experienced backpackers. M.A., a member of the group, decided to stay in the backcountry for another night because he wanted to take a day hike to Grand Mountain. He planned to finish his trip on Wednesday. When M.A. did not rejoin the rest of the group on the 8th, his fellow hikers contacted park dispatch. A hasty search was initiated that afternoon, but Yosemite rangers were unable to locate M.A.. On Thursday, the park launched a more extensive search, concentrating on the area in which M.A. intended to hike. During this time, M.A. realized that he had lost the trail and began hiking towards what he believed to be a ridge near Halfmoon Meadow. After 11 hours of hiking, M.A. hiked further into the backcountry towards the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne along the Cathedral Creek Drainage, an extremely rugged area of the park. M.A. realized he was lost and began self-survival procedures by rationing his food and water supply. After observing a helicopter over the area he was in, he realized that rangers were searching for him. He placed a green tarp on the ground with large white rocks spelling out “SOS”. He also lit a fire to alert rangers of his location. During midday on Saturday, September 11th, rangers spotted the “SOS” message from the helicopter. It landed and picked up M.A. and flew him to Tuolumne Meadows. He was found to be unhurt and in good shape. [Kari Cobb, Public Affairs Officer]

Gulf Coast Parks

Cleanup Operations Continue At Gulf Islands

Horn Island, in the Mississippi District of Gulf Islands National Seashore, has been having lots of visitors despite the presence of oiled debris onshore. Last week's visitors included a VIP tour, hosted by BP to introduce Mike Utsler, BP's new unified area command lead representative, to the island. Accompanying Utsler were other BP officials, the directors of the Mississippi Departments of Marine Resources and Environmental Quality, members of the media, and the chief operating officer of U.S. Environmental Services, an environmental contracting firm. This group was impressed with the cleanup efforts, while others have expressed concern that the oil is still there. Cleanup work on Horn Island, like other resource management activities, was restricted until bird nesting season was over at the end of August. Other operational constraints were related to safety and logistics. Infrastructure for transportation, communications, and managing environmental exposure had to be put in place to handle the needs of the crews before they were put to work. Temporary facilities for cleanup sites at Horn Island and the other barrier islands include hard-sided storm and heat-relief shelters, lightning arrestors, and new, temporary docks using anchored barges. These facilities have made it possible to increase the number of cleanup crews on all the Gulf Islands. The status of both Horn and Petit Bois Islands as designated wilderness areas would typically limit the use of mechanized equipment, so the park superintendent had to evaluate what was best for the resource. Superintendent Dan Brown used his authority to make an exception, in this unprecedented case, to use mechanized equipment on the wilderness islands. For the last several days, there have been crews of 200 to 300 workers with up to nine resource advisors involved in cleanup operations during the day. At night, up to five beach tech sand sifting machines have been used with resource advisors and wildlife techs monitoring the operation to ensure protection of natural and cultural resources. Butch Farabee, the deputy branch director for sensitive lands, who visited Horn Island on Saturday, found conditions there to be "better than expected." Butch is a retired NPS park ranger, whose experience with oil spills includes his time as superintendent of Padre Island National Seashore.

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.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.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm" NPS Oil Spill Response

HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/" National Oil Spill Response

HYPERLINK "http://www.restorethegulf.gov/" Restore The Gulf

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

[Jennifer Chapman, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]

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/):

Office of Public Affairs - The National Park Service is partnering with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to hold naturalization ceremonies in more than 20 national parks between September 13th and 24th.

Lake Mead NRA - The National Park Foundation awarded a $14,000 grant to Lake Mead National Recreation Area to fund additional research and documentation of the B-29 Superfortress submerged in Lake Mead. Photo.

Petrified Forest NP - Rose Cortez has been selected as Petrified Forest's new facility manager. Photo

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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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