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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, January 11, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Big Thicket NP Couple Rescued From Car Submerged In Creek Ranger Johnny Stafford and Texas DPS trooper Arnie Tevis responded to a call of a car submerged in Black Creek with two people trapped inside on the afternoon of December 30th. When they arrived, they found C.E., 60, sitting on the roof of a 2005 Lincoln with the rising floodwaters almost to the car's roof. C.E. had a hold on his wife J., 63, and was trying to pull her from the car. Her head and shoulders were above the cold water, but she was sitting in the open window of the submerged car and C.E. lacked the strength to pull her to safety. Stafford removed his defensive equipment, put on a life vest, and threw a safety line to the car. When the line was secure, he entered upstream of the Lincoln, and, with Tevis behind him, waded through the chest deep water to the E.s. After putting life jackets on them, Stafford and Tevis assisted them to shore, where they were warmed and dried in a waiting ambulance. The couple turned out to be newlyweds; they were returning from their honeymoon when the accident occurred. [Keith Flanery, District Ranger] Big Thicket NP Hunter Rescued From Rising Creek Waters While hunting on Beaumont Island on January 1st, two hunters became separated after killing two hogs. One of the hunters, 31-year-old R.K., lost his way and was cut off by rising floodwaters. When R.K. failed to return to their boat, his hunting partner, Joshua Reeves, contacted him by cell phone. He learned that R.K. was unsure of his exact location, that he was on a small hummock with water rising all around him, and that he was out of minutes on his prepaid cell phone. At about 7:30 p.m., Reeves contacted Orange County officials, who in turn asked for help from the NPS, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and an air rescue unit from St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont. R.K. was eventually found by the crew of the helicopter, who directed NPS and TP&W boats to his location. State game wardens Kenny Lee and Ryan Hall, aided by ranger Johnny Stafford, reached R.K. and rescued him from the rising water around 3 a.m. on January 2nd. The temperature by then was 35 degrees and it's unlikely that the wet and hypothermic hunter would have survived the night without rescue. The incident received considerable local media attention. [Keith Flanery, District Ranger] OTHER NEWS Other news from today's edition of InsideNPS, the National Park Service's home page: Mount Rainier - Recovery efforts are continuing following severe flooding on November 6th and 7th. Park employees have been working six days a week to repair roads and utilities, but many months of work remain. Damage estimates total $36 million. Cape Hatteras - The park has provided updates on the status of the interim protected species management strategy/environmental assessment, the long-term ORV management plan/environmental impact statement, and the proposed negotiated rulemaking (RegNeg) process. Yosemite - A key road into the park is still closed months after last year's slide. The detour is slow, and a solution may be years away. Great Smokies - The park is hiring a GS-14 chief of facilities. To link to InsideNPS, click on HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |