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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT ***** REVISED ***** Friday, June 29, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Ranger Fires Shots In Vehicular Assault Incident On the evening of June 28th, a park dispatcher monitoring a security camera saw two individuals forcibly entering vehicles in the Old Cathedral parking lot. Rangers responded. The pair refused to comply with verbal commands from the first arriving ranger and entered a vehicle. They then drove the vehicle at the ranger in an aggressive manner, and the ranger fired a number of rounds at it. The vehicle exited the parking lot, struck a light pole, then left the area by driving against traffic on a one-way city street. The ranger was not injured, the suspects remain at large, and a multi-agency investigation is underway. [Hugh Dougher, Regional Chief Ranger] Valley Forge NHP Follow-up On Shooting Incident The park rangers involved in the shooting at the park last Saturday have been identified as D.B. and J.W. D.B. fired three shots at D.M., 43, after he threatened D.B., pointed a handgun at him, and refused to respond to verbal requests to put down the weapon. Neither ranger was hurt in the incident. D.M. is being treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and will be charged upon release from the hospital. The incident is being investigated by the NPS and the FBI, with significant assistance from the Chester County District Attorney's Office Detective Unit, Tredyffrin Township and Upper Merion Township. [Mike Caldwell, Superintendent, and Jill Hawk, Regional Chief Ranger] Hawaii Volcanoes NP Update On Current Eruption The most recent eruption of Kilauea - officially referred to as Episode 56 in this decades-long eruptive cycle - continues. On Tuesday, June 19th, a small outbreak of lava oozed from a new fissure on the upper east rift of Kilauea. By Wednesday, the flow was reportedly stagnant and cooling. The threat of a lava-ignited wildfire from this lava breakout continues, however. Fire is smoldering and creeping in layers of decomposed ground vegetation in at least three areas near the recent lava flow. On Wednesday, firefighters from Hawaii Volcanoes and Whiskeytown worked to suppress the fires, employing a helicopter with a 100-gallon capacity bucket to drop water on the hotspots. Suppression efforts were begun in order to protect the surrounding rainforest of native plants and animals in the park's 2,700-acre East Rift Special Ecological Area. In anticipation of the need for a water source, firefighters set up five portable ponds with a capacity of 15,500 gallons of water at the Mauna Ulu parking lot, about four miles west of the new lava outbreak. Meanwhile, the eruption at Pu`u `O`o remains in a pause; no lava is flowing on the surface or into the sea. Here's a status report on park facilities, as of mid-week: Chain of Craters Road and Hilina Pali Road are closed. The park's eastern boundary in the Puna district near Kalapana is closed. All east rift and coastal trails and Captain's Drive trail are closed. Pu`u `O`o remains closed. Much of the remainder of the park is still open, including Crater Rim Drive and summit trails, Mauna Loa Road and trails, Ka'u Desert Trail from Highway 11, Kilauea Visitor Center, Jaggar Museum, Thurston Lava Tube, Namakanipaio Campground, Kipukapuaulu Trail and picnic ground, Volcano House Hotel, Kilauea Military Camp, and Volcano Art Center Gallery. Additional information on the eruption and on the park can be found at a number of web sites, including the following: Incident status reports - HYPERLINK "http://www.inciweb.org//incident/732/_" http://www.inciweb.org//incident/732/ , HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/havo_" www.nps.gov/havo, or HYPERLINK "http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/hvostatus.php" http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/hvostatus.php Photos - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava_photos_episode56.htm_" http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava_photos_episode56.htm USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webcam - HYPERLINK "http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/cam3/" http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/cam3/ The park has also issued a health advisory for visitors. Sulfur dioxide is always emitted from the summit of Kilauea and is a gas that can affect the respiratory system of susceptible visitors, including infants, young children, the elderly, and those with asthma and other pre-existing heart and lung disease. When driving along Crater Rim Drive near the Southwest Rift and Halema'uma'u Crater, visitors are being advised to stop only at designated pullouts, keep their windows closed, and set their air-conditioning on recirculation. [Mardie Lane, Public Affairs Officer] Apostle Islands NL One Kayaker Rescued, Second Succumbs To Hypothermia On the morning of Friday, June 22nd, B.H., 55, and his close friend T.Y., 52, departed from Meyers Beach in single person kayaks during calm lake conditions. The Friday morning forecast, however, called for northeast winds increasing to 10 to 20 knots by late morning, with waves building from two to four feet. The men paddled two miles to the Mainland Seacaves, then eastward along a two-mile stretch of steep sandstone bluffs. Upon their return, the wind increased rapidly and created waves that were three to four feet high. B.H.'s kayak overturned in a strong wave backwash from the sea caves. T.Y. tried to assist him, but also capsized due to the rough lake conditions. The high vertical cliffs and extensive sea caves offered no place for the kayakers to land. The two men attempted to swim with their kayaks but soon became separated. T.Y. made it to a submerged ledge at the base of the cliff and was able to stand in chest deep