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2013
April 5 2013 Dangers from Roof-Avalanches
On Wednesday, April 3, 2013, two concession employees were caught in a “roof-alanche” at the Mazama B Dorm. One was covered completely by the snow slide, the other was buried up to his waist. Neither suffered any serious injuries and the fast actions of their co-workers in getting to them and digging them out prevented further injury. One was transported to the hospital as a precaution.
We see warnings about snow slides from building roofs frequently, but how often does someone actually get caught in one? We can become complacent in remembering to look up for a potential hazard when we are focused on other tasks, especially when it concerns something that very rarely ever directly affects someone. Complacency can get you hurt or killed. Now we all can relate a time when someone was caught in a slide. Thankfully all are okay.
With the recent weather there has been a large amount of snow sliding off roofs in the park. Please make sure before you walk under or near any roof edge that you look up and first assess the potential hazard. Steer clear of any areas that look questionable and where at least some snow has already slid. With the ongoing snow removal in the park also use caution when working, standing or driving passed any large snow piles. These also can become unstable in warm temperatures or during rain storms and collapse. Practice good situational awareness, look out for yourself, your co-workers, families, and visitors making sure to warn those that might be unaware of the danger.
Be safe! Curt R. Dimmick Chief Park Ranger
Spring 2013 Crater Lake doing less with less. Sequestration affects hours, snow plowing
Crater Lake National Park visitors can expect reduced summer services.
The timing for opening the entire 33-mile Rim Drive is uncertain because sections of the road beyond Skell Head to the junction near park headquarters may not be plowed and open only when the road melts out to save fuel costs for operating snowplow equipment.
Interim Superintendent Vicki Snitzler said other effects of the federal sequestration will likely result in fewer ranger-led programs, not opening the Lost Creek Campground, reduced hours at park facilities and a reduction of such services as maintaining restrooms and collecting garbage. Four park positions remain unfilled and any upcoming vacancies may be left unfilled.“I think it’s very challenging to meet these kinds of reductions,” Snitzler said of the loss of $264,000 in budget money because of sequestration, noting fixed costs continue to increase. “We’re at the point where we have to do less with less.”
Superintendent Vicki Snitzler, who has been serving as Crater Lake National Park’s interim superintendent since late last year, will return to her post at Oregon Caves National Monument next week.
Crater Lake Superintendent Craig Ackerman, who has been working a temporary job at the National Park Service’s regional office in San Francisco, will be between Crater Lake and San Francisco for several weeks before fully resuming park duties.
Park maintenance
For Roger Van Curler, in his eighth year as an equipment operator who helps clear snow off park roads, spring is a delightful season. “This is my favorite time of the year,” Van Curler said during a break while clearing snow near the North Entrance-Rim Drive junction earlier this week. “After several months of plowing snow in harsh conditions, it’s a break from the steady grind of winter.” He and Ray Moore, the park’s chief of maintenance, said that until Rim Drive opens beyond the gate closure at Discovery Point, walkers and bicyclists can travel along Rim Drive without any traffic. Snow clearing crews have mostly moved to and past the Rim Drive/North Entrance junction.
May 9 2013. By LEE JUILLERAT H&N Regional Editor
CRATER LAKE — Unusually warm weather combined with a far below average winter snowfall means one of the expected impacts of federal sequestration will not slow the opening of roads and facilities at Crater Lake National Park.
Park officials had planned to allow portions of Rim Drive and North Entrance Road to melt with only limited snowplowing to save on cost of fueling the bulldozers and rotary snowplows. This will help offset the loss of $264,000 from federal sequestration.
The much lower than usual snowfall and weeks of warmer than usual weather have sped the melting process. As of Wednesday morning, the park had received 347 inches of snow since Oct. 1, 2012, well below the 524 inches received in an average season that will end May 31. Wednesday, the park had 36 inches of snow, only about a third of the 92 inches that is normal for this time of year. No snow and relatively mild temperatures are predicted the next several days, too.
May 14 2013 A low snow season allows the North Entrance to open several weeks ahead of normal. One of the earliest on record. “An exceptionally early opening.”
