NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, July 23, 2015
INCIDENTS
Glacier NP
Fast-Moving Fire Causes Park Evacuations
A wind-driven fire displaying extreme behavior has burned about 4,000 acres since it started on Tuesday and has caused precautionary evacuations in the park, including the St. Mary Visitor Center, the park's administrative area, two campgrounds, and the Rising Sun Motor Inn. The historic Baring Creek Cabin has been lost, but no other structures have been burned and no injuries have been reported.
The HYPERLINK "http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4405/" Reynolds Creek Fire was moving quickly in dry, heavy timber in red flag conditions yesterday afternoon and evening. Evacuations for areas adjacent to the park boundary were ordered by the Glacier County Sherriff and Blackfeet Emergency Services.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed between the St. Mary entrance on the east side and Big Bend on the west side. The road closure is in response to the fire, firefighter and visitor safety, fire response activities, and park personnel priorities. The duration of the road closure is unknown.
Fire management priorities are safety of public and firefighting personnel, protection of property and values at risk, and containment of the fire. A Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered.
Resources from Flathead National Forest, Glacier County, East Glacier, Babb, St Mary, and Cutbank, Fire Departments, Blackfeet Fire Management, Montana Department of Natural Resources, Evergreen and West Valley Fire Departments and Flathead County are assisting Glacier National Park.
Fire information phone lines have been established at (406)732-7791 and (406) 732-7790.
The fire was first reported at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday and was located near Grizzly Point, approximately six miles east of Logan Pass. Park dispatch received numerous reports of the fire from shuttle bus drivers, Glacier Boat Company employees, park employees and visitors.
[Denise Germann and Katie Liming]
Yellowstone NP
Woman Injured In Bison Encounter
A 43-year-old woman from Mississippi received minor injuries Tuesday when she turned her back on a bison to get a photo with it near the Fairy Falls trailhead. She was the fifth person injured after approaching bison this season.
The woman and her daughter were by the trailhead sign when they decided to take a picture with a bison that was approximately six yards away from them near the trail. When they turned their backs to the bison to take the picture, someone warned that they were too close. They heard the bison's footsteps moving toward them and started to run, but the bison caught the mother on the right side, lifted her up and tossed her with its head. The woman's father covered her with his body to protect her and the bison moved about three yards away. The family drove to the Old Faithful Clinic, where the woman was treated and released with minor injuries.
“The family said they read the warnings in both the park literature and the signage, but saw other people close to the bison, so they thought it would be OK,” said Old Faithful District Ranger Colleen Rawlings. “People need to recognize that Yellowstone wildlife is wild, even though they seem docile. This woman was lucky that her injuries were not more severe.”
The park has again reminded visitors that wildlife should not be approached, regardless of how tame or calm they appear. When an animal is near a trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, visitors must give it a wide berth and not approach it closer than the required minimum distances - 25 yards away from all large animals (bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes) and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves.
Bison can run three times faster than humans can sprint and are unpredictable and dangerous. Visitors are advised to give the animals enough space and alter their plans to avoid interacting with an animal in close proximity.
[Public Affairs Office]
Delaware Water Gap NRA
Cliff Jumper Seriously Injured At Adams Creek
Rangers and local emergency personnel responded to a report of a seriously injured person at the main waterfall on Adams Creek around 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. This was the fifth time since April that rangers have responded to rescue calls at Adams Creek.
A 27-year-old man from Milford, Pennsylvania, sustained serious injuries after jumping from a 45-foot cliff into the pool at the base of the falls. Rangers were on patrol on the trail to the falls when the call came in through the NPS communications center and were able to get to the man quickly and begin treatment.
The rugged, mile-and-a-half long trail includes four creek crossings and one area where the injured man had to be raised and lowered over steep cliffs. It took park rangers and rescue personnel from Delaware Township Ambulance Corp three hours to carry him from the falls to the road, where an ambulance awaited. He was then transported by Delaware Township Ambulance Corp to a landing zone in Dingmans Ferry and flown to Morristown Hospital.
[Kathleen Sandt, Public Affairs Officer]
Hot Springs NP
Man Threatens To Kill Rangers
On the evening of Tuesday, July 7th, rangers came into contact with a man identified as T.D.R. on the park's Historic Bathhouse Row. T.D.R., who was inquiring about an incident involving a family member, quickly became upset, started yelling and using profanity toward the rangers in front of numerous members of the public, including young children. T.D.R. was eventually arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication and taken to the Garland County Detention Center, where he was held until sober.
Following his release the next day, T.D.R. started calling 911, first in an effort to regain property taken from him during the arrest but then to threatened to kill law enforcement officers in general and Hot Springs rangers in particular.
Eventually, Garland County Sherriff's deputies located T.D.R. at his sister's residence, where he was taken into custody at gunpoint without incident. He is currently being held at the Garland County Detention Center on state charges of interference and making terroristic threats. The case is currently being considered for prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The case has received a lot of media attention in the local area.
[Justin Cully, Chief Ranger]
Lake Mead NRA
Woman Seriously Injured In Boating Accident
A woman sustained life-threatening injuries in a boating accident near Callville Bay on Lake Mead on the morning of July 15th.
Witnesses said two boats were pulling into a wakeless area near Sandy Beach when one boat hit the other from behind. The boat that was hit was carrying three occupants. A woman sustained life-threatening injuries and was flown by Mercy Air to a hospital; a man was treated for minor injuries. The other occupant of the boat and the operator of the second boat were not hurt.
The incident is under investigation.
[Christie Vanover, Public Affairs Officer]
Delaware Water Gap NRA
Man Drowns In Delaware River
J.D.M., 41, of Myerstown, Pennsylvania, drowned while attempting to swim across the Delaware River on the afternoon of July 18th.
Members of the park's dive team recovered J.D.M.'s body in ten feet of water later in the day near an area known as Shad Rocks, located between Bushkill Access and Smithfield Beach. He was not wearing a life jacket.
[Kathleen Sandt, Public Affairs Officer]
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):
Wilderness Stewardship Division - Six NPS staff have been selected to work with staff from USFWS, BLM and USFS to develop an implementation framework for the interagency wilderness 2020 Vision.
Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P - The park partnered with the Alaska SeaLife Center, the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe, Gulf of Alaska Keeper, and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve to remove coastal debris from the Malaspina Forelands area.
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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