Appomattox Court House |  |
The following Incident Reports were extracted from the NPS Morning Reports/Coalition Reports from 1989-2025. They are not a complete record of all incidents which occurred in this park during this timeframe. INCIDENTS | |
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Monday, December 14, 1992 On December 10th and 11th, a winter storm which has been characterized as the worst of its kind this century pounded the Eastern seaboard and had serious impacts on a number of parks, particularly in North Atlantic Region. The following reports came in on Friday afternoon; updates will appear as soon as these and other parks are contacted today. * Appomattox - Icy roads and trails forced the park to close early on Thursday. The same conditions resulted in the loss of hundreds of tree limbs throughout the village area. [Bob Ditolla and John Lynch, RAD/NARO, Derrick Cook, Superintendent, HOFU, Jon Montgomery, Superintendent, APCO, 12/11]
The park was hard hit late on June 4th by severe thunderstorms and/or small tornadoes. Although hundreds of trees were uprooted or toppled, including more than a score in the village itself, no buildings were damaged. A large locust tree fell directly in front of the McLean House, but fell exactly parallel to the front porch steps. The park was without power for over 36 hours. Many fences were badly damaged. It will take several days to assess the total damage and weeks to clean it up. [APCO, 6/5]
Several reports have been received on the impacts of the second major ice storm/snow storm to strike the South and East over the past two weeks: o Appomattox Court House NHP (VA) - The park was struck by an ice storm on Sunday that eventually deposited between two and three inches of ice on the ground and other surfaces and forced the park's closure at midday. It remained closed on Monday due to extremely hazardous conditions. The visitor center and McLean House reopened on Tuesday; all trails and waysides remain closed but should reopen later this week, as rising temperatures are forecast. [Dwight Dixon, CR, LIRI, 1/31; Reed Johnson, Superintendent, APCO, 2/1; Mike Hill, Superintendent, PETE, 1/31; Cindy MacLeod, Superintendent, RICH, 1/31]
Due to the ongoing passage of Hurricane Isabel through the eastern states, not all parks have been able to report on their status. Here's a rundown of those that had been heard from as of late yesterday evening (south to north):
Meanwhile, the NPS Type 1 IMT (JD Swed, IC) is currently staged in Charlotte, North Carolina, working with the regional emergency response coordinators for the three regions (SER, NCR, NER) on providing assistance to parks currently being affected by Hurricane Isabel. The Type 1 team has compiled contact lists and has provided a team liaison to assist at the North Carolina Emergency Operations Center. Parks should report their current situations to their respective emergency response coordinators and make requests for resources and assistance to them. The Type 1 team will coordinate these requests with the regional emergency coordinator to determine the appropriate response. More information will be available later today, once parks have had an opportunity to complete preliminary assessments on their needs. This summary was compiled from reports submitted by Ken Garvin, SERO; Brenda Ritchie, EICC, SHEN; Cindy MacLeod, Superintendent, RICH; Bob Vogel, Superintendent, CALO; Mark Hardgrove, Assistant Superintendent, CAHA; Barry Munyan, ADR, CAHA; Vince Santucci, Chief Ranger, GWMP; Doug Wallner, Acting Regional Chief Ranger, NERO; Laura Joss, General Superintendent, FOMC/HAMP; Bob Martin, Regional Chief Ranger, NERO; Carla Hauser Hahn, Executive Assistant, UPDE; Phillip Correl, Director, NEJE; Reed Johnson, Superintendent, APCO; Wayne Valentine, IC, FIIS; Ed Whitaker, IC, DEWA; Kris Fister, IO, Type 1 IMT.
Hurricane Isabel caused moderate to extensive damage in many parks within Southeast, National Capital and Northeast Regions. As of yesterday, 36 parks had reported damage sufficient to require the preparation of conditions assessments. Although most of these parks are not requesting any additional assistance, several have sustained damage sufficient to warrant oversight of recovery efforts by incident management teams. Here's a rundown on the affected parks (south to north), excluding those that reported negligible impacts:
Additional reports will appear daily during recovery operations, which will likely go on for some time. Current information and essential documents from the incident management teams will be available at the IMT web page: http://www.nps.gov/fire/allrisk/. Please check if for additional details. Reports compiled from submissions by Kris Fister, IO, Type 1 IMT; Ken Garvin, SERO; Don Boucher, NCRO; Doug Wallner, NERO; Ann Childress, Superintendent, MOCR; Wouter Ketel, IC, and Bob Vogel, Superintendent, CALO; Paul Stevens, Liaison Officer, IMT, and Barry Munyan, ADR, CAHA; Vidal Martinez, Superintendent, GEWA; Reed Johnson, Superintendent, APCO; Clay Jordan, IC, Type 3 IMT, SHEN; Mike Hill, Superintendent, ASIS; Charlie Strickfaden, Chief Ranger, FOMC; Gregory Smith, Chief Ranger, MORR; Maryanne Gerbauckas, Superintendent, EDIS; Bill Sanders, Superintendent, HOFU; Cindy McLeod, Superintendent, RICH; Bob Kirby, Superintendent, PETE; Russ Smith, Superintendent, FRSP.
The Appomattox County Sheriff's Department, the Virginia State Police and the NPS are investigating a recent break-in that occurred in the park in late February. Someone broke into the historic Peers House, causing several thousand dollars in damage. Furniture was damaged, cabinets and floors were destroyed, and waterlines were cut, causing water to flood the house. A window was also broken in the Isbell House. Nobody was working in the park at the time of the incident, which occurred on the night of February 27th. An award has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the responsible person or persons. [Appomattox Times-Virginian]
Teddy Wayne Garrett, 67, of Appomattox, was tragically killed in the line of duty on Wednesday, June 2nd, at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. He had been a seasonal employee in the park's maintenance division since 2003 and leaves behind many loved ones, including his wife of 34 years, D.W.G. He was a loving and devoted father and is survived by two daughters, M.(M.)D.G. of Richmond and C.(C.)L. and her husband, A.; a son, T.W.G., II; a brother, B.G. and wife, J. all of Appomattox; three sisters, G.L. and husband, F. of Richmond, G.G., and B.C. and husband, T. all of Appomattox; sister-in-law, P.W. and husband, H. of Virginia Beach; and loving family friends, G.W., II of Richmond and E.R.J. of Pamplin. Born in Appomattox County on February 19, 1943, he was a son of L.C.G. of Appomattox and the late E.E.R.G. Teddy was a member of New Hope Baptist Church, a United States Army veteran of the Vietnam War, and a retired employee of General Electric and Ericsson. Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 am, Saturday, June 5th, by the Rev. R.R. and J.C.R., II at New Hope Baptist Church in Appomattox. Burial will follow in Liberty Cemetery and will include participation by a National Park Service honor guard. The family will receive friends at Robinson Funeral Home today (Friday) from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and other times at the family home. Those wishing to make memorials please consider the Appomattox Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 57, Appomattox, VA 24522 , the Appomattox Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 894, Appomattox, VA 24522, or the American Diabetes Foundation, P.O. Box 1131, Alexandria, VA 22303. Robinson Funeral Home and Cremation Service is serving the family and an online condolence may be sent at HYPERLINK "http://www.robinsonfuneral.com". [Mike Litterst] | |