RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

Attention: Directorate
           Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
           CC: RAD Information Net

Day/date: Wednesday, May 23, 1990

INCIDENTS

90-102 - Hot Springs (Arkansas) - Follow-up on Flooding

Clean-up work was underway throughout the park yesterday. The
park is employing the incident command system to evaluate and
tackle flood problems. Analysis of the needed organization is
underway, and personnel duty assignments have begun. The
damage has been considerable:

* Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center - The building remains
closed and without telephone service and the telephone company
estimates that it will be two weeks before phones are restored.
Electricity has been restored to the Fordyce for lighting, but
the building has no functioning air conditioning. Almost the
entire sales stock in the ENPMA storage area was lost.
Basement sheetrock walls need replacement. Air handling
equipment at the rear of the basement suffered an undetermined
amount of water damage. Flood waters and silt entered the
sealed Fordyce Spring viewing box. The main utilities control
room flooded, submerging the main electrical panels and the
building heating, ventilating and air conditioning controls,
valves and circulating motors. The HVAC system ruptured. Most
of the doors are warped and peeled beyond repair.

* Administrative headquarters building - The telephones are out
here, too, and will not be restored for at least two weeks.
The water in the basement has been pumped down to where the
thermal water supply pumps can be removed and repaired. The
system will probably not supply water for about a week. The
pumps and mechanical systems will have to be repaired, the
collection and storage reservoirs decontaminated, and the water
tested as safe by the state health department. The USGS was
advised that the weir system had been damaged, and they plan to
visit the park today.

* Bathhouses - Superior Bathhouse was found to have taken in
about a foot of water on the first floor. Other bathhouses
have broken doors and windows and need massive clean-up.

*  Whittington Park - Some of the rock and masonry wall in the
creek was lost, a major tree fell and there's been some
erosion.

* Campground - Erosion occurred alongside the creek retaining
wall, fire grilles have been washed out, the riprap wall is
gone, the drain pipe is leaking at all joints, and silt and
gravel have been deposited.

* Trails - Some very severe erosion has occurred on trails and
many trees are down.

* Hot Spring Mountain - The contractor was able to open the
Carriage Road to visitors at noon on Monday, permitting them
access to the Mountain Tower.

* West Mountain Drive - The route to the summit has nearly been
cleared.

(CompuServe message from HOSP via RAD/SWRO, midnight EDT,
5/23/90).

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level II

2) FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency      Area             Fire                    Acres  Status

NM     USFS      Lincoln NF        Big  - T1                33,135  CN 5/23

GA     FWS       Okefenokee NWR    Mother's Day                600  CN 5/23

FL     NPS       Everglades NP     Gator Bay                   200  MN
       NPS       Everglades NP     DOF 328                     150  CL 5/23

NOTES:

- Fires - Asterisk indicates newly reported fire.
- Status - Containment/control dates are estimates; CN means
  contain, CL means control, MN means the fire is being
  monitored; "none" means no estimate; "yes" means the fire has been
  contained.

3) FIRE NARRATIVES

a) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE:

- Gator Bay (Everglades) - Monitoring continues,

b) OTHER AGENCIES:

- Big Fire (Lincoln NF) - Final burnout operations were
completed yesterday despite high temperatures and gusty
winds. The fire is 92% contained, and full containment is
expected by this evening. Carlsbad Caverns estimates that
9,200 acres of the fire have occurred within the park.

4) FIRE ACTIVITY - 144 fires for 1,519 acres in past 24 hours.

5) FIRE DANGERS - The following parks are experiencing high to
extreme fire danger this morning:

       High                Very High                 Extreme

Everglades              Guadalupe Mountains       Carlsbad Caverns
Padre Island            Navajo                    Fort Davis
El Malpais              Sunset Crater             Grand Canyon
Hawaii Volcanoes        Wupatki
Saguaro

6) ANALYSIS - Areas in the Southwest continue to report very
high to extreme indices.

7) PROGNOSIS - Conditions in Florida are expected to moderate
with forecasted precipitation. Continued activity in the
Southwest is anticipated.

(NIFCC Intelligence Section, 0530 MDT, 5/23/90; NPS National
Wildland Fire Summary, 0430 MDT, 5/23/90).

OFFICE NOTES

1) Does anyone have a model or sample MOU with an ambulance
transport service which could be included in the new revision
to NPS-51, the Service's EMS guideline? If you do, please
contact Butch Farabee at FTS 268-4188 or 202-208-4188.

STAFF STATUS

- Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Halainen at meeting
  with uniform contractor (5/2 3).

- Branch of Fire: Broyles at training working team meeting in
  Reno, Nevada (5/22-25); Erskine, Botti and Norum at budget
  hearing in Washington (5/23-25).


Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone:  FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
Telefax:    FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977
CompuServe: WASO-RANGER
SEAdog:     1/650