Geary, Jean, Linda, and everyone involved:
I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for being there
and doing the hard work when you were needed. Although I'm deeply
saddened by the outcome, I'm grateful to know I've got friends like
you who are there when the chips are down. I'm sure this has been an
incredibly hard time for all involved, and I also want to send my
sincere condolences to the Summers family, as well.
Chris
On May 1, 2007, at 12:10 PM, Geary Schindel wrote:
Nancy,
Cave rescues can be very frustrating, infuriating, and down right
maddening. I totally understand your comments. I've been unfortunate
to have worked on a number of different cave incidents in West
Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. This was one of the best managed ones that
I've been on.
While I was at the scene, George Veni and I were trying to discuss the
hydrology of the system last night aw well as the cell phone coverage
would allow. George has done a lot of work on the cave hydrology. In
addition, George and I worked a very similar incident in Kentucky in
1984 when 8 cavers got stuck in a cave by flood waters. It was
amazing
how closely the incidents resembled each other, including pumps, and
news helicopters flying over head. However, the Prescient 11 incident
lasted about 3 days and made the national news.
Anyway, cave rescues commonly take much much longer than you would
think
and commonly requires specialized equipment or training and usually
include a whole host of folks with different skill sets and
responsibilities. I figured we would be at the site at least for a
day.
The professional rescue community did a fantastic job running the
incident. They were very professional and gracious in allowing the
cavers to assist (which they don't have to do). They wisely realized
that the situation needed someone with specialized skills and training
and I called Jean K. to see if could be available and to ask if other
divers might also be able to assist. Jean came down with her
equipment
to assess the situation and see if she could help and asked that Ryan
Eastman also come down. Ryan arrived just as Jean was finishing here
dive. If you can imagine preparing to dive into a very low visibility
situation hoping for the best but really expecting the worst. This
is a
very high stress situation to be put in. Make sure that you thank
Jean
when you see here. (Jean and Linda are still some of my hero's but
don't tell them as it will go to there heads)
When I arrived, I talked to the Incident Commander at the cave
entrance
and recommended that they remove some of the obstructions that was
impeding the flow of water exiting the cave. The cavers and
firefighters did a great job and were able to make really good
progress.
This helped to lower the water level a few inches to the level of a
pond
in front of the cave. We put in some yard sticks so we could measure
the change in water levels. The Boerne fire department at the same
time
brought in two large pumps which were used to lower the level of the
pond. This dropped the water level about 4 to 6 more inches and
created
a nice gradient to rapidly help drain the cave passage even more. The
installation of the large pumps, priming of the pumps, handling of the
hoses, rigging of haul systems to move some of the large rocks out of
the spring, coordinating equipment into and out of the cave,
setting up
large light systems out side so folks could see what they were doing,
took a lot of effort. But in reality, many cave flooding incidents
are
what I call a hurry up and wait situation. Many times, there is
little
you can do but sit and wait for the water to go down.
When Jean arrived, she got prepared to dive and went into the cave
with
Linda and five of the firefighters in wet suits. They hauled in her
gear to an area inside the cave where she could begin the dive.
However, the operations of the pumps and removal of the rocks
helped to
lower the water level and they were able to reach Thomas without scuba
gear.
I hope that helps to explain some of what went on last night. I
know it
is very frustrating when there is very little information coming out
during an incident and you're sitting at home worried about friends or
family.
I only wish it could have ended better for Thomas.
Geary
.
-----Original Message-----
From: Nancy Weaver [mailto:nan...@io.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 10:44 AM
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: [Texascavers] apologies
My apologies to all involved for an unnecessarily flippant remark.
Thanks
to all who spent their time in the recovery.
Nancy
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