President Trump is planning a massive fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on July 3, despite a decade-long ban on pyrotechnics at the iconic spot because of concerns about public health, environmental and safety risks.
The National Park Service stopped staging pyrotechnics at Mount Rushmore ten years ago out of concern that it could ignite wildfires under drought conditions. The memorial is surrounded by 1,200 acres of forested lands, including ponderosa pines, and lies next to the Black Hills National Forest’s Black Elk Wilderness.
Ian Fury, a spokesman for South Dakota Governor Kristi L. Noem, said in an email that the National Park Service had concluded the event will not harm the environment. Trump dismissed the idea that the event would pose any risks to the massive statue depicting the images of four U.S. presidents. "What can burn? It's stone," he said.
In 2017, the Park Service said the agency could find no direct evidence or link between ignition of fireworks and cracking of the sculpture. However, Park Service staff said they identified scorch marks on the memorial as well as some plastic remains from the firework's casings.
Bill Gabbert, a former National Park Service fire management officer who oversaw seven national park sites in the area, (including Mount Rushmore) also contested the claim that the memorial was not at risk-- pointing to large swaths of dry forest surrounds the venue. "My job was to put out fires," said Gabbert, who worked in the area from 1999-2001. "Internally in our discussions I recommended that people not shoot fireworks over flammable vegetation."
In 2000 and 2001, Gabbert said, he recorded 17 fires ignited by fireworks. In 2000, one fire grew so large that it burned overnight and required a 20-person crew and a helicopter to douse it. "I think it's insane to explode fireworks over flammable material and ponderosa pine vegetation," Gabbert said.
Meanwhile, a wildfire about six miles south of Mount Rushmore erupted last week, burning about 60 acres and requiring about 117 firefighters (including some from Colorado and Wyoming) and eight aircraft before it was extinguished.
Fireworks shows had been held at the memorial between 1998 and 2009, until U.S. Geological Survey scientists determined the activities left high levels of a toxic chemical called perchlorate in drinking water used by the 3 million people who visit the memorial annually. Agency analyses, including a December 2017 presentation obtained by the Washington Post, suggest that resuming fireworks could pollute local drinking water supplies, pose possible safety risks and potentially damage the monument itself. The 2017 presentation noted that the memorial is accessed by a single two-lane road, constraining entrance and access to the grounds.
Officials are particularly concerned whether visitors would be able to leave quickly enough in an emergency, especially because so many people without entrance passes might end up parking on the side of the road to watch the display. "These are winding roadways, and if people are not familiar with Black Hills of South Dakota, it can be very challenging," a spokesperson said.
In addition, neither federal nor state officials have imposed social distancing requirements as part of the gathering. The state tourism department, which is distributing 7,500 tickets for the event, has estimated that it has had requests for at least 125,000.
South Dakota's total number of coronavirus cases (around 6,500) far surpasses that of North Dakota, which had 3,362 cases-- although their populations are nearly identical. South Dakota's rate of 720 cases per 100,000 compares unfavorably to a rate of 436 per 100,000 for its northern neighbor, according to the CDC.
Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified before a House committee that Americans should not participate in large-scale gatherings if they can avoid doing so, because such activities could widen the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Cheryl Schreier, who served as the superintendent at Mount Rushmore National Park between September 2010 and May 2019, said in a phone interview that having so many people on a small tract of land posed public health and safety risks, not only to the visitors but to employees, as well.
"It's a bad idea based on the [wildfire] risk, the impact to the water quality of the memorial, the fact that is going to occur during a pandemic without social distancing guidelines and the emergency evacuation issues," Schreier said, adding that all other tourists will be barred from the park on July 3. "And you're closing off the memorial to visitors who might not normally have a chance to visit Mount Rushmore," she added.
No comments:
Post a Comment