water. B.H. was last seen hanging onto his kayak, drifting southwest along the sea caves toward Meyers Beach. Visitors hiking on the Mainland Trail above the sea caves saw two empty kayaks and a person floating face down in the water. One of them ran back to Meyers Beach and reported the incident to a ranger at approximately 1:30 p.m. Park dispatch notified protection rangers, the Coast Guard, and the Bayfield County Sheriffs Department. One USCG vessel was conducting training at Cornucopia and was able to respond to the scene within six minutes. Crew members quickly located both men. B.H. was floating face down and was unresponsive when pulled from the water, so CPR was begun. The USCG vessel could not approach T.Y. due to violent wave conditions at the base of the cliff, so he was pulled aboard the vessel with a rope tied to a ring buoy. B.H. and T.Y. were transported four miles to Cornucopia, then taken by ambulance to the Ashland Medical Center. B.H. was flown by helicopter to Duluth, but hospital efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. T.Y. was treated and released from the Ashland hospital that evening. Both kayakers were wearing life jackets at the time they capsized but were not wearing either wet suits or dry suits. It's not known if B.H.'s life jacket was zipped and fastened properly. At noon that day, the automated Devils Island weather station recorded wind speeds at 12 knots with a recorded air temperature of 45 degrees. The water temperature at Meyers Beach was approximately 41 degrees with waves estimated at three to four feet. When interviewed the next day, T.Y. told rangers that both men were in the water for over two hours. T.Y. said that he'd visited the sea caves on four prior occasions. B.H. was an avid canoeist, but this was his first time in a kayak on Lake Superior. [Greg Zeman, Chief of Protection] Klondike Gold Rush NHP Two Hikers Rescued After Fall On Chilkoot Trail On the morning of Monday, June 18th, two members of a family of four fell while ascending the Golden Stairs near the US/Canadian border on the Chilkoot Trail. The family consisted of an 80-year-old man, his two sons, and one of his grandsons. The weather was foggy at the time, with approximately 30 meters of visibility and winds of from 10 to 15 mph. A light rain and cool temperatures left the snow on the trail slick and icy. Two members of the party had hiked on ahead, leaving the 80-year-old man and his 50-year-old son behind. The older man thought that he was nearing the top of the first of two summits and stopped to look up to see how close he was. Due to the weight of his pack and the 60-degree slope, the action of looking upward set the man off balance and he began to slide downhill. The son attempted to stop his father by grabbing his foot as he slid past, but was unsuccessful. Both men slid about 70 to 80 meters down the slope. A GPS in their possession later revealed that they had traveled at a top speed of 39.8 mph before they came to rest in an exposed talus slope. Ranger Jeremy Prater responded from the summit and found both patients alert, sitting up, and calmly talking. The older man had lacerations to his forehead and eye which were bleeding profusely; the younger man had various lacerations, the worst of which was an avulsion on his left tibia, just below the knee, which went all the way to the bone. Despite the severity of the cut, it was not bleeding and there was no obvious deformity and he had full range of motion and sensation in his foot. A Parks Canada patrol person arrived on scene to assist with medical care. Both patients were stabilized, dressed in warmer clothes, and given hot food and drink while rangers and the patrol person assessed the possibility of evacuating the patients off the mountain. Due to the fog, the stability and willingness of the patients, and the potential for hypothermia while waiting for the weather to shift, a decision was made to move to a lower elevation where a helicopter landing zone could be established. During the slow descent, the fog began to lift and a closer LZ was established. A TEMSCO helicopter flew Skagway VFD chief Mark Kirko and firefighter/EMT Colin Aikman to the LZ, and the patients were transported to the Dahl Memorial Clinic in Skagway for treatment. The park extends its thanks to Parks Canada and the Skagway Volunteer Fire Department for their assistance during the incident. Ranger Dave Keltner was IC. [Jacqueline Ashwell, Dyea Ranger] Chattahoochee River NRA Suicide Victim Found In River Canoers found the body of a 45-year-old man from Roswell, Georgia, in the Chattahoochee River on the afternoon of June 21st. Investigating rangers and Roswell PD officers found the man face down with a gunshot wound to his body. A search of the riverbank led to the recovery of personal belongings and a revolver. The man had last been seen the previous day and had been reported missing. The initial finding was that the death was a suicide. A follow-up investigation is being conducted. [Scott Pfeninger, Acting Superintendent] OTHER NEWS The following stories (among others) can be read on either the InsideNPS web site (if you are within the National Park Service) or at the InsideNPS public ‘news digest' site (if you are outside of the NPS). The web sites appear below: Training Calendar - New listings this week include firearms instructor, advanced firearms instructor, physical fitness coordinator, and survival shooting courses. Events Calendar - Added to this week's calendar is the inaugural World Ranger Day celebration on July 31st. To see the above articles, go to InsideNPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) or NPS Digest ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). For NPS incident reporting standards, go to HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363 * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-426-2430). --- ### --- |