- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, August 8, 1989
- Date: Tues, 8 Aug 1989
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Tuesday, August 8, 1989
INCIDENTS
89-209 - Blue Ridge Parkway - Homicide
Around 10:30 a.m. on the 5th, a park maintenance employee found a van with
its windows shot out at Big Ridge Overlook on the North Carolina section of
the parkway. Investigating rangers subsequently found I.L., 49,
and J.L., 47, both of Seffner, Florida, within the vehicle. She
was dead of gunshot wounds; although he had been shot at least twice in the
head, he was still alive. J.L. is now in critical condition in a
hospital and is not expected to survive. Rangers, FBI agents and Buncombe
County deputies are investigating. (Howard Parr, CR, BLRI, via telephone
report from Steve Alscher, RAD/SERO).
89-210 - Lake Mead - Drowning
On August 7th, D.D., 20, of Cuahtemoch, Mexico, and a companion
attempted to swim from Special Events Beach to the "wakeless" buoy marker, a
distance of about a quarter of a mile. Although D.D.'s companion made
it to the buoy, D.D. floundered behind him and eventually sank from
sight. Other visitors reached him and brought him to shore, but it took
another five minutes before someone with CPR skills arrived at the beach.
CPR efforts failed, and Dominguez was later pronounced dead due to drowning.
(Lila Roybal, Dispatch, LAME, via CompuServe message from Herb Gercke,
RAD/WRO).
89-211 - Olympic - Drug Seizure
At 6 a.m. on August 3rd, seven park rangers and two DEA agents served a
search warrant for drugs at a trailer in the Lake Quinault area of the park.
Among the items subsequently seized were 62 sensimilla plants, valued at
$62,000, a 36.06 rifle and a pickup truck. Two suspects were arrested, and
were arraigned last Friday in Seattle. One of the two has admitted to
selling the marijuana for $120 per ounce. (CompuServe message from Bill
Frazier, RAD/PNRO).
89-212 - Big Bend - Cocaine Seizure
On August 3d, Border Patrol and DBA agents stopped a 1980 Chevrolet truck
and travel trailer 30 miles north of the park and found 923 pounds of
cocaine hidden in compartments in the trailer. The driver, D.P. of
Bobbs, New Mexico, was taken into custody and the vehicle impounded. The
cocaine was valued at over $29 million. Although no NPS units were involved
in the incident, the drugs were transported through the Rio Grande Wild and
Scenic River at Adams Ranch one mile east of the park. This is the largest
seizure to take place in the vicinity of Big Bend. (CompuServe message from
Charlie Peterson, BIBE, to RAD/SWRO and RAD/WASO).
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) FIRE SITIATION: Planning Level IV.
Warm weather, particularly in Idaho, caused some increased activity on fires
yesterday. Nearly 12,000 dry lightning strikes were recorded on Sunday in
Arizona, southern Nevada, southern California, eastern Oregon and southern
Idaho. Some new starts resulted from this activity, and there's a
significant threat of hold-over fires becoming active in the hot days to
come. Very high fire dangers and forecasted lightning for the Sierras could
result in additional new starts in that area.
As of yesterday evening, there were 962 crews and 3,341 overhead personnel
assigned to fires nationwide; another 202 overhead personnel and 38 crews
(22 of them Type I) were being requested. Of the 38 crews on order, 11 were
for the Foolhen Complex, 11 for the Summitt Complex, 11 for the Emmet
Complex, and five for the Lowman Complex. No crews were reported to be
available, but 21 crews (16 of them Type II) were to arrive in Boise last
night and another 18 (16 of them Type II) are expected by tomorrow night.
Thirteen of 18 Type I Teams were in the field. Aircraft deployed included
51 airtankers, 18 lead planes and 35 helicopters. The NPS had 762
firefighters and 185 overhead personnel committed to fires, with another 203
firefighters and 93 overhead personnel available at their home stations.
The McNeil-Lehrer Report on PBS on Thursday will have an eight-minute
segment showing a daily fire briefing for the National MAC Group at Boise.
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire Acres Contain
MT USFS Nez Perce NF Curren Mt. - T1 6,475 8/9
ID USFS Boise NF Lowman Comp. - T1: 42,834 None
USFS Boise NF Warm Lake Comp. - T1:
Bear Creek 6,101 None
Lunch 8,046 None
Horn Creek 2,824 None
USFS Boise NF Riordan Lake - T2 3,100 8/17
USFS Payette NF Foolhen Comp. - T2:
Needles 2,650 None
Spruce Creek 708 8/20
Dollar 10,450 None
USFS Payette NF Partridge Comp. - T1:
French Fry 165 None
Partridge 8,050 None
Goat 260 None
USFS Payette NF Steamboat Comp. - T1:
Wangdoodle 6,726 None
Steamboat 1,993 None
USFS Payette NF Game Creek 1,800 None
USFS Payette NF Two Point 825 None
USFS Payette NF Hand Creek 450 None
USFS Payette NF Vinegar Hill 589 Yes
UT State - Chalk Creek 1,700 8/7
OR USFS Wall.-Whit. NF Enterprise Comp. - T1:
Canal - T2 23,350 8/7
Summit - T1 7,000 8/15
Lookout 610 8/7
USFS Wall.-Whit. NF Emmet Comp. - T2:
Sheep 5,811 None
Lily Pad 1,472 None
Baldy 1,401 None
Casey Springs 122 None
Emmet 1,286 None
USFS Wall.-Whit. NF Monument Rk. - T2 12,000 8/7
CA USFS Cleveland NF Vail - T1 15,643 Yes
USFS Sierra NF Balch - T1 7,550 Yes
NOTES:
- Agencies - All BLM areas are districts; CDF is California Department of
Forestry.
- Fires - Asterisk indicates new fire.
- Areas - T1 and T2 indicate assigned Type I and Type II Teams.
- Contain - Containment dates are estimates; "none" means no estimate;
"yes" means the fire has been contained.
3) FIRE NARRATIVES
a) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE:
* Everglades NP:
The Westlake fire was begun by a lightning strike on August 6th.
It burned approximately 1,200 acres in grass and palmetto. The
fire was surrounded by water and fully controlled by yesterday.
b) OTHER AGENCIES:
* Boise NF:
The Lowman Complex is 60% contained. Progress was Bade on all staffed
fires on the Warm Lake Complex; structure protection and hazard reduction
is underway for structures in the towns of Yellowpine and Warm Lake and
for the ranger station at Landmark.
* Payette NF:
The Needles fire in the Foolhen Complex is threatening proposed timber
sales and historic; structures. Fires on the Steanboat Complex were
active yesterday, with torching and spotting reported. The Zena
and Wangdoodle fires have burned together. The Game Creek fire made a
run toward ranch land and. continues to be a threat to two ranches and a
guard station. The northward spread of the Hand Creek fire has been
contained by an old burn.
4) FIRE ACTIVITY - 228 fires for 1,996 acres in last 24 hours.
5) ANALYSIS - Competition continues for initial attack resources as
new lightning-caused ignitions occur in California, Nevada, Montana
and the Northwest. locally heavy rain associated with some
thunderstorm activity has moderated the fire danger in sone areas.
Significant progress has been made toward containing major fires in
Oregon and Idaho. RID FLAG WARNINGS have again been issued for dry
thunderstorms with gusty winds in eastern Washington and Idaho.
6) PROGNOSIS - Resource shortages are expected to moderate as more
fires reach containment and reassignments occur.
(NIFCC Intelligence Section, 0530 MDT, 8/9/89; supplemental information on
NPS fires from Rich Bryant and Jan Wobbenhorst, BFM/Boise).
STAFF STATUS
Dabney and Healy on AL. Andy Ringgold is acting chief of Ranger Activities.
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities
Telephone: FTS 343-4874/6039 or 202-343-4874/6039
Telefax: FTS 343-5977 or 202-343-5977
CompuServe: WASO-RANGER
SEAdog: 1/650 (Phone:343-6014; BAUD:2400)