NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, July 18, 2013
INCIDENTS
Grand Teton NP
Rangers Make Two Rescues In Two Days From Hanging Canyon
On July 12th, rangers rescued a climber who seriously injured his leg while glissading down a snowfield in Hanging Canyon. L.H. and a companion successfully climbed a feature known as The Jaw in Hanging Canyon on Mount St. John and were on their way down from the climb when L.H. punched through thin snow near a rock and sustained the injury that ultimately prevented him from hiking much further.
L.H. and his climbing partner spent an arduous four hours moving just one mile from the accident site to their backcountry campsite near Ramshead Lake. L.H.'s partner then hiked further down canyon until he reached a point where he could get cell service. The Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received that call for help at 3:45 p.m. L.H.'s partner then hiked further until he could connect with park rangers at Lupine Meadows rescue cache who were making arrangements for a reconnaissance flight to the scene via a Teton interagency contract helicopter.
Although there are limited landing zones within Hanging Canyon, one was located near Ramshead Lake and only 100 yards from the climber's backcountry campsite. Consequently, the helicopter was able to get relatively close for the rescue mission. The contract helicopter carrying two park rangers arrived on scene at 5:45 p.m. L.H. was loaded inside the ship and flown to the Lupine Meadows rescue cache on the valley floor by 6:10 p.m. Hel was then transported by private vehicle to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson.
L.H. and his companion did not carry ice axes during their excursion into Hanging Canyon. While rangers do not believe an ice axe would have necessarily prevented this injury, they recommend that backcountry users carry an ice axe as basic gear and as a safety measure for glissading and/or crossing most snow slopes in the Tetons.
On the evening of Sunday, July 14th, a second rescue was conducted in Hanging Canyon in as many days. A 52-year-old hiker injured his leg and subsequently called for help. Two rangers hiked in to assist the injured man and helped him walk to the Jenny Lake boat dock, where he took a shuttle boat to the east shore and his parked vehicle at South Jenny Lake. The injured hiker then transported himself to medical care.
[Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]
Hot Springs NP
Rangers Deal With Multiple Serious Incidents
Hot Springs National Park rangers responded to numerous incidents during the past two weeks, including the following:
Rangers issued 37 citations and made five driving under the influence arrests. Rangers also assisted local police with a shots fired call and numerous traffic accidents just outside of the park's boundary.
On July 3rd, rangers Noel Rupel and Ryan Howell responded to a reported multi-vehicle accident on West Mountain Drive that involved an injured pedestrian. Their investigation revealed that a 16-year-old inexperienced driver was traveling down the mountain at a high rate of speed and lost control of her vehicle, crashing it into three other vehicles that were parked at an overlook. She also struck a pedestrian who was standing in the overlook, throwing her clear of the area. The driver sustained facial and head trauma and was transported by EMS to a local hospital. The rangers' investigation is continuing.
On July 7th, ranger Stephen Dale was patrolling the area of Black Snake Road when he encountered a man acting suspiciously at the Sunset Trail overlook and determined that he was attempting to hide a syringe. A check on him revealed that he'd been previously arrested by Hot Springs rangers for illegal sexual conduct and drug charges during the past two years and that he had been sentenced to jail time for those charges and banned from the park - but that the ban had ended in March. Dale arrested him for being in the park under the influence of drugs and he was booked into the county jail.
On June 28th, ranger Flint Stock stopped a driver for erratic driving in the area of Gulpha Gorge Road. A routine check on the vehicle indicated that it had been entered into NCIC as stolen. Stock transported the driver to the county jail. The man incriminated himself with statements that he made to the ranger.
On June 29th, rangers were on foot patrol near Bathhouse Row when they saw four motorcycles speeding and racing down Central Avenue. A short time later, the rangers were dispatched to a motorcycle crash on West Mountain. The rangers came upon an injured man and a severely injured woman lying off the road near several large trees. Investigation revealed that the group of motorcycles was speeding down west mountain drive when one of the operators lost control and ran off of the left side of the roadway. The woman hit a tree and suffered head trauma. Both the man and woman were transported to the hospital by EMS. The rangers' investigation into the incident is continuing; charges are pending.
On July 2nd, ranger Ryan Howell parked his patrol car in the vicinity of Bull Bayou and was preparing to walk down to a popular gathering spot next to a nearby creek. Before he did so, he ran the tag number on a parked vehicle. The vehicle came back in NCIC as stolen. Two people in the area were contacted. One had suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in his possession. The suspects were also wanted in NCIC on outstanding arrest warrants. Both were immediately taken into custody. A search of the vehicle revealed numerous items that had been reported stolen. A suspicious item was also in the vehicle that was determined to be a homemade bomb. The fire department and others were notified and responded accordingly. The investigation revealed that the rightful owner of the stolen vehicle had been recently incarcerated for the illegal making of explosives and that the bomb had apparently been left unattended in the vehicle when it was stolen.
[John Hughes, Chief Ranger]
Haleakala NP
Wrecked Visitor Vehicle Airlifted Out Of Park
On Friday, June 21st, the park coordinated the recovery of a motor vehicle that had been wrecked in an accident in April.
A couple from North Carolina was visiting the park on April 23rd when the driver made and unplanned turn and the car went off the road, coming to rest about 300 feet below the roadway down the side of a gully, where it rolled once before coming to rest on its side. Both husband and wife were able to get out by themselves and called 911, triggering a multi-agency rescue operation. They were short-hauled out to a waiting medevac helicopter and ambulance.
Due to its location at the bottom of a steep-sided gully and in designated critical habitat, it was decided to pursue an aerial recovery versus dragging the vehicle back up the side.
The owner of the vehicle, Enterprise RAC, obtained a special use permit, hired a contract Bell UH-1 helicopter, and worked with the park to remove the vehicle. The park provided traffic control, resource advising, and monitoring. The helicopter company rigged the vehicle for lifting and used a long line to lift the vehicle out of the gully and bring it to a landing zone. A contracted wrecker removed the vehicle from the park.
Impacts to park resources and visitors were minimal.
[James Mar, 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/):
Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division - Today, July 18th, is World Listening Day, a day that provides an opportunity for engaging visitors in listening to park soundscapes across the country and sharing their experiences.
Bent's Old Fort NHS - Between June 25th and June 28th, Bent's Old Fort NHS and Sand Creek Massacre NHS hosted about 70 middle and high school students as part of the 2013 Colorado Preserve America Youth Summit.
Office of International Affairs - In celebration of the Fourth of July, the US Consulate General at Chengdu in Sichuan Province promoted America's national parks during Independence Day celebrations in Chongqing on June 28th and in Chengdu on July 3rd.
US Park Police - U.S. Park Police Captain Kathleen Harasek, currently the regional law enforcement specialist for National Capital Region, will be retiring on July 27th.
* * * *
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).
--- ### ---