Morning Report Excerpts - 2002 First Half

The Morning Report includes accidents and incidents in the National Park System. I have excerpted reports I thought people might find interesting.

02-004 - Zion NP (UT) - Rescue

A group of visitors were playing catch with a boomerang while hiking down the trail below Refrigerator Canyon around 3 p.m. on January 3rd. When the boomerang landed off the trail, a member of the group attempted to retrieve it and fell about 30 feet. A seven-person park SAR team evacuated the 36-year-old man by wheeled litter back to the trailhead, where he was picked up by an ambulance and taken to a hospital in St. George, Utah. The man was found to have suffered a "burst fracture" of his L2 vertebra and was flown to Salt Lake City for further treatment. Scott Cooper was IC. [Chuck Passek, ZION, 1/6]

01-043 - Intermountain Region - Follow-up: Special Event - 2002 Winter Olympics

The Olympic torch made its official entry into the state of Utah on February 4th in a dramatic sunrise ceremony beneath Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. On hand to witness the flame enter Utah were the director, the governor of Utah and other dignitaries, all of whom made the mile-and-a-half hike to the arch in the dark in temperatures well below freezing. Media from around the globe covered the event live from both Delicate Arch and from the Windows section of the park. Some 400 members of the public viewed the entry from the bowl beneath Delicate Arch. The events within the park and the subsequent torch relay through the nearby community of Moab presented a huge logistical challenge, with some 150 personnel dedicated to the event. Grand County SO and Moab PD were the primary players in a unified command structure with the NPS; support and personnel were supplied by Moab FD, Grand County SAR, Grand County Ambulance, BLM, Utah State Parks and Moab Public Works. Local outfitters supplied shuttle buses and drivers to provide transportation to both media and members of the public. Included among the torchbearers were Arches employees Gary Haynes and Natalie Hettman and Canyonlands employee Dan Greenblatt. Arches chief ranger Jim Webster was the IC. [Paul Henderson, IIO, IMT, 2/5]

00-661 - Arches NP (UT) - Follow-up: Resource Violations

On the morning of September 19, 2000, visitors reported that fires had been set in the area immediately around Delicate Arch. Investigating rangers found that four fires had apparently been lit on the previous night, one of which was still smoldering. Three of the fires, set on bare rock and sand directly underneath and beside Delicate Arch, caused scorching and discoloration of the red sandstone. Efforts by local park staff to restore the fire scars were unsuccessful, in part because of the presence of an oily or waxy substance that stained and penetrated into the rock surface beneath each of the scars. An intensive investigation led to the identification of Michael Fatali, 36, of Springdale, Utah, as the man who had set the fires.

On October 19,2001, Fatali was charged in federal court with several violations of federal law in connection with these fires and others set at Canyonlands NP. Restoration efforts were largely successful. Two of the three fire scars are no longer visible, and the worst of the three fire scars - the one directly beneath the arch - looks much better than before, though still visible. On December 7, 2001, Fatali pled guilty to seven misdemeanor charges for injuring/ defacing mineral resources in a national park, setting an unauthorized fire in a national park, lighting/using a fire that damaged or burned park resources, leaving a fire unextinguished on public lands, and aiding and abetting. As a part of the plea agreement, Fatali agreed to "personally make full restitution to the National Park Service (Arches NP and Canyonlands NP) for the offenses charged." The park subsequently recently received a cashier's check in the amount of $10,922.90. On February 1st, Fatali was sentenced to two years' probation, during which time he will not be allowed to enter Canyonlands or Arches National Parks. He will also be serving 150 hours of community service. [Karen McKinlay-Jones, ARCH, 2/12]

