In an effort to assist others while at the same time gaining valuable knowledge to use at home, Jim Hummel, Voyageurs National Park chief ranger, has taken on a new duty — commander of the Midwest Region incident management team of the National Park Service.
Hummel joined the staff of Voyageurs about 10 years ago, after working in several positions at parks in Alaska.
He was asked in 2008 to put together an all-hazard incident management team for the Midwestern Region of the National Park Service system. Teams exist throughout the system, but none had been created for this region, he said.
Incidents handled by the team range from natural disasters to special events that draw thousands of visitors to some of the “icon” parks, said Hummel.
“Any type of activity that occurs that overwhelms the resources of that park, the goal is to bring in a team of folks who have experience in managing incidents... so park staff can continue with day-to-day job responsibilities and run the park and use the team to run the incident,” he explained.
Staff from other parks were recruited from throughout the Midwest Region for the team.
Because Hummel was acting as superintendent at Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Illinois, he was unable to take part in the team’s first deployment last year. The team had been called in to relieve another team that had been assisting at the oil spill at Gulf Island National Seashore near Pensacola, Fla.
Another team member served as incident commander and the team was tried and proven to do well, he said.
“It was a trial by fire experience for them,” said Hummel.
But this spring, heavy rains at Ozark National Scenic River Way and Buffalo National River, Arkansas, Mo., called the team to action. The deluge occurred at the peak of the tourist season when thousands of people raft and canoe on the rivers each day, serving as an economic boon for the local economy.
Hummel said Ozark received 11 inches of rain in one day, and Buffalo had 14 inches of rain in four days, which caused significant flooding almost over night, with water levels that rose 15 to 20 feet in a couple weeks, said Hummel.
“It overwhelmed the staff there,” he said. The park requested the Midwest team to help them manage the effects of the flood and consider the damage that occurred to bathroom facilities, roads, concession buildings, and infrastructure. The team assessed the damage and set cost estimates for repairs.
Hummel said he believes he was selected as commander of the team because of his experience as a ranger and chief ranger.
“You are inherently involved in operations, from small to large, dealing with emergencies, special events, crisis, so you have a background that has built a foundation for dealing with incidents that an incident management team would be needed for,” he explained.
As commander, Hummel said personality and skill played a large role in recruiting other team members.
“You have to have hard drivers who are willing to work long hours with terrible living accommodations and in a very uncomfortable working environment for an extended period of time and still be able to maintain a smile and work together as a team when you are under stress,” he said.
Several VNP staff serve on other specialized National Park Service teams, he noted. Some of those teams serve under other incident command teams.
Hummel’s team members include rangers, administrative staff, and maintenance workers, among others, who serve as operations chief, planning chief, finance section chief, and logistics section chief.
“When you put these folks together under a command in general staff, you have a wide variety of backgrounds,” he said.
The team looks 12 to 24 hours ahead in its planning effort to determine the financial, manpower and equipment resource needs “so you can start to manage the incident rather than the incident managing you.”
One week was spent at Buffalo River, and staff at Ozark, about three and a half hours away, heard what the team was doing and asked for similar help.
“The push is to operationally, politically and economically try to get the park up and running as quickly as you can,” he said.
When the team arrives at a site, an incident command center, a separate office, is set up to allow for additional links for computers, telephones and radios. Depending on the role, at one time or another, all team members are in the field assessing the needs.
Hummel said a real test of the team is when an incident occurs within an incident. That happened at Ozark when canoeists took a wrong turn in the river, bringing them to a culvert below a road. A whirlpool created by the current going below the road caused the canoes to turn over, sending four people into the water and one person heading into the whirlpool below the road, Hummel said. She survived the incident, but Hummel said had she been killed, the incident team’s duties would have included search and recovery.
“You not only have to plan for what’s expected, but so much of incident planning is planning for the unexpected,” he said.
Each morning brings a briefing about what the team will be doing, a risk analysis, and field reports from team members.
“We try to stay ahead of the curve in everything,” he said. “By mid-day’s planning session is about the next operational period.”
By the end of the afternoon, a command and general staff meeting consider the goals and resources needed to complete the plan. By evening, the plan is ready.
“So when folks come to work in the morning, they know exactly who they are working with, where they are going and what they are doing without any doubt at all,” he said.
Hummel described his service on the team as rewarding.
“You know you’re being placed in a position, and that’s how our life as rangers are, that you can help someone out of a serious situation,” he said.
Often, he said, staff at a park have been dealing with the incident for a period prior to the team’s arrival. “In some cases they are worn out, demoralized because they are so overwhelmed and over taxed,” he said. “So you come in and give relief and do it in a way that you don’t take control and they can take over when you leave. You are successful when you are out of a job.”
The experiences Hummel is gaining may be valuable to Voyageurs. He said he’s also making valuable contacts through the team.
“It helps you to organize your needs more quickly and to know where you can find your resources to meet your need,” he said.
Hummel’s first experience was as a trainee as an incident commander with the East Region team at Fort Sumter National Monument’s Civil War sesquicentennial celebration.
The event was two weeks long and drew 3,000 reenactors while the federal government was ready to shut down.
Hummel handled the event, while the commander of the team handled preparations for the shutdown.
And while Hummel said no one looks forward to a disaster, he admitted that “there’s that action junkie in all of us on the team,” he said.
Now, he said the team is on standby for deployment to Omaha, the “heart and soul of the park service,” which is threatened by flooding of the Missouri River.
And, he said with an active hurricane season forecast, his team could be called into action to assist in parks impacted.