June 4 2013 No snow on the ground at the Park Headquarters Weather station. This is the 12th earliest snowmelt (no snow) since 1931. However, snowmelt date at Crater Lake does NOT appear to be getting earlier every year. – Scot Girdner.
Snowfall at the park has been below average for the entire 2012-2013 winter, which began Oct. 1. The winter season’s normal snowfall is 524 inches but only 354 inches, or 68 percent of average, has been measured this year. Precipitation for the season is 54 inches, or 89 percent of the 61 inches usually recorded. The greatest snowfall in a single winter is 835 inches.
Although the official snow total is zero, the park is not snow-free. East Rim Drive and the Pinnacles Road remain closed. West Rim Drive and the North Entrance Road, which were closed for several days more than a week ago because of a spring snowstorm, are open.
June 6 2013 The Herald and News reports that a 25-year-old woman, Laura Bellefeuille, working at Crater Lake National Park was found dead in her room Tuesday, June 4, officials reported. Officials said no signs of foul play were obvious but that a routine investigation is ongoing. A medical examination is being conducted. A roommate found the woman dead late that morning, Crater Lake Public Information Officer Marsha McCabe said. The woman was a concessions employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts.
“We extend our deepest sympathy to her family, coworkers and friends,” McCabe said.
Laura had had several small epyliptic seiziers the day before, but seemed to recover. When her roommates suggest that go eat some lunch, Laura said that she was tired and wanted to go back to bed. When her mates returned from Lunch they found her dead in bed. Laura’s family visited the park several days later. The Lodge CEO took them out for lunch. She was liked by everyone who worked with her.
Laura Anne Bellefeuille
Published Jul 2, 2013 (Dec. 29, 1988 -June 4, 2013) Laura Anne Bellefeuille, 24, of Bend, passed away on June 4, 2013.She was born to Scott and Sheri Bellefeuille on Dec. 29, 1988 in Oakland, CA. The family moved to Bend when Laura was 2. She graduated from Bend High in 2007. Laura was currently working at Crater Lake in the employee dining room using training she received at Springdale Job Corp in Culinary Art. She is survived by her parents, brother, Jed, and sister, Tracey.
July 3 2013 The MT reports that for the first time in the history of Crater Lake National Park, a citizenship naturalization swearing-in program was held in the Park using the spectacular backdrop of Crater Lake. A dozen new Americans swore allegiance to their new homeland during a special naturalization ceremony conducted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service on the spectacular Watchman Overlook. In addition to Colombia, participants hailed from China, Germany, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, The Netherlands, The Philippines and the United Kingdom.
At Crater Lake, Mother Nature kept the Stars and Stripes fluttering from the Lookout with wind gusts while the Three Rivers Chorale and a choir sang “America the Beautiful.”
Before asking the new citizens to swear the oath of allegiance, Anne Arries Corsano, district director for the CIS in Seattle, suggested they take a moment to fix it in their memories.
“Close your eyes for a second. Feel the sun,” she said. “This is a very special moment.”
With that, she administered the oath while each new citizen raised his or her right arm.
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state and sovereignty,” she began.
After the new Americans took the oath, she welcomed them as fellow citizens.
“As our newest citizens, you now have the opportunity to voice your opinion and contribute to the well-being of our country,” she said.
“I encourage you to serve on your children’s school boards, contribute to your community, run for a political office, or help your neighbors to make a difference,” she added. “You now have all the rights and responsibilities of United States citizens.”
Park Superintendent Craig Ackerman told the new citizens that he was the son of naturalized immigrants.
“My mother was from Italy,” he said. “And my father’s parents were from Wales and Germany, all naturalized citizens.”
What’s more, he noted, it was immigrants who helped create what he said was one of America’s best ideas — the national park system.
“The father of the conservation movement of this country was an ornery Scotsman named John Muir,” he said. “Unlike Europe or many other countries where the most valuable and most special lands were reserved for royalty or the elite, John Muir and others like him believed in a new concept — that the most special places in the United States should be owned by and available to every citizen.”
The point, he said, is that the people about to become newly minted citizens are inheriting that national park system, which has been emulated by many other countries.
“You are about to assume some awesome responsibilities,” he told them. “Along with your fellow citizens, you will become the new owners of Crater Lake and all these other spectacular places.”
July 21 2013 Herald and News “While the local economy is still recovering from the recession, Angeli said that the growth of outdoor tourism in the area has the potential to grow exponentially.”
“According to a 2011 National Park service report, Crater Lake National Park’s 423,551 visitors spent a total of $34,688,000 in the park and surrounding communities, supporting a total of 565 jobs in the area.”
Business booming for Crater Lake. Crater Lake National Park Public Information Officer Marsha McCabe said that the park saw its busiest 4th of July weekend ever this year.
“It feels like we’ve been really busy,” McCabe said. “I was looking at our statistics for July, and if they are accurate, this could be a record for the number of visitations for the month of July.”
McCabe said that this year’s low snow levels and early snow melt resulted in an increase in visitors for the month of May, resulting in even more park visitations and revenue for the summer. According to a 2011 National Park service report, Crater Lake National Park’s 423,551 visitors spent a total of $34,688,000 in the park and surrounding communities, supporting a total of 565 jobs in the area.
As the local economy begins to recover from the economic downturn in 2007, McCabe said the park felt virtually little impact from the recession.
July 26 2013 Dry lightning sparks fires and smoke settles over inter-mountain valleys due to normal summer high pressure and inversions. In 2002, the Biscuit fire blazed nearly 500,000 acres in the Siskiyou National Forest and left a lingering mark on the landscape.
July 2, 2013 Maintenance backlog at Oregon’s national parks, historic sites and monuments
Crater Lake National Park — $93.9 million
Oregon Caves National Monument — $12.8 million
Lewis and Clark Historic Park — $4 million
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument — $1.9 million
Fort Vancouver National Historic site — $576,826
Nez Perce National Historic Park — $122,659
Total — $113.4 million
From the Salem Statesman Journal
Crater Lake National Park supports 540 jobs and is visited by an average of 482,249 people each year, but has seen its roads, buildings and trails steadily deteriorate.
“That maintenance backlog has been building for years and getting worse,” said retired chief ranger George Buckingham, who worked at Crater Lake from 1989 to 1999. He’s now the president of the volunteer organization Friends of Crater Lake. “What it looks like is crumbling, shabby-looking roads and buildings. It means always doing first-aid on things, of putting paint on a building that really needs new siding. It’s a money-loser, too, because in the long run it will just need to be replaced.”
Part of the problem at Crater Lake is that the high elevation, massive snowfall and short construction season tend to wear on the roads and buildings more quickly than other places.
The backlog holds Crater Lake back from achieving its potential, said Larry Smith, who worked at the park for 23 summers as a ranger and on maintenance.“It’s a lot of little things: the Cleetwood Cove trail is crumbling in a couple places and needs some major work, the parking lot is in abysmal shape and we have port-a-potties instead of real restroom,” Smith said. “Crater Lake is one of the crown jewels of the United States and it generates a lot of money. We have to protect this resource.”
Summer 2013 Water Wars Because of a low snow year last winter and because the Klamath Indian Tribes have priority water rights to the water of the Klamath Basin that date before Crater Lake’s 1902 water rights, there is a good chance that the Park’s water source – Annie Spring – may be appropriated to allow enough water flow to support endangered salmon in the Klamath River.
“It may be surreal to imagine a national park with an average snowfall of nearly 45 feet and a lake 1,950 feet deep losing its water source. Yet park officials are not ruling out the possibility.”
Spokesman for the National Parks Service Jeff Olson said, “our water is for domestic use: drinking, food preparation, showers and toilets as well as fire preparedness.”
In total, Crater Lake has water rights in more than 20 creeks, each of which are tributaries to the Wood and Williamson River — systems soon expected to be regulated by the state of Oregon.
Crater Lake could seek to prove its water usage, about 69,000 gallons daily, doesn’t measurably affect the larger water system.
“We are looking at every option to operate the park with limited water service,” said Olson.