02-041 - Zion NP (UT) - Rescue

On the afternoon of February 17th, a 25-year-old woman who was hiking alone fell six feet and struck her head while climbing down a rock obstacle in Hidden Canyon. Visitors heard her calling for help and found her a short time later. They controlled the bleeding she'd sustained from a head laceration and sent a person to the trailhead to summon help. Park SAR personnel reached the woman around 5 p.m. Park medics provided advanced life support and the woman was littered to the trailhead, where she was transferred to a park ambulance and taken to St. George. Doctors at the hospital there determined that she'd sustained an intra-cranial hemorrhage, so she was flown to the University Medical Center in Las Vegas for further treatment. [Chuck Passek, ZION, 2/18]

02-056 - Lake Roosevelt NRA (WA) - Geocaching Incident

Rangers recently conducted an investigation into geocaching in the park. Geocaching is a sport in which individuals or organizations cache materials at particular locations, then provide the GPS coordinates via the Internet so that other people can attempt to find them. Some times caching entails digging, which presents obvious problems in national parks. On February 27th, Patrick Hall asked permission to bury a geocache within the park's historic Fort Spokane Unit. During the conversation, Hall made several statements which revealed that he'd previously been investigated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for this same activity, and that other geocaches might already be buried within the park. Ranger Jaime Green investigated and found that two caches had already been buried near Fort Spokane by a geocache player known as "Fuzzybear." Additional investigation uncovered a connection between "Fuzzybear" and Hall. Hall was interviewed and admitted placing both caches. Parks concerned about this activity within their boundaries may go to http://www.geocaching.com and search for caches located in their areas. [Chris Rugel, DR, Fort Spokane District, LARO, 3/8]

02-078 - Glen Canyon NRA (UT) - Boating Accident with Fatality

Park dispatch was notified of a fatal boat accident 40 miles up San Juan Canyon around 2 a.m. on March 25th. Rangers Greg Moss and Steve Luckesen responded 85 miles by boat; when they arrived on scene, they found that Thomas Holder, 53, of Aurora, Colorado, was in critical condition with a ruptured spleen and lacerated liver. Holder was stabilized and taken to a nearby helispot. His wife, Richella Holder, 43, had suffered massive head injuries and was declared dead at the scene. Holder was flown to the trauma center in Flagstaff and is expected to recover. The preliminary investigation, conducted by the NPS, San Juan County Sheriff's Office and Utah State Parks indicates that Holder's vessel hit a vertical canyon wall at a high rate of speed after dark. [Mike Mayer, ACR, GLCA, 4/1]

02-115 - Zion NP (UT) - Rescue

Rangers conducted a dramatic and technically challenging rescue of an injured climber and his companion from Angels Landing in Zion Canyon early on the morning of Wednesday, April 17th. The two climbers, Brian Harder and Carrie Dagher, both of Jackson, Wyoming, were attempting the Northeast Buttress Route when Harder fell approximately 20 feet, injuring his back and head. The initial call came into park dispatch at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Other climbers in the area said that they had heard cries for help from a person on Angels Landing. The park immediately began organizing a rescue team. One of the two climbers was spotted on a ledge about 500 feet below the summit of Angels Landing, but was too far away for verbal contact. A helicopter flew over the area and located Harder and Dagher on a five-by-twenty-foot ledge. Rescuers and equipment were flown to the top of Angels Landing, where they began rigging ropes for the 500-foot rappel down to the climbers. The route was heavily choked with brush and rocks, which made the descent even more treacherous. A park medic and a local SAR volunteer reached the climbers at approximately 7:30 p.m. Harder was stabilized and preparations began for his evacuation. 

Meanwhile, three other SAR personnel began rappelling down to assist with the operation. Rescuers decided that the best option would be to lower Harder down approximately 900 feet to the base of Angels Landing. Harder was secured in an evacuation litter and slowly lowered along with two of the rescuers by the three remaining SAR personnel on the ledge. The park structural fire engine's spotlight was used to follow the climbers as they made their way down. They reached the bottom of Angels Landing at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday morning. Harder was then carried down a steep, rock-covered slope to the road, arriving at 1:20 a.m. Harder was transferred to Zion Canyon Ambulance for transport to the Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George. Once Harder and the two rescuers were safely on the ground, the remaining rescuers and Dagher rappelled the 900 feet to the base of Angels Landing. According to chief ranger Aniceto Olais, the rescue was one of the most technically demanding in Zion in recent years: "Steep, exposed slopes, rugged terrain and the fact that it occurred at night made this rescue very challenging. This is a great example of the skills and teamwork that it takes to perform under such conditions. We are very proud of all those involved in this rescue." [Janice Kali, ZION, 4/17]

02-124 - Canyonlands NP (AZ) - Search and Rescue

At 6 a.m. on April 18th, Glen Sherrill, district ranger for the park's Maze District, received a request from the Wayne County Sheriff's Office for assistance in a search for three overdue hikers. Sherrill called the wife of one of the hikers and found that the trio had gotten canyoneering route information from a web site (http://www.climb-utah.com) and that they'd mentioned a location called Leprechaun Canyon. Sherrill relayed this information to the sheriff's office, then called Shane Burrows, the web site owner, and obtained the password to gain access to the route descriptions and maps from the site's "Select Circle of Few" section. Sheriff's deputies found the missing party's vehicle parked at the Leprechaun Canyon trailhead along Utah Highway 95 south of Hanksville and asked Sherrill's assistance in conducting the search. 

At 1 p.m., Sherrill and two Wayne County SAR volunteers headed into the search area. Within an hour, they'd made voice contact with the three hikers. A Utah DPS helicopter arrived shortly thereafter and began ferrying other rescuers to the scene. The hikers had reached a point in the slot canyon where they could go no further downstream. They couldn't return up the canyon, either, because they'd pulled their rope down after them. While trying to climb out of the slot, one of the hikers slipped and fell about 40 feet, suffering a fractured skull and other injuries. Since there were no natural anchors on the slickrock. Sherrill set bolts for rappelling and a possible litter raising. County EMT's then descended and provided treatment to the injured hiker. At 5 p.m., a Life Flight EMS helicopter from Salt Lake City arrived on scene. The helicopter's scoop litter was lowered to the rescuers in the canyon, and they began the difficult task of moving the patient 40 feet up the slot to the best point for retrieval. The two uninjured hikers ascended the rappel ropes. The Life Flight crew dropped their short-haul rescuer into the slot at 6 p.m. and he rigged up the stretcher. It turned out that the slot was too narrow to accommodate both the rescuer and the litter, so the litter had to be raised without a rescuer alongside. Rescuers on the ground stabilized the stretcher with a belay line. Given the nature of the terrain, this was a high-risk operation for both the helicopter crew and the ground crew, as the pilot had to hover for a long time with his rotors just a few feet from the wall of the canyon. The patient was lowered to the bench after being extracted from the canyon, then transferred to the helicopter and flown to Salt Lake City. He was admitted in critical condition, but his condition was upgraded to 'serious' on April 21st. The operation involved about 20 people from the Wayne and Garfield county SAR teams, the counties sheriffs' offices, and Arizona DPS and Life Flight helicopters. The "Select Circle of Few" canyoneering routes are mostly in or near Zion NP, the Hite area of Glen Canyon NRA, and the Moab area. [Peter C. Fitzmaurice, CR, CANY, 4/23]

02-143 - Zion NP (UT) - Rescues

Rangers conducted two rescues within 19 hours early this week. On Sunday, April 28th, Dave Hunt and his climbing companions were canyoneering in Heaps Canyon. They were completing their descent of the canyon when Hunt fell while attempting the final 300-foot rappel. Park dispatch was notified of an injured person near Upper Emerald Pools. The SAR team was immediately dispatched. The first ranger reached Hunt just before 8 p.m. and found that he was suffering from head, back and leg injuries. Two park medics stabilized him, and an EMS helicopter from Page was dispatched to the park to assist with the evacuation. The SAR team began the evacuation around 10 p.m., carrying Hunt across a boulder field and down the Emerald Pools trail to the trailhead. He was flown to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George. On Monday, April 29th, park dispatch received a call about a hiker in distress on the Angels Landing trail at 12:30 p.m. The SAR team was again dispatched and found that a 57-year-old man was experiencing chest pains. He was littered out and flown to Dixie Regional Medical Center, with the helicopter lifting off from the park within two hours of the first call. Doctors determined that he'd suffered a heart attack. [Janis Kali, ZION, 4/30]

