Three dead in national parks as shutdown wears on

Three days after most of the federal workforce was furloughed on Dec. 21, a 14-year-old girl fell 700 feet to her death at the Horseshoe Bend Overlook, part of the Glen Canyon Recreation Area in Arizona. The following day, Christmas, a man died at Yosemite National Park in California after suffering a head injury from a fall. On Dec. 27, a woman was killed by a falling tree at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the borders of North Carolina and Tennessee. The deaths follow a decision by Trump administration officials to leave the scenic — but sometimes deadly — parks open even as the Interior Department has halted most of its operations. During previous extended shutdowns, the National Park Service barred access to many of its sites across the nation...MORE

Sounds pretty bad. But wait...

National Park Service spokesman Jeremy Barnum said in an email that an average of six people die each week in the park system, a figure that includes “accidents like drownings, falls, and motor vehicle crashes and medical related incidents such as heart attacks.”

Three dead in 3 days, but they average 6 deaths per week when the parks are fully staffed. So why the headline? To criticize Trump's decision to leave them open. That prevents the media from writing about cancelled vacations and other detrimental affects of the shut down. Besides, do they really expect us to believe the two falls would not have occurred if the gov't was in full operation mode? That the tree wouldn't have fallen on the person if only park personnel had been on duty? 

Expect more of this type reporting as the shut down continues. Don't expect anyone concluding we could prevent 312 deaths per year by shutting down the parks. No, the articles will be about trash, overloaded bathrooms and other health and safety issues that can be blamed on Trump's decision to allow public access to these areas.