[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14520-14521]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING MARK ALLEE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 3, 2011

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and honor the 
bravery and selfless action demonstrated by California Conservation 
Corps trail camp supervisor Mark Allee.
  On the morning of June 29, 2011, Mark Allee, a California 
Conservation Corps trail camp supervisor, patrolled from the 
O'Shaughnessy Dam to the Wapama Falls Bridge along the Hetch Hetchy 
reservoir in order to assess the trail conditions after an unseasonal 
storm dumped over two inches of rain in 14 hours. Wapama Falls is 
arguably the most powerful waterfall in Yosemite National Park and 
flows almost year-round. During peak flows, it has been known to 
inundate the trail bridge crossing it.
  On the day Mr. Allee arrived at the Wapama Falls Bridge, he saw 
nature's unbridled power in full display. Falling over 1,000 feet, the 
waterfall created a venturi effect which generated super intense winds 
that swirled and buffeted Mr. Allee, requiring that he take shelter 
behind nearby trees. Typically, spring flows over the waterfall are 
approximately 700 cubic feet per second; however, Mr. Allee witnessed a 
much more furious flow that day which was approximately twice the 
normal amount.
  At first, Mr. Allee heard only the indistinguishable and powerful 
noise of intense winds, waterfall spray and heavy rain. Continuously, 
yet chaotically, huge bursts of water would plunge from the falls and 
flood the entire bridge deck. Because of this, the access trail and 
steps leading to the bridge were submerged in a foot of water at times 
as it poured onto the boulders below. The volume was described as the 
equivalent of five 4-foot diameter culverts disgorging their full 
contents simultaneously. Mr. Allee, who also works as a river guide and 
is a certified Swiftwater Rescue Technician, knew immediately that 
accessing the bridge was hazardous and that crossing it was extremely 
dangerous.
  While radioing these conditions into park dispatch, Mr. Allee saw 
four (in actuality, there were five) backpackers access the bridge from 
the other side (east to west). Mr. Allee thought that they would 
recognize the severe hazard and stop; however, they did not and began 
an attempted crossing. Mr. Alice frantically signaled to the party to 
not cross. He gave multiple arm signals and shouts, but because of the 
intense noise, verbal communication was impossible. Despite Mr. Allee's 
warnings, the hikers continued to attempt a bridge crossing which set 
in motion the emergency.
  Shocked and horrified, Mr. Allee witnessed as the first two 
backpackers were immediately knocked to their knees by the force of the 
current. He recognized the extreme threat, and in

[[Page 14521]]

an attempt to rescue them as they would be swept downstream from the 
bridge, Mr. Allee jumped to position himself on a boulder just below 
the bridge in order to help anyone that might possibly be swept by. As 
Mr. Allee moved onto a large boulder immediately downstream of the 
bridge, the first hiker (Mr. Fox) was quickly pushed by the torrent 
underneath the lower rail and off of the bridge. It happened so rapidly 
that Mr. Allee didn't even realize that Mr. Fox had fatally disappeared 
into the flow. While accessing the bridge's upper handrail from the 
large downstream boulder, Mr. Allee saw the second backpacker (Mr. 
Meyer) get pushed underneath the lower rail and into the current. This 
time, however, Mr. Meyer was able to grab the lower handrail while his 
wife leaned over and held his head out of the swiftwater.
  Mr. Allee leapt into action from the west side of the bridge and 
instinctively wrapped his legs and left arm around the top rail and 
extended his right arm to help Mr. Meyer. Mr. Allee looked directly 
into the eyes of Mr. Meyer who was clutching to the rail for his life. 
Exposed to full fury of the torrent, Mr. Allee screamed to Meyer's wife 
to ``Get back!'' While doing so, Mr. Allee reached down and tore Mr. 
Meyer's rain poncho off in order to decrease the drag on his body. Only 
reluctantly was Mr. Meyer's wife pulled to safety by one of the other 
party members. Reaching further into the violent flow and full force of 
the swiftwater, Mr. Allee was then able to disconnect the waistbuckle 
on Meyer's backpack, which was immediately swept away by the current. 
Having freed Mr. Meyer from that additional drag, Mr. Allee screamed to 
Mr. Meyer to ``Grab the truss!'' Most unfortunately however, an 
exhausted Mr. Meyer was peeled from the lower rail and disappeared into 
the maelstrom below the bridge.
  In shock, Mr. Allee retreated from the immense threat and returned to 
his pack to report the situation to the park dispatch. Subsequently, 
the three survivors retreated to a secure location on the east end of 
the bridge and awaited rescue.
  With instinctive skill, tenacious strength and great courage, Mr. 
Allee heroically attempted to save the lives of others he did not know. 
The risk and threat in doing so was immense, yet Mr. Allee's actions 
exhibited tremendous bravery and valor. The survivors described Mr. 
Allee's actions as heroic.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring and commending Mark Allee on 
his quick thinking and risk of personal safety on June 29, 2011, in 
Yosemite National Park.

                          ____________________