I am hoping that the National Park Service will be looking at these posts. In thinking about the summer crowds, there are probably thousands of vacationers on MDI who are not reading their papers/getting the current news about a storm such as this--I know I don't keep current when I am on vacation. Thus, a system should be in place at the Park and around MDI for times when big storms come to the area. Recognizing that there is more than one road into the park,couldnt there be police barracades at all of the road entrances and individuals with bullhorns along strategic spots. Is it possible that Maine State Troopers or the National Guard could assist with crowd management when a dangerous situation exists and there is the potential for having thousands of visitors at ANP.

And, park visitors need to know that going to a National Park is not like going to Disneyworld. I do believe the public perception is too trusting and some folks have the misconception that all dangers have been thought out for them. Examples: you can walk out onto the slippery rocks, you can walk to the edge of a precipitous drop off where there is no warning or guardrail. The National Park Service needs to get this message across to people who may be unfamiliar with the wilds. My point is not to find fault with ANP rangers, I am sure they did everything above and beyond, but rather, there needs to be a strategic goal for the NPS from Denali to Acadia.

Re: IHeartMaine Yeah, it would be great if the National Park Service did more, however, where will they be getting the money to hire more rangers, place signs, buy bullhorns, etc. etc.

Re: begformercy Hear Hear! Park Rangers do not have the same ability to hold back and restrain the public like the police do. It's just pure, simple stupidity and a lack of common sense that things like this happen. It's sad really. The parents should be arrested for child endangerment.

IHeartMaine, I hear where your coming from, lets face it the reason 10 thousand people were there was because they knew of the hurricane offshore, what more did they need know.....oh and let's not forget the Rangers warning people, the numerous signs, and the weather channel.

I am sure that the NPS will do thing differently next time like block off the road, etc.

Point of the story a small percentage of the 10 thousand people there ruined for the majority of the responsible park goers.

All around a sad sad day..............I feel for the family. And I don't think the parents should be charged with anything. I think the lesson has been learned for all by way of the most tragic of circumstances.

Yes, this is a tragedy, a child is dead, and calling the parents nasty names adds nothing to the discussion. With that said, however...my father worked for Acadia NP for a number of years and said that it was a constant frustration when the park workers tried to warn visitors about dangerous conditions. People would NOT listen and would insist on doing whatever they wanted. I firmly believe that the park did all it could to deter people and that people went too close to the waves anyway.

I agree with begformercy. Rocks are slippery when it is not bad out, who would observe this storm standing on the rocks...stand back on the path or on the road like the people with brains were doing. I was there yesterday and knew enough to do this. It was very upsetting that these few morons messed up a good,exciting day and forced the NPS to close the road and send us out of the park. I'm of course sad that a little girl died...it is too bad her parents fell into the moron group. I hope this does not cause the NPS to close the road during future storms as I again would like to witness the waves coming in from a safe distance as I was doing yesterday and actually get to stay as long as I would like!

I agree that calling her parents names is uncalled for! There were many other people standing there as well as them. Its pretty sad that they are the only ones getting bashed. Dont you think they have gone through enough? They are in the hospital and just lost their little girl. Obviously they did not make the smartest choice by standing there but due to the water they should of shut that part of the park down if it was dangerous to be out there. How about being respectful people, instead of being immature and putting yourselves in the "moron group"!

ANP cannot promote Thunder Hole as a tourist attraction, draw people here, charge them $12 admission and thrn allow them to get swept away because they wouldn't heed the warnings.

Beaches were closed all along the East Coast due to this storm, including Schoodic. ANP allowed this situation to happen. It's their property, they have an obligation to keep people safe (including the ones without common sense). Thunder Hole should have been closed.

It would be a real shame if the stupidity of a few were to lead to changes in policy that would ruin it for sensible people. It sure looks to me that ANP acted appropriately here.

Dear begformercy,

This is an appropriate name as I do believe you will need to beg for mercy when you meet St. Peter one day. What an unkindly, thoughtless remark.

People come to ANP for its beauty and many are not aware of its dangers, especially during a storm. I have lived on the Island all of my life and am more than aware of the dangers, but someone who is not may not necessarily have total understanding of the power of the ocean. Even when the rangers warn visitors to be careful, there will always be people who dismiss the warnings. It's not right, people should listen. But, that's the way it is. How many times as children did our parents warn us, "Don't do that. You'll get hurt." We still went and did whatever it was anyway; sometimes we got hurt and sometimes we didn't. It's luck of the draw; it's the consequences of the choices we make.

Unfortunately, the family of the seven-year-old has paid the ultimate price -- the loss of their daughter. Another young person is recuperating from a broken leg. As a parent, my heart goes out to them. What a tragic loss.

If we all had a crystal ball in which to view th future, these kinds of things may not happen, but alas, we do not.

What can the Park do? Short of closing the Park immediately before, during, and after a storm, I don't really know. Perhaps they could post an FYI sign at Thunder Hole listing the statistics of loss of lives over the years. Names do not have to be used, but the information would be available.

The people who were at Thunder Hole were informed by the Park Service of the dangers of the storm surge. Choices were made that had dire results. No one can change what has happened; however, compassion should be what the family of the injured and loss of life should see from our communities, not thoughtless and unkind remarks.

As far as the families being charged the costs of the rescue operation -- that's for the Park Service to decide.

Sad tragedy but begformercy makes a good point, think about it what is wrong with people when they hear a Hurricane is coming, instead of preparing for a storm, instead of trying to get away from it everyone gets close to it. Rangers warned people, but lack of common sense prevailed. If you were told a metorite was about to land in the middle of a field collapsing buildings and many stupid people would go out in the field and wait for it despite warnings of death.

I have a 2 year old daughter, guess what I didn't do, you guessed it, head to ANP and put her as close to the rocks as I could with 11-15 foot high waves. Sure was not on my agenda that morning and I am sure the same went for others too.

Sure I bet it was a great thing for people to see, but people don't respect what they see. Again it was a tragic loss, one that could have easily been prevented. It was pretty much a black and white situation, no grey areas.

"As far as the families being charged the costs of the rescue operation -- that's for the Park Service to decide."

Right now, that's the LAST thing on Sheridan Steele's mind. As the superintendent of ANP, he's trying to think up a response to the eventual question, "Why did you not have a policy in place to prevent twenty visitors from being swept into the sea during a hurricane?" or "Did the loss of tens of THOUSANDS of dollars in tolls play a part in your decision not to close such a historically DANGEROUS area during this hurricane?"

captainandy-I completely agree that thunder hole should have been closed. If it was that unsafe for people to be there then it should of been blocked off and people should not be allowed there. The ANP did allow this situation to happen by letting people near the attraction.

I do think that the family will learn greatly from their mistake of not using common sense. BUT my heart goes out to them. Losing someone tragically like that is never easy and it is heartbreaking.

How about this question.

"Superintendent Steele, considering the Coast Guard saved two park visitors from certain death by drowning in a remote area of Acadia National Park with no cell phone service, would you reconsider allowing them to place a better antenna on top of Cadillac Mountain to improve communications during critical rescue operations?"

captainandy says "Why did you not have a policy in place to prevent twenty visitors from being swept into the sea during a hurricane?" or "Did the loss of tens of THOUSANDS of dollars in tolls play a part in your decision not to close such a historically DANGEROUS area during this hurricane?"

Clearly there was a policy in place to keep people off the rocks. The Rangers were there and had posted signs and had closed off the area and were telling people to get off. Some people ignored the rangers. To say that there wasn't a policy flies in the face of reality.

As for this all being about admissions revenue, I find that to be preposterous. It's about allowing people to enjoy the natural wonders offered by the park and storms are natural wonders. To deny sensible people access when sensible behavior is safe would simply be wrong on the part of the park service.

Blaming the park service over this accident when the fault was clearly on those who ignored the clear warnings of the park rangers and of common sense is sickening.

captainandy, et. al. Thunder Hole WAS closed. The gates were across the walks and signs were posted everywhere. These people chose to go out on a ledge 350 feet away from Thunder Hole. They wandered off the trail and onto unguarded, natural rock ledges that extend the length of much of the park loop in that area. There is no way for the park service to police the entire coast. There is also no reason to close an entire park to visitors who were conducting their vacations safely away from the water's edge. My only hope is that other people with children might learn from this and maybe not put their children in danger... but they won't.

mwcsmom,

I'm not critical of the rangers present. This was a policy decision (or lack of).

For crying out loud, the Park closes off mountains and trails for months to protect peregrine falcons. They don't posess the sound judgement to close Thunder Hole during a hurricane to prevent visitors from being crushed by waves and swept out to sea to drown?!?!?!

I would argue that there was a very good reason to close that whole section: A hurricane was passing through and seas were predicted to be 20 feet high on top of astronomically high tides!

I think the broken bones, injuries, death and mayhem that resulted from people having access (after paying) to the area back me up.

Ah, hasn't it already been determined that Thunder Hole WAS closed.

Ten rangers on duty for 10,000 people? During a passing hurricane?!?!

Please tell me I didn't read that correctly!

"Clearly there was a policy in place to keep people off the rocks. The Rangers were there and had posted signs and had closed off the area and were telling people to get off."

Clearly, that "policy" was worthless.

Ya right. Close off park loop road at the gate before Sand Beach and you close off access to people who want to hike up Gorham Mt. and the Beehive and the Bowl and Mt Champlain. And all the thousands of people who stayed where they were told to stay and didn't go out on the rocks because a scant few were unwilling to heed the warnings of the park staff.

The park should not be closing off entire sections of the park just because some people can't use their brains.

And to the comment about closing off trails because of the falcons, well, Thunder Hole was Closed. Same deal.

How about closing off the Precipice trail because some people don't know how to keep their feet on the rocks?

Acadia is for experiencing our natural wonders and our natural landscape. It should not be closed off just because some people are unwilling to heed warnings from park staff.

A hiker slipping on Precipice is not comparable to twenty people being swept into the raging, hurricane whipped sea.

If they were standing back NOT ON THE ROCKS they would not have been swept in, end of story. It was there own fault and many others on the ROCKS were lucky it was not them too. I was in the same general area as these people, back AWAY from the rocks with my children whose hands I held and guess what didn't get pulled in, imagine that. I really hope they don't decide to close the road off in the future to protect a minority who is not smart enough to protect themselves or their children.

Very sad. It's too bad what happened here and it's also too bad that people are being blamed over this.

Let's face it, we can blame the park rangers, it's easy and it's always nice when something scary and sad like this happens to have someone to blame.

But, really, if people were warned, if signs were out, let us not blame the rangers. It is not their job to babysit visitors. The park rangers are there because of the PARK, not because of the people.

captainandy: you say the policies were "worthless"? Do you think that not one person heeded the warnings of those signs? It was a choice for those people to go where they did. They were INFORMED. The employees of the park are there for the park, not for the people. People need to be responsible for themselves. I do agree that it would have been good if the area was closed because these things would have been avoided, but really, Thunder Hole was closed and those people still made the decision to go close to the water.

People choose to do things like this everyday. Would you have your town close down all the roads during an ice storm? No. People can make up their minds whether or not they'll go out driving in an ice storm. When the people who do drive in icy whether get into accidents we don't blame the town for not closing the roads because an adult has the ability to make decisions for him/herself.

This is very sad, but there is no "bad guy" here other than the hurricane.

I think the blame has to lie with the adults, period. If you put yourself into a situation like that, your only asking for trouble. While these folks were being rescued and tended to, I was in Bar Harbor, and watched dumbfounded as adults stood back and laughed as their young children wondered closer and closer to the crashing waves, two very young children were only a couple feet from the waves, at what point do adults start acting like adults?

It's just takes a little common sense to tell you your life is in danger in situations like these.

" The park rangers are there because of the PARK, not because of the people........

...captainandy: you say the policies were "worthless"? Do you think that not one person heeded the warnings of those signs? It was a choice for those people to go where they did. They were INFORMED. The employees of the park are there for the park, not for the people."

Unfortunately, "Reason", some park employees share your attitude. That explains the two young guys getting the heavy fine for trying out their yard sale metal detector at the old dump this summer and the guy working at Jordan Pond House getting his face broken up by the ranger last fall up on the mountain. They're able to "protect the park" from grievous assaults by malicious individuals but can't keep a crowd of 10,000 safe during a hurricane because it's not their job?

Are you their new PR person?

Blame! Blame! Blame! why do you have to Blame someone it was an accident. The parents should'nt have pay anything come on folks they just lost a little girl thats bad enough without making them pay all this state ever thinks about is money.

Perhaps rather than just try to place blame for a terrible tragedy we should make note of something positive: thousands of people watched the surf and were not hurt. The rangers evacuated those thousands of people from the Loop Road safely. The rangers and Coast Guard personnel worked together seamlessly to bring about the resuce of the two survivors. People showed true compassion for otehrs and did whatever they could to help ~ including a little lobster boat that was barely visible in the waves. I think the suggestion of improved cell phone coverage on the island is a good one ~ for hikers, boaters, peple with health conditions, even people who live there.. Let's offer constructive ideas rather than posting mean comments.

CaptainAndy you will never get it! I understand you are just one of those people who is totally incapable of talking care of yourself....you need the government there every step of the way. You're also the same person who always see's dollar signs whenever something like this happens. Oh and probably the first person to complain that your taxes are too high, but the first to complain when there isn't enough (in your opinion) staff at the Park to watch each and every person there.

No one know's that there is a weather channel?? I blame it on the father of the family for taking his family that far out to the thunder hole

Park Rangers should not be held responsible for the ignorance of people. Signs gates etc. were in place and people just ignored them. You can only do so much to try and stop people from doing dangerous things. Blaming the park rangers for this accident is like blaming a gun company for a murder. Some people just lack "common sense" and unfortunatley a little girl died because of this. Very SAD outcome. Bless this little girl!!!! Best Wishes!

observingobtuse:

You say:Park Rangers do not have the same ability to hold back and restrain the public like the police do.

Seems like last year they held back 45 hikers on day mountain and slammed a guys face into the mountain causeing fractures to his face,thats holding back as far as i'm concerned.

captainandy----Only so much can be done to keep people safe. Isen't it your own obligation to have enough sense to protect your own self from harm? And yet people persist in doing the ignorant thing, because if something happens, they have someone else to blame? Just think about it. No one "allowed" this to happen. People do these things to themselves, because we all think we are invincible. And everyone who can read , or hear, knew this storm was coming, and made sure they were right there when it struck! How can you honestly feel that other people were to blame? Or were you the first one in line?

Well, well, well. As usual, everyone seems to want to blame the Rangers whenever anything goes wrong! Thunder Hole was closed, as it always is during high surf. Why should the National Guard be called in? I am extremely sorry for the people that got injured and feel terrible for the little girl that died as the result of her injuries. I also feel sorry for the ones that fall off the mountains, and the shore path, and have automobile accidents. The "visitors" come here to have a good time and enjoy our beauty, but a lot of them seem to leave the common sense at home. The Rangers did all they could in the way of informing people and posting notices. But come on, even if you come from a desert a little common sense should kick in to tell you that big waves are dangerous. But no -- 10,000 people wanted to feel the rush of danger. Unfortunately, some decided that maybe going right down into the clutches of the ocean would be fun. Close the Park? Why? If they closed the entire road (remember, they DID close Thunder Hole) for high surf, it would be closed most of the time. Then there would be major complaints about a park not being available. And people would simply walk in anyways. Get real, people! Troopers and bullhorns and barracades at "strategic" spots.

I think it's time for people to live up to their own responsibilities and accept the results of their actions, as painful as that can be. If you are so determined to play with fire, be prepared to suffer the burns!

Observingobtruse - the weather channel ENCOURAGED people to go to Thunder Hole and watch the waves!! I saw it with my own eyes!! I thought that surely they should not give such advise - write to them and tell them to keep there opinions of where to watch storm surge to themselves!!!

How very sad for all and my heart goes out to the family who lost their daughter.

As for all the finger pointing, just how does that help?

In my opinion closing the park road around Ocean Drive would not have helped, in fact, people would have just left there cars at other locations and walked to where they could get a good view. That's just the way it is, people feel the pull of the ocean, and have to see the awesome power. Unfortunately, that power is a force not to be taken lightly.

It would have taken the Park Rangers, the National Guard as well as a host of volunteers to keep everyone off the rocks.

The only way to limit the number of people getting to the coastline, would have been to close the Trenton Bridge. That's just the nature of people.

Perhaps a lesson for the future, and a means to at try and inform as many people as possible about the dangers of the rocks vs waves, is to have volunteers posted at the Sand Beach Station, speaking to each car that goes through and passing a simple flier showing what happened this time.

Some would take the warning seriously, some would dismiss it as "it won't happen to me" and the majority would stop listening all together, that's just the way we are wired.

Were there warnings posted at the toll booths? Were the people attending the toll booths verbally warning people to stay on the paths or on the roadway and stay off the rocks between Sand Beach and Otter Cliffs? Were people being told that Sand Beach was closed? Was the parking lot to Sand Beach barracaded? I wasn't there, unfortunately I had to work off the island, but if someone who was can shed some light as to whether people were being warned at the toll booths I would love to know. That would have been a good starting point for the warnings.

Ten rangers for Ten Thousand ANP visitors just does not make sense for a day when 12to 15 foot waves were predicted and everyone up and down the New England coast were preparing for a very dangerous day at the shore. I bet most people access the park via the Park Loop Road and if it had been closed and big signsposted, and some extra police presence ...even back at the Visitor Center, visitors might have gotten it into their heads that it was life threatening to go near the shore.

Just a thought...and I'm not saying Park Rangers should be Life Guards, but year after year we hear about people falling in the Ocean at various scenic locations and being swept off shore by the waves while the Park Rangers helplessly wait for a rescue boat...some people make it, some do not. Maybe it's time the Park Rangers equip their vehicles with a couple life rings they could toss. If the person is to far out to be pulled in safely at least the person in the water will have an opportunity to try and get to the ring and hold on until help arrives.

After viewing the youtube video above, I think that it is time to stop placing the blame upon whoever is the most convenient target, and stop to consider the heroes of the day, the US Coast Guard. As anyone can see, with the waves that the USCG had to work in and around, they were putting their lives on the line as well. And they do this day after day, many times without video and photographers present. My thoughts and prayers are with the Axilrod family and for all of the others recuperating in area hospitals.

"sightseers simply ignored the Ranger's advice" SIGHTSEERS SHOULD OF BEEN ORDERED AWAY FROM ALL SHORELINES TILL THESES WAVES CALM DOWN. It's a given someone was going to get hurt. Water with such force moves anything in its way. People are like mice in a cow field when it comes to the ocean. Such a tragedy!!!

These poor folks have been made Nature-illiterate by a surfeit of electronic media pablum and a dearth of personal coexistence with Nature. There are now two generations of urban/suburban folks who have no personal experience with nature, and assume subconsciously that they can turn it off with the remote without leaving their overstuffed couches. Had they grown up in Nature rather than watching it from a safe and detachable distance, they'd have known better than to crowd the ocean when a storm is passing offshore.

This is a sad case of unnecessary natural selection, visited unfortunately on a child, rather than on the irresponsible parents.

I did not go to ANP on Sunday, but I did think about it. Just love it when the waves are huge, but had other things I had to do! If they had closed down the loop road i know of other ways and places to get near the shore to watch and admire the majestic force of nature. But I also know enough to stay the heck back from the rocks and waves. Don't close the park because some people are too stupid to recognize danger. If you take that attitude then you might as well close the whole park down now permanently. I have spent a lot of time outdoors in various places and have been in several situations that could have turned tragic. That is the nature of life. Things happen that you did not plan for and I am usually way over prepared for emergencies and the unexpected. I have lost count of the number of times I have encountered people who were not properly equipped or prepared for the area or activity they were doing. Do you want a ranger at every trail head inspecting every person to see if they are carrying an "approved" list of emergency gear? That they are wearing "approved" footwear and clothing? How about if they have medical forms from their doctor approving their participation in the activity?

Nanny State...

Yes it may have been posted.

Yes it may have been chained off.

Yes most people were notified.

I can guarantee one thing that the rangers don't speak several languages needed to communicate with people that are not from around here that do not speak English and if they can't speak English then how can they be informed, and or read the warning signs?

Bar Harbor & Acadia National Park is the most beautiful place on earth, Thunder Hole is what people

are attracted as one of the best & it will always be.

Bob Cushing

Lakeland, Florida

jc_bob99@yahoo.com

I'm not going to bother addressing individuals here. I was there and you all were clearly, not! I witnessed the clearing of T/H and padlocking of the gate. This at about 10:45-11:00 AM. I had a 1000ml zoom and like everyone else wanted some good dramatic photos. I was attracted to the large flat ledge which juts out and affords good shots of the Otter Cliffs and almost head on views of Sand Beach across the nose of T/H.

I am a native Mainer and practiced ocean watcher. I took a couple of photos and told my friend to follow me off the ledge. I hurried too. 90 seconds later three waves stacked and thrashed everyone there. We observed Mark Picking with his obviously separated shoulder and neither of our cells would give a signal.

I did see a woman with a cell to her ear a 100 feet away and used it to call 911. There was one 'sweet spot' that the phone worked in and we were still breaking up. But they got the message.

This experience was like a surreal movie unfolding; 25-30 minutes later a new batch had moved out onto that ledge which must have still been wet! We had, by now, kept to the loop road and when we heard ear shattering screams. The folks on the rocks in front of us actually laughed watching people get soaked. To those people I ask how they feel about that now?

Some people seem to think that it is possible to make the world safe. I'd suggest that, instead of locking the rest of us out of possible danger, they lock themselves in someplace where nothing will come along and bite them. We'll pass food in through a flap in the door.

(Just so you know, you'll still die eventually.)

Acadia is dangerous even in good weather. People die there. Get over it.

caveman, did you receive a warning at the toll booth or did they just take your money and say "Have a good day"? That's all I want to know. Was wondering if anyone was warned before they saw any posted signs. Some people do not have common sense these days so unfortunately they have to have more than one way of being warned of the dangers.

A tremendous THANK YOU to our Coast Guard - we should never take them for granted.

For those who are so quick to judge others in this terrible tragedy, consider the following:

If you've EVER driven a car while on a cell phone, or been the passenger and not asked the driver to please not use their cell while you're a passenger, open themselves to the possibility of loss of life - theirs or someone else's. It happens every day, without the same public outcry that I've read here. How come? It's not like folks aren't warned?

Just wondering

Hampden1 wrote: "SIGHTSEERS SHOULD OF BEEN ORDERED AWAY FROM ALL SHORELINES TILL THESES WAVES CALM DOWN."

Sure, then the rangers would be facing allegations of brutality. It sounds like they did what they could short of pulling their guns. Like someone said, the people moved, and as soon as the rangers were out of sight, they went right back.

People need to take responsibility for their own actions. I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to realize that standing on ledge next to the ocean with high surf is dangerous. It is just a shame that some people allowed their children to join them in harms way. I am sure it is a decision that will haunt them forever.

Compensated through legal process? I don't believe anyone should be compensated for not listening to warnings and, when noticing Thunder Hole was closed, looked elsewhere to find a "closer view" .. guess it doesn't get much closer than being IN the ocean, huh? It's obviously sad and tragic that a 7 year old girl lost her life, but by all accounts, the Park took the necessary precautions. They can't be held accountable for people who don't listen.

I've been to Schoodic Point and Mount Desert Island numerous times, in fact, I was at Schoodic Point just 1 week prior to this "event". I was quite disappointed that the ocean was very calm that day. I was kicking myself for not going down Sunday as I would have loved to have taken in the beauty of the roaring ocean.

ok ive got to add my2cents..ive been to the harbor during a huricane before,but i knew the waves could change in a heart beat..the rangers said dont get to close but they did,so they found out the hard way ,sorry the little girl had to pay the price ,my prayers to all involved.....but what was you thinking ????you could see the swels and it was a huricane surf.. be safe people think just for a second ....is this a smart idea.....peace

As I said before,if you walk through the town of Bar Harbor in the summer time,many of the people from away do not speak english,they do not understand english, So how would they know not being from this country or understanding our language how would they know what the rangers were warning about? If you went to france and didn't know french,and they had a warning about a life threatening event, would you know what everybody was being warned about? NO.

These people weren't from France though, they were from New York .. so come on now .. if you're in a foreign country it's your responsibility to learn the basic language anyways, isn't it?

Annon, what is your point about people who dont' speak english........actually most don't speak it, but can read it. and last I checked, for the 2nd time New York is not a foreign country. Matter in fact none of the people rescued and treated were from a foreign country. I believe they were from New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Mississippi, etc.

The father of the young girl who died is a banking executive in NYC. He was one of the 3 pulled from the water to safety. Not sure why the discussion here has turned to people speaking English or not. That may be true at times, but don't think it is attributable here unless you are talking about some in that crowd who you feel did not understand the warning about staying away.

Just something to thick about,we make decissions every day.Some are the right ones,some aren't, but turn out ok and some end with some sort of disaster or tragedy.Thats life and you have to live with it.I'm sure these people didn't go there with this tragedy in mind but they will have to live with it and I am very sorry for their loss.What bothers me are the back seat drivers that call people stupid or ignorant for a decission that went wrong.If we all look at ourselves we have all done things that could have had differant out comes and wish we had do-overs but unfortunately we don't always get do-overs.I know I have and I live with it every day.I hope some of you perfect people out ther never have experiance something like this.

The Park Service is not at all responsible for what happened. The people who ignored the closed gate chose to take their lives into their own hands. It was their choice and their choice alone to get that close. The people from Maine, especially, knew better, because about every other year or so someone falls and dies. The Park Service did not put anybody in harm's way. That was a choice the victims made.

What I am trying to say is that i'm sure that there were many people there that did not speak or understand english and how would they know what was going on if they didn't know our language? So that would make them ignore any kind of warnings and go to the shoreline to see the waves. I'm sure that not all of the people in ANP spoke english and I think that it would be a good idea to maybe have an electronic signs certain palces in the park that caters to differant languages just to be safer. Or a siren light that could be described in the information packet ,when lit and flashing stay off the shore or could result in serious injury or even death.

I grew up on MDI, my dad was a park naturalist and in the winter frequently took us to watch the storm surges on Ocean Drive, especially after a big Nor’easter, we were never allowed outside the car.I was there on Sunday, one of the last cars to go through the gate, unbeknownst to me at the time. I stopped at Sand Beach; woman stopped me to let me know they were closing the beach due to the waves from the hurricane. I went to the top of the stairs took a few pictures of the tremendous waves crashing on the beach. I pulled out of the parking lot and was immediately confronted by two female park employees that looked extremely distraught and very engrossed on what they were doing. They politely but firmly requested I pull to the right and remain in the car, until all the rescue vehicles had passed. I agreed immediately seeing the concern on their faces. I knew right that minute, that something tragic and horrible had occurred. It irritated me greatly to see some of the people in the cars behind us give those two young ladies such a hard time, demanding that they be let through. Then they came back through to let us know we could get out of our cars but we were not allowed to move them until they or the park officials said we could. I headed down the path that parallels the Ocean Drive, finding a shady spot high up on the ledges to watch the waves. A park ranger came walking over the ledges and asked politely but adamantly to move up to the path. I complied immediately. I walked further down towards Thunder Hole and to my surprise there was a throng of people there, easily a thousand or more. Then I saw the Bar Harbor Whale Watch boat and the Coast Guard cutter coming closer. It was then I realized what must have happened. People got to close to the waves and got washed in. A million thoughts went through my head. What were people doing that close to the edge? Had some one actually washed out to sea? Was some one smashed up on the rocks? As I got closer I could see the Rangers were doing their best to get everyone off the rock ledges and onto the path. The gate to Thunder Hole was locked, roped off and there was a traffic sawhorse with a warning about the strong storm waves and riptides. I would like to also note at that time there were at least four Rangers standing right beside the gate. We were then told we needed to go back to our vehicles as they would like every one to leave the area. The rangers and park personnel, (I could see various divisions of park employees now showing up, the maintenance crew, trail crew, etc) were doing the best they could despite the rude people, extreme heat, frustration and sadness at what had happened. I saw the Coast Guard throwing a life ring in the water. The crowd cheered and applauded and did the same when the second person was rescued. The man that shot the video you all have seen was standing right next to me. I watched a bit longer and made my way back to the car. Even though the park employees were doing their best to keep us moving some people just didn’t care. They did the exactly what they wanted to without consideration for anyone else. I am appalled to be part of the same human race these inconsiderate and offensive people are a part of.

So I guess to recap the events:

1. The Main Entrance gate was promptly closed when they were informed of the tragedy.

2. Gates at both Sand Beach and Thunder Hole were locked and obstructed with emergency sawhorses with danger signs on them, prior to the catastrophe, as well as park rangers and personnel standing guard at the entrances.

3. The park rangers, park employees and other rescue personnel were ON THE SCENE .

4. People that are not knowledgeable about the ocean and coast shouldn’t walk to the edge just “to see”, especially with small children ever.

5. The Park Employees, Coast Guard, Maine Marine Patrol, Bar Harbor and Otter Creek Fire/Rescue, Bar Harbor Whale Watch Crew, lobster boat Captain and the MDI Search and Rescue DESERVE A THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US that were there that day. They were doing their jobs in keeping us safe, saving lives and keeping the crowd under control.

6. The people writing posts blaming others is unfounded and illogical. Accidents happen. Many of us have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Rangers did all they could, they told people not to get close to the water and were ignored.

7. Lawsuit against the park? With the way the economy is maybe they should just shut ANP and other parks down if they are going to have to face lawsuits over incidents like this.

8. To all the inconsiderate, tactless, selfish, rude and offensive people that were giving rescue and park personnel a hard time and arguing with them SHAME ON YOU!

9. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those hurt and injured during this tragedy, especially the parents of Clio.

This is merely my observation and opinion of the events on that tragic day.

A sad day for many in the park...

BetsyB...I couldn't have said better, Ma'am! I was departing when you were arriving. I was on scene and witnessed people laughing at the fools getting wet and dead. I hope they are reading this now. Go to Church! My sincerest condolences to all for the losses and injuries. Don't you just love them in town in traffic too?

I'm so happy that the Bar Harbor Police were able to get their new $165,000 Boston Whaler on a trailer and safely park it next to the station. Gawd!

BetsyB: Thank you for sharing your firsthand account. Very revealing. Such a tragic day and cannot imagine the loss and shock the little girl's family must be feeling.

My husband and I have been coming to Acadia every summer for more than 20 years. I have noticed a change in the way children are supervised while in the park, on the trail, looking at sights, etc. Also a change in attitudes toward enjoying nature. Is it that we look on National Parks as a source of entertainment akin to a "Six Flags" park? There seems to be a decline in respect toward the danger inherent in nature and wild animals. We see this in western New York as well...especially along the Niagara River rapids and the falls. You can't just dangle your feet in the rapids and daydream, but some people do! There have been suggestions about walling off the rapids and the falls....but they have been overruled by common sense...the same common sense and respect we all need to have while enjoying what nature has to offer. Our hearts go out to those who for one reason or another suffer incomprehensible tragedy wrought by the unforgiving side of nature.

It was a FREE week-end at the Park. The toll booths were not manned. That messes up whoever it was that said it was based on money--$12 X 10,000 or whatever.

I and 10000's of others, saw wonderful actions of safety from the rangers/ local police/others at the scoodic portion---the gates were closed but that didn't prevent tons of people from walking in. 99.99% of the viewers were very respectfull and stayed far back on the road -- but there were some who wanted to get their picture taken from the rocks for "just a sec." They just waited until the rangers walked down further to speak to someone else !!!!!!!! btw the waves were often far larger than 15/20 feet high.

to "freddiestevens" it certainly was not a free day - there were 2 manned boths, and I proudly paid the $40.00 to get a season pass. Further more I do not believe for a second that the park staff WOULD EVER put making money over protecting the public from an incident like this.

*booths,

It was not a free weekend, that was the weekend before. It cost $20 for a week pass. I went through the gates, I did see the rangers talking to people as they were going in...I'm not sure what they were telling them as I have a annual pass and did not open the window...the ranger waved at me like they usually do. TH was chained and there were signs posted telling of the dangers.

thousands of people and how many rangers.

thousands of miles of ocean and how many people? start teaching in kindergarten: the ocean is bigger than people. Damn. you got lakes sucking up edmund fitzgeralds.

Sorry BetsyB, "accidents happen" yeah but in the this case it was no accident it was a sure deal! Put yourself in harmsway and you will lose. I feel so bad for that 7 year old it makes me sick to my stomach. I have two young kids & I WOULD & WILL NEVER PUT THEM IN SUCH HARMSWAY as her dad did here. You just don't do it!! Your Parent instincts should kick in & warn you of the dangers. Yes Ocean Waves are fascinating especially at this calibur but respect them as well. This would of never happened if the proper precautions were taken and common sense would of been taken. Sad Very Sad.

COMMONSENSE. People should try to use it. Accidents can be prevented the Rangers did all they could and some would still gripe if they had shut down the Park. Have faith though the new socailist heath care plan will help all injured in the next rogue wave.