NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
INCIDENTS
Yukon-Charley Rivers NP&P
Yukon River Flooding Subsides
Flooding has subsided in Eagle, a town of 100 people just south of Yukon-Charley Rivers NP and home to NPS employees and the park's administrative office. When breakup began on the Yukon River on May 18th, ice jams caused flooding to the historic town. As of May 21st, ice remains jam-packed between Belle Isle and Eagle and huge chunks of ice, nearly 30 feet thick, sit on the shore. Efforts to reopen the road to Eagle Village were underway yesterday afternoon, with crews employing heavy equipment to clear a path through debris. Residents are aware of and prepared for a surge of water that is headed towards Eagle from the breakup of the Stewart River in Canada and big chunks of ice from the Fortymile River. For more information, see the HYPERLINK "https://www.facebook.com/YukonCharleyRiversNPS" Yukon-Charley Rivers Facebook page and the HYPERLINK "https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaNPS" Alaska Region Facebook page. [Morgan Warthin, Regional Wildland Fire Communications & Education Specialist]
Mount Rainier NP
Three Climbers Rescued From Mountain
On the afternoon of Saturday, May 18th, a party of three climbers was ascending Liberty Ridge near the Mount Rainier summit when a small avalanche swept away the lead climber and emplaced fall protection failed. Self-arrest efforts by the group's third member halted the descent of the entire group. Despite the lead climber's sustaining an angulated left lower leg fracture, the three climbers were able to reach the top of Liberty Cap. On the morning of May 19th, they contacted a climbing guide-led party on the summit. Members of that group reported the incident to park dispatch via radio, assisted two of the injured climbers down to Camp Muir, and remained on-site at Liberty Cap with the climber suffering the leg fracture. He was extricated via an aviation-based rescue involving park mountaineering rangers and a Chinook helicopter from the USAR 214th General Services Aviation Battalion and then air transported to Madigan Military Hospital at Joint Base Lewis McChord. A simultaneous ground-based rescue of the two other members of the party was also necessary. This portion of the operation involved four Mount Rainier rangers sledding one of the patients with significant frostbite injuries down from Camp Muir to the Paradise parking area in an Ajkia litter. This patient was then transported by NPS ambulance from Paradise, transferred outside the park to a mutual aid Pierce County ambulance, and ultimately taken to Harbor View Hospital in Seattle. The third member of the party, who had only minor exposure-related complaints, was ambulatory and successfully walked out with the ground litter team and ultimately was released against medical advice. The incident was managed under a Type 4 ICS structure. [Patti Wold, Public Information Officer]
New River Gorge NR
Woman Struck And Killed By Train
On Monday afternoon, an unidentified homeless woman was walking along the CSX mainline railroad tracks in New River Gorge National River when she was struck by a freight train and killed. The initial investigation revealed that she had her head covered by a blanket during a heavy rain storm as she walked along the tracks. Engineers sounded horns on the train and attempted to brake, but she did not react in time to avoid being struck by a portion of the lead locomotive. Rangers are working to identify the woman and are conducting a joint investigation into the accident with CSX detectives. [Jeff West, Chief 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/):
Channel Islands NP - During a five-year period in the 1990s, island fox populations on the northern Channel Islands declined by over 90 percent due to predation by golden eagles. Today, biologists believe this once highly endangered species is on the cusp of meeting the criteria for delisting.
Shiloh NMP - Shiloh National Military Park's interpretive film, “Shiloh - Fiery Trial,” was honored with a special jury award (first place) at this year's Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival.
Midwest Region - The 2013 Midwest Region Partnership Awards were recently announced. The awards recognize successful community and interagency partnerships both within and beyond park boundaries.
Northeast Region - Christine Arato, who is currently the Servicewide program coordinator for the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 Commemoration, has been hired as Northeast Region's regional historian.
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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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