NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, May 6, 2013
INCIDENTS
Yosemite NP
Injured Hiker Extricated From Top Of Lower Yosemite Fall
On the afternoon of Saturday, April 27th, the park communication center received a transfer call from an injured hiker from the California Highway Patrol. F.C. reported that he was at the base of a waterfall in between some boulders and that he was badly injured and couldn't walk. F.C. couldn't identify his location, say how he'd become injured, or advise the location of the group he was with. Rangers were dispatched to the bases of Lower Yosemite, Bridalveil, Nevada and Cascade Falls to search for F.C. and other rangers were placed on standby to search other park waterfalls if necessary. Rangers found F.C.' hiking group within about an hour and learned that they'd hiked the Upper Yosemite Fall Trail and that F.C. had become separated from the group along the trail between the bottom of Upper Yosemite Fall and top of Lower Yosemite Fall. Hasty teams were sent up the Upper Yosemite Fall Trail and to Sunnyside Bench (on the opposite side of the river) to search for F.C.. A helicopter was ordered as a search platform and for a possible hoist mission. California Highway Patrol helicopter H-20 from Auburn, California, arrived around 5 p.m. and began an air reconnaissance of the area. The crew spotted F.C. on a ledge near the top of Lower Yosemite Fall after about an hour and successively inserted rangers Aaron Smith and David Pope by hoist to the ledge. The rangers packaged F.C. in a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendrick_Extrication_Device" KED and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokes_basket" Stokes litter. He was hoisted from the ledge, transferred to a medical helicopter at Ahwahnee Meadow, and flown to Doctor's Medical Center in Modesto. H-20 then hoisted the rangers from the ledge. Yosemite Valley District Ranger Jack Hoeflich served as the incident commander. [Jack Hoeflich, District 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/):
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP - One hundred and fifty years ago, Union and Confederate soldiers clashed at Chancellorsville, a remote country crossroads west of Fredericksburg, Virginia. To commemorate that event, the park is sponsoring a multitude of events over a ten-day period that began on May 1st and will conclude on May 10th.
Geologic Resources Division - The Spring 2013 issue of Inside Earth , the cave and karst program newsletter, is now available online. The newsletter is a forum for information and idea exchanges between the National Park Service and the public.
Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the National Park Service. This report covers the week ending on Friday, May 3rd.
Pacific West Region - Scott Tucker has been selected as the new superintendent of Lewis and Clark NHP. He replaces David Szymanski, who was recently selected as superintendent of Santa Monica Mountains NRA.
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Guidance on incident notification can be found under the “Hot Topics” heading on InsideNPS or at HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504.
The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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