The National Park Service Vows To Truck Water To the Park if their water rights are taken way (despite the caldera’s Deep Blue Lake estimated at nearly Five Trillion Gallons and the Lake’s seepage serving as the Region’s Birthplace of Rivers- the Klamath & the Rogue !
July 2 2013 JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press
GRANTS PASS — Crater Lake National Park plans to stay open by whatever means necessary as water shutoffs that have been drying up irrigated pasture for tens of thousands of cattle extend to the creek that serves as the park’s sole source of drinking water, park superintendent said Monday.
#Superintendent Craig Ackerman told The Associated Press that if the water shut-off goes through, the park will stay open through the summer with an emergency conservation plan, which includes trucking in water, turning off campground showers and deploying 120 portable toilets. The combination of drought and state approval this year of water rights dating to time immemorial for the Klamath Tribes for fish conservation have required the department to shut off irrigators on the Sprague, Williamson and Wood rivers and their tributaries.
#Ackerman said the conservation measures are being taken despite having 5 trillion gallons of the “cleanest drinking water on earth” sitting smack in the middle of the park.
#“Our in-stream water right for the lake is to preserve the natural characteristics of the lake by leaving the water in it,” he said. “Taking public water out of the lake would be in opposition to the purpose the park was created, as well as having a significant environmental impact.”
#This year’s snowfall of 29 feet at the park was 15 feet short of normal, contributing to low streamflows in the Klamath Basin. Late snowfalls that sometimes come in April and May never materialized.
#Also this year, the state adopted the first system of water rights for the upper Klamath Basin. That gave the most senior water rights to the Klamath Tribes for fisheries conservation on rivers flowing through their former reservation lands. State watermasters have been shutting off irrigation diversions for ranches with junior water rights to meet the flows due the tribes.
#The park’s water is drawn from Annie Creek, a tributary of the Wood River. Dating to May 1902, the park’s water right is 28th in priority, Ackerman said.
#Ackerman said the park has been working for years to develop a backup water source in case of drought, but a well drilled to 430 feet came up dry.
#The park has reservoirs that hold enough water for about a week at the typical rate of 60,000 gallons a day, he said. The park gets about 4,000 visitors a day in summer, for a total of about 500,000 a year. Most of them stay around Rim Village, the primary overlook for the lake and site of the lodge, gift shops and restaurants.
#There are 150 park service employees and 450 concession employees in summer.
#If access to Annie Creek is cut off, water trucks would haul water directly to the park’s water treatment plant, he said.
#About 120 portable toilets will be put out at trailheads and parking lots. Flush toilets will still be available at restaurants.
Visitors to Crater Lake Lodge will be able to shower and flush toilets, but servers at the dining room and other eateries will not put out water unless it is asked for, he said. Housing for park personnel and concession employees will be equipped with low-flow showerheads, faucets and toilets.
Mazama Campground will have drinking water and portable toilets, but the showers will be turned off.
August 10 2013 38th running of the Crater Laake Rim Runs and Marathon. The run was almost cancelled because of smoke conditions, the day gave way to almost clear skies. The forest fires in southwest Oregon, which have been given almost little national acknowledgment, have been a significant battle for the Rogue and Umpqua valleys. This is the first time in the 38-year even that Bob Freirich has not been the race director. The key to the success of the event was the many veteran volunteers and the cheerful nature and help provided by park rangers and personnel. That helped everyone — runners, volunteers, family members along the course and at finish lines, anyone who was somewhere, somehow involved with the races.
270 runners took part. 70 ran the Marathon, 109 ran the 13-mile section and 141 ran the 6.7-mile section.
Results:
Marathon: 1. Chuck Engle, Coos Bay, 2:58:22
13-MILE: 1. Paul Matthews, Stavanger, Norway, 1:27:04
6.7-MILE RUN/WALK: 1. Alex Mangan, Klamath Falls, 40:23
Summer 2013 A longtime Lodge Company maintenance worker is fired after he is witnessed stealing from the Lodge’s soft drink machine. Since he had a key, he would open the machine, and take out a couple of dollars each day. The accountant figured out the loss. The worker was told to, “just go away.” No charges were filed.
September 25 2013 “Crater Lake receives a record-smashing eight inches of snow in 24 hours…….” From the Herald and News by Lee Juillerat
A heavy dose of fall snow has temporarily closed several roads at Crater Lake National Park.
The closed roads include the East and West Rim Drive, the North Entrance Road and the Pinnacles Road. The 8 inches of snow upped the park’s year snow total, which is measured Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, to 363 inches, which is 70 percent of the 524 inches received in an average 12-month period.
From the Mail Tribune – Crater Lake received a record-smashing 8 inches of snow in 24 hours Tuesday into Wednesday, the National Weather Service reported.
More than one month ahead of schedule, the frosty blanket made its earliest appearance since 1986, when snow fell a week earlier on Sept. 18. Before that, the earliest appearance of a winter wonderland at Crater Lake was Sept. 24, 1948.
September 2013 More than 9 inches of snow fell in the Park for the month, the most since the 8.75 inches seen in September 1986. Eight inches of that total fell in a 24-hour period, which closed the west and east rim drives, and the Park’s north entrance.
October 1 2013 – October 17. Crater Lake National Park, along all other national parks, is shut down for 17 due to a partial U.S. Government shutdown caused by a Congressional Budget Impass. The Park’s offices and the Steel Visitor Center and Rim Village reopened on Thursday, October 17, with the the West Rim and North Entrance roads opening on Friday, October 18. The Park partially closed 17 years ago during a similar Budget Impass. The national park closures this time was total, including through park hiking trails. Intruders were escorted out of the Park by armed rangers. 1,200 school students are turned away.
Crater Lake’s 68 employees were placed on furlough and about 185 concession employees are also without work. A limited number of employees, including law enforcement and maintenance staff, remained on duty providing security, essential emergency services and maintaining necessary utility systems.
The shutdown resulted in the earlier-than-planned closure of concession facilities, including the Crater Lake Lodge. The lodge, which had been scheduled to close Monday, was closed Tuesday along with all other concession facilities operated by Xanterra, the park concessionaire. Along with the lodge, closed for the season are the Mazama Campground, Mazama Village cabins, Mazama Village camper store and gas station, Annie Creek restaurant and gift shop. (Assembled from reports from the Herald and News)
November 21 2013 Park Superintendent Craig Akerman reports that the next round of budget cuts will likely result in the continued closure of the Lost Creek Campground, eliminating most seasonal positions and halting nonessential snowplowing, which means the East Rim Drive would be required to melt on its own.
“You are likely to see a significantly reduced presence at the park,” Ackerman said. (H & N)
He said last summer’s 16-day shutdown resulted in the loss of an estimated $15,000 to $25,000 in park entrance fees, and also impacted income to Xanterra, the park concessionaire that operates the Crater Lake Lodge and other park facilities, and the Crater Lake Trolley. Xanterra officials estimated the shutdown cost the company more than $300,000. (H & N)
Ironically, the lost fees and visitation came during a year that, based on early figures, was among the busiest.
December 5/6 2013 Crater Lake National Park also set records on Wednesday and Thursday, with minus 2 degrees and minus 1 degree, respectively, breaking records of 6 degrees and 4 degrees, according to daily weather reports from the park. MT
Season 2013 Budget: $4,997,000. The Park’s budget has been reduced more than $500,000 since 2012.
All told, the National Park Service budget has been reduced by 13 percent over the past three years. When combined with sequestration, the cuts total $350 million. Sequestration cuts at Crater Lake $264,000, resulting in six full-time staff positions going unfilled and seasonal staff hours being cut. National historic sites in Oregon were also hit.
Season 2013 523,027 people visited the Park, an increase of nearly 90,000 from 2012.
Park visitation reached an all-time high in 1962, with 592,000 visitors, according to park Superintendent Craig Ackerman. “It’s remarkable we’re even reaching close to that,” Ackerman said.
Ackerman attributed the uptick to travel promotion by regional partners, boosting social media outreach through platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and a returning trend of families traveling more.
The report showed that 969,052 visitors to Crater Lake, two other Oregon national parks and three historical sites, spent $67.4 million and supported 1,055 jobs in the state in 2013.
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