NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

INCIDENTS

Grand Teton NP

Stranded Kayakers Rescued From Snake River By Moonlight

Rangers rescued two local kayakers from the Snake River during an operation that took place by moonlight last Thursday night. D.M. and A.M.L. became stranded a half hour after sunset on an island between two channels of the river near the historic Bar BC Ranch after A.M.L. struck a snag, flipped her kayak, and lost it to the current. A search was begun for the pair around 7 p.m. after a call for help came in to the interagency dispatch center. D.M. said that he was unsure of their exact location on the river. That uncertainty, coupled with the late hour, caused rangers to use the headlights from their patrol vehicles in an effort to pinpoint the kayakers' position on the river. In their search for the boaters, two rangers traveled by foot along the riverbank south from Schwabacher's Landing, while two other rangers hiked from Glacier View turnout on Highway 26/89/191 and began searching upstream toward Schwabacher's Landing. Four other rangers drove along a gravel road on the west side of the Snake River. After searching for well over an hour, the rangers eventually found the kayakers and launched a raft to rescue them from the island. The rescue operation concluded about 9:35 p.m. after D.M. and A.M.L. were driven by patrol vehicle from the Bar BC area to Moose Landing. The current flow on the Snake River between Deadman's Bar and Moose Landing is running about 635 cubic feet per second, which means that a river trip requires a significantly longer period of time to complete than during the higher flows of summer and early fall. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

Bryce Canyon NP

Park Staff Deal With Multiple Incidents Over Two Day Period

Park employees and park partners responded to several incidents over the course of a two-day period last week. At 3 a.m. on Monday, October 17th, rangers responded to a report of an assault at the Bryce Canyon Lodge. A concession employee was arrested and transported to the county jail in Panguitch. Later that day, rangers responded to a motorcycle crash on Highway 63, the main road that runs through Bryce Canyon. The motorcycle operator failed to negotiate the first in a series of turns in the highway called “the S curves;” the front wheel of the motorcycle caught the soft shoulder, causing it to tip onto its operator while in motion. The operator was transported to Garfield County Memorial for treatment of multiple injuries. As emergency personnel were returning from the motorcycle accident, they received a report of a lightning strike igniting a tree behind the Bryce View Lodge in Bryce City. The park fire department responded with a structural engine and provided backup for Tropic Volunteer Fire Department. The fire was extinguished shortly after they arrived on scene. On the afternoon of October 18th, rangers responded to a report of a serious motor vehicle collision on Highway 63 in which a visitor had fallen asleep at the wheel and driven off the road. The car crossed the oncoming traffic lane, went onto the shoulder, struck several trees, and hit a park sign. The sign impaled the passenger side windshield, narrowly missing the driver. A park structural engine, Tropic Volunteer Fire Department, and Garfield County Ambulance responded to the scene and used extrication equipment to remove the driver. The visitor was transported to Garfield Memorial Hospital for stabilization and then flown to a hospital in Salt Lake City. Once again, Bryce Canyon emergency personnel would like to thank the dedicated Tropic Volunteer Fire Department and Garfield ambulance personnel who volunteer countless hours of training and applied skills to saving human lives in Garfield County as well as in Bryce Canyon NP. [Tyla F. Guss, Park Ranger]

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/):

United States Park Police - The Anti-Defamation League has conferred two of its Shield Awards on the United States Park Police. Photo.

Ozark NSR - Greg Moss, chief ranger at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, hung up his ranger hat last Friday after 32 years of federal service at parks from Alaska to the Virgin Islands. 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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