Date: September 1, 2006
Superintendent Mike Murray announced the reopening of three National Park Service Campgrounds today at noon. Ocracoke, Frisco and Oregon Inlet Campgrounds will reopen business as usual. Campers may experience areas of standing water and should be alert to the possibility of reptiles (including poisonous snakes) and amphibians that may be flooded out of their normal habitats. Cape Point Campground will remain closed for the season. This campground was scheduled to close for the season on September 4, 2006. The majority of the campsites have extensive standing water and are not suitable for occupancy. Commercial campgrounds in the area remain open.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is closed for repairs to a broken window and will reopen Saturday morning pending the success of those repairs.
Wright Brothers National Memorial is closed due to extensive flooding in the parking lot, minor leaks in the Visitor Center roof and the hanger building of the Pavilion. This unit of the Outer Banks Group will remain closed today and will reopen when flooded parking lot conditions abate and the damage assessment of the facilities can be completed.
All lifeguarded beaches in the Seashore are closed. The Town of Nags Head has posted red flags warnings from Coquina Beach north. Hazardous surf and rip current conditions exist in the ocean waters and pose a danger to all swimmers.
National Park Service Concessions are all open except for Frisco Fishing Pier. The Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, Avon Fishing Pier, Lost Colony and Elizabethan Gardens are open for business as usual.
Sections of Highway 12, through Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge from Bonner Bridge south to Rodanthe, are currently limited to high profile and off-road vehicles due to standing rainwater reported at 6 to 8 inches deep. Those traveling outside the area are asked to check road conditions at www.ncsmartlink.org for NCDOT Roadway conditions and http://virginiadot.org for Virginia travel information.
