NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
INCIDENTS
Rocky Mountain NP
Injured Climber Rescued From Black Lake Area
Rangers were notified of the activation of a spot tracker device just after noon last Saturday. Shortly thereafter, they received a 911 call reporting a climbing accident near Black Lake.
Fifty-year-old J.B. was solo climbing (unroped) when he reportedly took a tumbling fall of about 100 feet onto soft snow. The fall was witnessed by visitors who were at Black Lake, which is about five-and-a-half miles from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. Rangers arrived on scene about two-and-a-half hours from the initial call.
J.B. suffered numerous injuries but was ambulatory and with assistance from rangers was able to move down to an area where an air ambulance was able to land. Flight for Life transported him to Medical Center of the Rockies at 4:15 p.m.
Fortunately, weather conditions and the location were conducive to assistance from a helicopter. Teams of Rocky Mountain National Park search and rescue personnel, assisted by Larimer County Search and Rescue and Rocky Mountain Rescue, were preparing for the possibility of a lengthy rescue operation.
[Kyle Patterson, Public Information Officer ]
Cuyahoga Valley NP
Rangers Assist At Serious Head-on Collision
Ranger Nick Pulfer was on patrol in the Happy Days Lodge parking lot on Sunday, January 18th, when he heard what turned out to be a high-speed, head-on collision between a tractor-trailer and an SUV on the adjacent State Route 303 in Peninsula, Ohio.
Pulfer quickly moved to the scene, where he found the driver of the SUV trapped inside his car. Not only had the driver suffered serious injuries but his vehicle was leaking fuel. Fire from the burning semi-truck now threatened all involved.
Pulfer pried open the vehicle, rendered EMS, and provided a clear and calm assessment to responding units while directing visitors away from a potential explosion.
Supervisory Park Ranger Lois Neff and Park Ranger Josh Donathan and multiple fire, EMS and police agencies assisted at the scene. The driver of the SUV is expected to survive his injuries; the driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured.
Boston Heights Police Department officers are investigating the cause of the accident.
[Chris Ryan, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers):
Office of Communications - President Obama's budget request for fiscal year 2016 - the centennial year of the National Park Service - includes $3 billion for the bureau's critical conservation, preservation, and recreation mission.
Centennial Office - Five "Centennial Ambassadors" for the upcoming NPS Centennial in 2016 have been selected from nominations provided by the regional offices. They are introduced to you in this article.
Independence NHP - This year marked the 30th anniversary of the annual symbolic tapping of the Liberty Bell in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State and local leaders joined the superintendent at the event.
Brown vs. Board of Education NHS - In partnership with a local community group, Living the Dream, the park welcomed hundreds of visitors to the park's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday events.
US Park Police - Sergeant Timothy McMorrow has been recognized by the Department of the Navy for his heroism and bravery in the response to the Washington Navy Yard shootings in September 2013.
Carlsbad Caverns NP - Amanda Carrigan Grissom, supervisory park ranger at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, retired on January 31st after almost 35 years of federal government service.
To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites:
NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/
The Morning Report is 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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