- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 9, 1989
- Date: Wed, 9 Aug 1989
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Wednesday, August 9, 1989
INCIDENTS
89-213 - Constitution Gardens - Fatality
Just before 2 p.m. on the 7th, Park Police officers found an unconscious
person lying on the ground in Constitution Gardens. The individual, later
identified as R.W., was dressed in jogging clothes. He was taken
by ambulance to the George Washington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead
shortly thereafter. R.W. worked as a staff assistant to Congressman J.
Dennis Hastert (R, 14th District, Illinois). (CompuServe message from Dave
Blackburn, RAD/NCRO).
89-214 - Gateway - Defection of Chinese Acrobat
A female acrobat, part of a Chinese troupe performing in a circus in New
York, sought political asylum in the United States at Floyd Bennett Field
yesterday. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), State
Department and Council General were notified, and she was later turned over
to INS. Her name is being withheld at present. The other four members of
the troupe had previously decamped during a tour stop in Vermont; they also
sought asylum. (Telephone report from GATE).
89-215 - New River - Drowning
On August 6th, L.Z., 44, of Accoville, West Virginia, was unloading
gear from his boat after a fishing trip when he apparently slipped, fell and
struck his head. Friends found him face down in the water 30 to 50 minutes
later. CPR was begun; although L.Z. was temporarily revived, he later
died at a nearby hospital. West Virginia State Police officers are
investigating. (Telephone report from RAD/MARO).
89-216 - Great Smokies - Marijuana Eradication
On the afternoon of August 7th, rangers in the Cosby Subdistrict destroyed
22 marijuana plants ranging in height from four to six feet and valued at
$22,000. The plants had been under surveillance for about two months.
There are no suspects, and no arrests have been made. (Don Utterback, SDR,
GRSM, via telephone report from Steve Alscher, RAD/SERO).
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) FIRE SITUATION: Planning Level IV.
Cooler temperatures and rain helped firefighters in their efforts yesterday;
numerous fires are now reaching containment, and resources are being
reassigned. Enough crews were available to meet the needs of incident
commanders yesterday, thereby reducing the competition for resources.
Because of this, there was no MAC Group (Multi-Agency Coordinating Group)
meeting last night. The potential for new starts remains high, however, as
dry thunderstorms are forecast for much of the northwest and California.
Overall, 25 fires are burning on 118,000 acres, but this number should drop
significantly tomorrow.
The NPS had 783 firefighters and 194 overhead personnel committed to fires,
with another 192 firefighters and 87 overhead personnel available at their
home stations.
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire Acres Contain
MT USFS Nez Perce NF Curren Mt. - T1 6,575 8/9
ID USFS Boise NF Lowman Comp. - T1: 44,156 8/14
USFS Boise NF Warm Lake Comp. - T1:
Bear Creek 6,300 8/12
Lunch 8,873 8/12
Horn Creek 3,073 None
USFS Boise NF Riordan Lake - T2 3,100 8/17
USFS Payette NF Foolhen Comp. - T2:
Needles 2,700 None
Spruce Creek 708 8/9
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 7,689 None
Steamboat 1,990 None
USFS Payette NF Game Creek 2,454 None
USFS Payette NF Two Point 767 None
USFS Payette NF Hand Creek 558 None
USFS Payette NF *Sheepeater 343 None
OR USFS Wall.-Whit. NF Enterprise Comp. - T1:
Canal - T2 23,350 Yes
Summit - T1 7,000 8/15
Lookout 610 Yes
USFS Wall.-Whit. NF Emmet Comp. - T2:
Sheep 5,811 None
Lily Pad 1,472 None
Baldy 1,401 None
USFS Wall.-Whit. NF Monument Rk. - T2 12,000 Yes
BLM Vale *Whiskey Springs 400 8/9
WA BIA Colville Agency *Cameron Lake 1,490 8/9
CA BLM Calif. Desert *Kingston 300 8/9
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 ACTIVITY - 228 fires for 1,996 acres in last 24 hours.
4) ANALYSIS - Widespread, locally heavy rains are assisting in
suppression efforts. The majority of new ignitions are being held
at initial attack.
5) 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 from Jan Wobbenhorst, BFM/Boise).
OTHER NEWS
Cape Cod: On July 28th, lifeguards from the park took the top team award at
the New England Regional Lifeguard Championships held in Chatham,
Massachusetts. This is the second time in three years that they've taken
this prize. Over 200 lifeguards from throughout New England participated in
the day-long competition. Fifteen teams ran, swam and paddled through the
11-event contest. Two park lifeguards won individual events - Dave Ehle won
the one-man rescue and Maura Skelley won the one-woman rescue events. They
now qualify for all-expense paid trips to the US Lifesaving Association's
national competition, to be held on August 11th and 12th in Santa Cruz,
California.
STAFF STATUS
Dabney and Healy on AL. Andy Ringgold is acting chief of Ranger Activities.
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities