Winter Activities at Arches

November 5, 2001 (NPS): As the visitor season draws to a close, the activities at Arches National Park are also being scaled back. Beginning on Sunday, November 4, the Visitor Center at Arches will be open from 8:00 A.M. until 4:30 P.M. daily. (The visitor center will be closed on Christmas Day.) The 16-minute introductory slide show to the park will be shown on request.

Guided hikes into the Fiery Furnace will not be offered again until next Spring. Groups familiar with the area and intending to hike on their own will be required to obtain a free permit and attend a five-minute orientation program to learn about the fragile nature of this special place.

This is the first year that Devils Garden Campground will have water available throughout the winter. Sites are $10 per night and filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Visitors can self-register for sites at the campground, 18 miles from the park’s entrance. Facilities provided include flush toilets, picnic tables and grills. Campers are also reminded to bring their own firewood for the grills as collecting of firewood in the park is not permitted. Water is available at the visitor center and Devils Garden only.

A fee of $10 per vehicle is charged to enter (or exit) the park. Passes which are honored and available include the National Park Pass ($50) which permits entry into all National Park Service areas for one year, the Annual Southeast Utah Group (SEUG) Pass ($25), Golden Age Pass(a one-time fee of $10 for those 65 and older), and Golden Access Pass (a free lifetime pass to those who are eligible).

Winter is a magical time to visit the park. Wildlife tends to venture out into once bustling areas and the hush of winter falls over the park. Come out to Arches and experience the serene wonder of winter.

Charges Filed Against Photographer

October 19, 2001 (NPS): SALT LAKE CITY - A seven-count Misdemeanor Information filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City this morning charges Michael Fatali (DOB 10-1- 65) of Springdale, Utah, with several violations of federal law in connection with fires federal authorities allege he started at two national parks in Utah. Four of the fires damaged the area around one of the national park system’s most recognizable icon: Delicate Arch located within Arches National Park.

Fatali, who apparently used the fires as a photographic technique, is charged with injuring or defacing mineral resources in a national park; unauthorized fire in a national park; lighting or using a fire that damages or burns national park resources; leaving a fire unextinguished on public lands; and aiding and abetting. Each of the seven misdemeanor counts carries a potential maximum prison sentence of six months and a fine of up to $5,000. Individuals charged in Misdemeanor Informations are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court. The case has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba. The Clerk’s Office has issued a summons to Fatali to appear before Judge Alba on Nov. 5 at 2 p.m.

On the morning of September 19, 2000, visitors reported to park rangers at the Arches National Park visitor center that fires had been set in the area immediately around Delicate Arch. Park investigators determined that four fires appeared to have been deliberately lit during the previous night. Three of the fires, located directly underneath and beside Delicate Arch, resulted in scorching and discoloration of the famous red sandstone. Efforts by local park staff to restore the fire scars were unsuccessful, in part because of the presence of an oily or waxy substance that stained and penetrated into the rock surface beneath each of the scars, Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Dance, who is representing the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the case, said.

The first three counts of the Information relate to damage authorities believe Fatali caused when he started two fires, and directed a third fire to be lit, at Delicate Arch on or about September 18 and 19, 2000. According to the Information, Fatali’s actions while lighting and maintaining the fires caused the defacing of mineral resources, specifically the Entrada Sandstone slickrock immediately underneath and beside Delicate Arch at three separate locations - on the left (east) side of Delicate Arch; directly under the span of the Arch; and on the right (west) side. Investigators believe he used "Duraflame" logs to start the fires. Scars from the fires are still visible at the Arch.

Count four of the Information charges Fatali with causing the lighting of a fire in the same time period in a sandy bowl near Delicate Arch that damaged and burned park resources. Investigators say Fatali directed members of a photo workshop group with him in the park at the time of the fires to collect wood from the area to build the fire. Count five alleges he left the fire in the sandy bowl area without totally extinguishing it. The fire was still smoldering when rangers responded to the area the following day.

The final two counts relate to similar actions investigators believe Fatali engaged in about four years ago at Horsehoof Arch and in a slot canyon known as "The Joint Trail", both in Canyonlands National Park. In both incidents, Fatali is charged with lighting and using a fire that damaged and burned park resources.

National park investigators estimate it will cost more than $16,000 to repair and restore the damage done to the Utah parks as a result of Fatali’s alleged actions.

An internationally pre-eminent stone conservator completed a damage assessment on the scorching of the sandstone in December 2000. Using information learned from the assessment, a National Park Service architectural conservator with expertise in restoring damaged masonry and rock art began work to rehabilitate the slickrock Thursday. Although Park Superintendent Rock Smith initially expressed optimism that most if not all of the scorching can be removed and will not permanent, initial reports on the restoration project late Thursday were somewhat disappointing. Some of the fire damage may leave permanent scars at the Arch.

During restoration work, which is expected to last at least four days, the conservator will be working directly beneath or beside Delicate Arch. "The restoration specialist will be working directly in the camera’s view of Delicate Arch. I am asking that park visitors be patient and understand that he can not leave the work area in order to accommodate a photographer’s desire to take an unobstructed photograph", Smith said.

Delicate Arch is a four-story, free-standing natural stone arch perched on the rim of a deep sandstone canyon in Arches National Park, Utah. It is an internationally recognized icon of the American Desert Southwest and the state of Utah. It is one of the most recognized elements of the U.S. National Park System, along with Yellowstone’s Old Faithful, Yosemite’s Half Dome and the Statue of Liberty. Delicate Arch is probably the most famous natural span in the world and is a place of unsurpassed natural beauty in an incomparable setting. Thousands of people make the 1.5-mile hike each year to enjoy its beauty.

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