02-164 - Zion NP (UT) - Rescue

Rangers evacuated an injured hiker from the Narrows on May 7th. At approximately 3:55 p.m., the park dispatch office received notification of an injured hiker in Orderville Canyon. The park SAR team, including a park medic, was dispatched to the scene. The team found Chris Eddy, from Spokane, Washington, with an injured ankle and unable to walk. They splinted his ankle, placed him on a litter, then put him in an inflatable rescue raft for evacuation from the Narrows. The rescue effort was completed at 9:45 p.m. Eddy was transported in his personal vehicle to the Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah, where he was treated for a fractured ankle. Eddy had been day hiking in the Narrows and was exploring the lower reaches of Orderville Canyon when he jumped down and injured his ankle. He was not wearing sturdy footwear with good ankle support, as is recommended for hikers in the Narrows. The inflatable rescue raft was designed and built especially for Zion National Park for rescues such as this one. The raft consists of two inflatable pontoons connected by four supports where a litter can be strapped. This incident marked the first use for the new raft; members of the SAR team were very pleased with its performance. [Janice Kali, ZION, 5/8]

02-182 - Zion NP (UT) - Climbing Fatality

On May 21st, Roeslan Tamin, 35, of Bournemouth, England, fell about 180 feet to his death while attempting "The Spaceshot," a technical route on the Leaning Wall on the east end of Zion Canyon between Big Bend and the Temple of Sinawava. Tamin was climbing with a partner, also from England, who was not hurt. The cause of the fall is still under investigation. According to Tamin's partner, the two climbers were descending from their climbing route when the accident occurred. Ranges conducted a critical incident stress debriefing with the partner in order to help him with personal needs. [David Eaker, ZION, 5/22]

02-202 - Zion NP (UT) - Rescue

The park's SAR team responded to a rappelling accident in the Pine Creek slot canyon at 2 p.m. on June 1st. A 51-year-old man had been descending a 100-foot rappel at the end of the slot canyon when he lost control of the rappel and fell the final 20 feet to the ground. Rescuers reached the injured man at 3:30 p.m. and a park medic provided ALS treatment. The patient was placed in a litter and an 800-foot guiding line system was used to raise him and an attendant 600 feet to the canyon's rim. From that point, he was carried about a mile to the main park road, then transported to a hospital in St. George. Doctors determined that he'd suffered a fractured left tibia, compressed lumbar vertebrae, and second degree rope burns on both hands. Seventeen people were involved in the rescue, which concluded at 10 p.m. Kevin Killian was the operations section chief. [Chuck Passek, ZION, 6/2]

02-237 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Eight Injured in Falls from Horses

On the evening of June 12th, eight visitors were injured in the northeastern part of the park when they fell from their horses while returning from a concessioner-operated western cookout. The group was returning to Roosevelt Lodge from the cookout at Yancy's Hole when one or two of the horses at the back of the line spooked, then ran up through the line of horses, causing other horses to spook as well. At least eight riders fell or were thrown from their horses. A ranger witnessed the incident and immediately called for help. Rangers from Canyon, Mammoth and Tower responded immediately and provided emergency medical care. All were taken to Lake Hospital for treatment and observation. One woman was then flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls for additional care. Her injuries included fractured ribs, a separated shoulder and internal injuries, but she is currently listed in stable condition. The remaining visitors were treated and released for injuries ranging from a fractured wrist to mild concussions. The incident remains under investigation. It's not yet known what spooked the horses. [Olivia McCombs, YELL, 6/14]