NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

INCIDENTS

Big South Fork NR&RA

Assessment Of Damage Inflicted By Major Storm Completed

A large ice storm on February 21st crippled a large portion of the Upper Cumberland Plateau, including Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, following a week of snow and subfreezing temperatures. Snow-covered roads became ice sheets, and trees, branches and power lines were broken by the weight of ice and wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph. The HYPERLINK "http://www.tnema.org/" Tennessee Emergency Management Agency declared a Level II state of emergency.

The park has completed a week-long assessment that has revealed that approximately 80% of Big South Fork's 125,000 acres have been affected by the ice storm. Storm-related impacts are primarily located south of the Kentucky state line. The enormous number of trees downed by the storm, twisted and stacked upon each other, will require removal from roads and trails in order to allow access. Over 70 miles of park roads and more than 370 miles of trails are impacted.

Park staff are currently working to open park roads, but will have to wait for a spring melt before addressing the damaged trails.

[Niki Stephanie Nicholas, Superintendent]

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):

Denali NP&P - During the last weekend of February, Denali National Park and Preserve and its neighboring communities celebrated Winterfest -- an annual winter festival now in its 15th year -- with a wide range of activities provided by NPS employees, local residents, and community organizations.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs - A three day training course focusing on winter skills and wilderness emergency medical services was held in mid-February at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP - Keith Kelly, chief ranger at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP, retired on February 28th with 30 years of service to the National Park 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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