Crater Lake Special Events Log

The Smith Brothers' Chronological History of Crater Lake National Park

1996

170 inches of snow falls in 17 days. Downs thousands of trees throughout the region. The West entrance road is close from Union Creek to the Park for three weeks.

January - February 1996

14 feet of snow in three days.

January 6, 1996

Crater Lake reopens for business following a three-week shutdown because of a Federal budget shutdown.

February 7, 1996

Crater Lake Highway 62, between Union Creek in Annie Springs, opens up to being closed for three weeks due to thousands of blown down trees.

Lodge employee, Chris Luttrell, 19, falls asleep at 5:45 a.m. as his car approaches the Steel Circle Junction, swerves to the left, and strikes a large hemlock tree. Chris was trapped in the mangled car for over two hours as Rangers worked to extradite him. An Oregon Life Flight helicopter fflew Chris to Rogue Valley Medical Center. Still unconscious, Chris was placed in ICU. Injuries included two broken neck vertebrae, facial injuries, a crushed leg and ankle, and multiple cuts, bruises, and abrasion's. The doctors did not expect him to recover from surgery. The young man was unconscious for 13 days. After 16 days he left ICU and was moved to a rehabilitation unit. On the 27th day after the accident Chris was able to return to his home in Chiloquin, where his father pastors of an Assembly of God church. The family believes that Divine intervention saved Chris's life. In less than two months Chris was walking and playing his guitar. His doctor called Chris's recovery "a miracle". Several operations reconstructed his face to the point where one can hardly tell he'd been in an accident. The Lutrell family now reside in Jacksonville, OR.

The Bybee Fire, near the base of the Watchman, burns 62 acres after being allowed to burn as a natural prescription burn. As it approached Rim Drive, 50 firefighters were brought in for several weeks, along with a helicopter. Cost associated with the fire fighting effort climbed to the neighborhood of $15,000 to $20,000.

August 19, 1996

Launch tours are carrying 500 passengers a day with 7 - 10 boat trips per day.

The Park Service releases its environmental impact statements for the restoration and redevelopment of the Cleetwood Cove Trail abd boating facilities. The dock and ticket booth are old and in need of replacement or repair. Retaining walls along the trail are in similar condition according to the MT.

August 10, 1996

21st annual running of Crater Lake Rim Run. (108 marathon runners, 133 thirteen mile runners and 199 runners for the 6.7 run.) A very hot day. Martin Baulding of Susanville, CA runs his 17th CL run and places second in the marathon distance. Penny Lancaster of Neehah, Wisc. Runs her 25th marathon and her first CL run. Runners entered from four countries and 26 states. Twenty-five runners over 60, with Paul Conner of Klamath Falls the oldest and 73.

Men: 6.7 Ryan Pauling of Tacoma Wash. 36:06

13.0 Ted Pawlik, 40 of Albany OR 1:25.58 (forth CL run)

26.2 Eric Reed, 28 of Eugene, OR 3:03.22 (Reed's first ever marathon)

Women 6.7 Rykka Wienert, of Corvallis, OR 42:18

13.0 Myra Klettke, Beaverton, OR 1:30.02

26.2 Karen Rayle, 24, teacher in Beijing, China 3:24.13 (new women's record)

August 13, 1996

A 13-members search-and-rescue team spend the night looking for two teens stranded below Hillman and Watchman. Brian Conion and Jason Raver of Eugene, both 17, had one shirt between them and both were dressed in shorts. The team plucked them from the crater wall the next morning. One of the boy's mother unsuccessfully tried to stop the illegal hike.

August 17, 1996

Wedding at Cloud Cup. A windy, smoke filled day.

The Park buys its first real fire truck had a cost of $285,000. The purchase elates the Chief Ranger.

Construction begins on a $7.5 million, 35,000 square foot Lodge employee dorm to be located across the South road from Mazama Campground, near the sewer lagoons. Will be built in three units. Since the Park wants to maintain control over the building, the dorm is the financed with Federal money. Will be completed in 1998.

Proposal made for a $250,000 rehab and restoration of the Watchman Fire Lookout.

The proposed total Rim Development with day lodge, visitor center, parking garage and overnight accommodations declared dead, or at least "30 years distant." The costs balloon to $64 million. A more modest plan is proposed to rehabilitate the Sinnott Overlook, the Kaiser Studio and the Stone Comfort Station. The wooden 1921 community building is slated to be torn down because of having "no significant historic or cultural value."

September 11, 1996

Lodge employee, Kristen Gehling, 20, falls to her death on Mt. Thielsen. An Oregon National Guard helicopter flew in from Salem with special night vision goggles and located the body and 2:55 a.m. in hazardous terrain and held off moving Gehling until after daylight.

Park purchases a new Kodiak snowplow at a cost of $325,000. The Chief of Maintenance is elated.

A recent survey reveals that poachers annually comb the flanks of Crater Lake for matsutake mushrooms that can bring as much as $100 in a pound.

Fiscal Year 1996

ONPS budget set at: $3.3 million. The first time the parts operating budget has topped $3 million.

Season 1996 visitation: 526,557

(Next stop 1997)

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COPYRIGHT © 1999 LARRY B. SMITH AND LLOYD C. SMITH. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE.