NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, July 10, 2015
INCIDENTS
Zion NP
Rangers Assist In Stopping Car In High Speed Chase
Park dispatch received a request for mutual aid from the Washington County Sheriff's Department late on the morning of July 3rd.
The county had received a call from an OnStar dispatcher who advised that a stolen vehicle from Las Vegas had been remotely disabled by the OnStar system and was currently located in LaVerkin, Utah, 30 miles from the park. A sheriff's deputy was on scene and had detained two people. An altercation ensued and shortly thereafter the deputy reported that his patrol vehicle had been stolen by one of the two people. Washington County reported that the stolen patrol vehicle, a marked Dodge Charger, was headed toward the park's South Entrance at a high rate of speed.
Incoming visitor traffic was backed up at both the South and East Entrance stations of the park. Rangers responded by blocking outgoing visitor traffic at the South Entrance. As suspected, the operator of the stolen vehicle ran the South Entrance by traveling through the outbound lane.
The Zion Mount Carmel tunnel operation was shut down, with all traffic held, further facilitating the passage of the stolen vehicle through the park. A ranger and a Kane County deputy placed two sets of spike strips on the exit lane at the park's East Entrance. With four flat tires, the stolen vehicle traveled only another eighth of a mile outside the east boundary before coming to a stop. Rangers assisted Kane County deputies with the ensuing felony arrest.
[Cindy Purcell, Chief Ranger]
Whiskeytown NRA
Illegal Marijuana Cultivation Sites Eradicated
On June 30th, as a result of a long-term joint NPS and Shasta County Sheriff's Office investigation, an illegal marijuana cultivation site in the park was raided and eradicated. The interagency raid team was led by the sheriff's office and included wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and park rangers from Whiskeytown NRA. Operational support was also provided by staff from Whiskeytown's communications center and the facilities management and resources management divisions.
Six citizens of Michoacán, Mexico, were arrested in connection with the illegal marijuana cultivation operation, located near Whiskeytown Lake, and officers found more than 4,700 marijuana plants. All six men were discovered near the site; two were apprehended with the aid of a K-9 unit. The plants were being grown on NPS administered lands. The six were arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana, possessing marijuana for sale, resisting arrest and illegally diverting water.
In addition to eradicating 4,702 marijuana plants, officers also discovered 450 pounds of processed marijuana, with an estimated street value of $1.8 million. During the raid, they also removed about 500 pounds of trash, pesticides and fertilizer.
On July 8th, personnel on an interagency eradication mission at Whiskeytown NRA destroyed an additional 1,263 marijuana plants and removed over 1,100 pound of trash, pesticides, rodenticides and fertilizer. This site was in an adjacent drainage.
The rugged terrain and high temperature (106°F) resulted in an extremely demanding operation. As a result of careful planning and extensive interagency cooperation, the raid and eradication was completed safely and with no injuries. The unusually high number of arrests on this mission was attributed to the use of a K-9 unit and the high skill level of all the officers involved.
[Chris Mengel, Chief Ranger]
Lake Meredith NRA
One Killed, One Seriously Injured In Separate Accidents
On July 4th, rangers and firefighters responded to an ATV rollover accident in the Blue Creek ORV area. A woman was treated and flown to Northwest Texas hospital with a possible cervical spine injury.
During the previous weekend at the Rosita Creek ORV area, a man died after a motorcycle accident.
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[Paul D. Jones, 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):
Lassen Volcanic NP - Harpers Ferry Center recently completed the conservation treatment and museum-quality framing of two murals from the park's former Works Project Administration diorama exhibit. Painted by artist Ray Strong in the late 1930's, the murals depict Lassen Peak before and after eruption.
Big Thicket NP - During the weekend of June 26th, rangers partnered with the Coast Guard in Operation Dry Water, a nationwide law enforcement effort that targets boating under the influence awareness and enforcement.
Richmond NBP - Richmond National Battlefield Park and Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site conducted their fourth annual park-wide safety stand down day on June 24th.
Office of Risk Management - Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Officer Commander Jennifer Proctor has been selected as the program manager for the Service's public risk management program.
Servicewide Training Calendar - The following have been added to this week's calendar - an ARPA training course and a half dozen workshops being offered at the Association of National Park Rangers' annual Rendezvous in October.
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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