Park News July 21,2008

Bryce Canyon National Park

The park’s fire brigade was called out to assist at the scene of a mass casualty incident near Red Canyon campground in the Dixie National Forest late on the morning of Thursday, July 17th. The driver of a passenger bus lost control of his 40-foot-long motor coach, which slid down a small embankment before it rolled over onto its roof in a creek bed. The passengers, a group of teenagers, were able to scramble out of the overturned bus as it caught fire.  The vehicle was fully involved when the first engine arrived on scene, a unit from Panguitch, Utah.  Incident command was established and the IC requested resources from neighboring counties. Five engines, eight ambulances, and more than ten deputies and troopers from four counties responded along with eight NPS firefighters and EMT’s.  The fire was extinguished and the 55 victims were triaged and transported to Garfield Memorial Hospital.

 

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

On July 13th, Lake Mead rangers responded by boat to a report of a fight in progress aboard a vessel in Boulder Harbor. They found a badly beaten man lying on the floor of the boat, and determined that he’d been beaten repeatedly by fists, feet and a boat oar by two people who he’d met earlier in the evening at a local bar. The assault took place over a three-hour period. When the man attempted to summon help from passing vessels, he was beaten repeatedly until he stopped yelling for assistance. The victim remains in the hospital, recovering from his injuries. His assailants are being held without bail until trial.

 

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

A group of eleven people from Chicago Heights came to Indiana Dunes State Park on Sunday, July 13th, to go swimming in Lake Michigan. Due to hazardous surf, the state park was closed to swimming, so they continued a short distance to Kemil Beach, an unstaffed beach in the national lakeshore. It was windy at the time, with surf about two-and-a-half feet high and possible rip currents. Around 3:30 p.m., three of them began having trouble while swimming about 100  yards from the shoreline. Two of them got to shore okay, but the third – a 14-year-old boy – sank below the surface. Boats, divers, a Coast Guard helicopter and side-scanning sonar were employed in the search to find him. The operation was scaled back to beach patrols that night, then resumed on Monday morning and continued until all dive time had been expended. It resumed on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday, when searchers found his body about a quarter mile from the point where he’d disappeared.

 

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

Two of the park’s electronic fee machines, both made by Miti Manufacturing, were broken into on the night of July 11th. It appears that the thieves pried the ATM-like doors open. They took  $1,041 in cash and caused $9,078 in damage to the two machines. Fortunately, receipts had been collected from the machines the day before. The remaining three Miti machines were shut down and emptied of funds as a precaution. The park is looking into a variety of methods to improve security of the Miti machines prior to putting them back into service.

 

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Delaware Water Gap NRA is seeking a GS-12 cultural resources specialist interested in a detail of up to 120 days, effective as soon as possible. The person selected will be filling in until a permanent cultural resource specialist can be selected. The park will pay per diem and travel, and possibly salary. For more information, contact Pat Lynch at 570-296-6952 ext. 30.

An announcement for permanent cultural resources program manager has also been issued. It’s a multi-series announcement (archeologist, historian or cultural anthropologist) and can be found on USA Jobs (DEWA 08-28-DEU for all courses and DEWA 08-27-MP for merit promotion). The person chosen will manage the park’s cultural resource management program. Duties include serving as COTR on existing and new contracts for work, coordinating section 106 compliance actions, maintaining liaison with state SHPO offices, and developing reports for cultural resources.



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