- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, July 2, 1990
- Date: Mon, 2 Jul 1990
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Monday, July 2, 1990
INCIDENTS
90-162 - Golden Gate (California) - Drug Bust
On June 23rd, rangers from Golden Gate and Point Reyes conducted a raid on a
marijuana plantation on park land in western Marin County. They netted 60
plants, valued at $1,500 each, and approximately $2,000 in automatic
irrigation equipment. The bust kicked off the park's 1990 "Take a Walk in
the Woods for Weed" campaign. This particular patch was discovered while
rangers were pursuing a feral pig. (Jay Eickenhorst, GOGA, via (3cmpuServe
message from Herb Gercke, RAD/WRO, 6/26).
90-163 - Mount Rainier (Washington) - Fatality
On the evening of the 27th, K.V., 19, of Glide, Oregon, and V.P.,
23, of Quincy, Washington, both employees of the park concessioner,
were walking near Narada Falls when both fell into the river and were
carried 100 yards downstream. Although they went through several rapids,
K.V. was able to get to shore. She suffered leg fractures in several
places, and was unable to pull herself completely out of the water. The two
were reported missing by their fellow workers at the concession facility at
Paradise around 9 a.m. the following morning. Searchers found their car in
the parking area at Narada Falls, and found K.V. shortly thereafter. She
was evacuated by litter and airlifted to Tacoma. V.P. was found a short
distance away later in the day. He apparently drowned and was caught by two
boulders. The exact circumstances are still under investigation. K.V. was
the only witness and has been unable to talk at length. (Bill Larson, MORA,
via CompuServe message from Mark Forbes, RAD/PNRO, 6/29).
90-164 - Effigy Mounds (Iowa) - Flooding
Area thunderstorms dropped four and a half inches of rain on the park on the
29th, leading to flash floods which caused an estimated $40,000 damage. A
foot bridge, part of a back porch of an employee residence and an air
conditioner condenser were lost in the flood. Trail damage was also
reported. Clean-up from the storm is now underway. (Tom Munson, EFMO, via
CompuServe message from Warren Hill, RAD/MWRO, 6/29).
90-165 - New River (West Virginia) - Homicide
On June 24th, park visitors discovered the body of R.H. in his
home, which is located in an isolated part of the park known as Mill Creek.
R.H. was occupying his house under a lifetime estate agreement. R.H.
had been a victim of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in the
past, and park rangers and West Virginia state police are investigating the
possibility that R.H. was murdered. (Telefax report from Bill Blake, CR,
NERI).
90-166 - Glen Canyon (Arizona) - Rescue
A climbing group comprised of people from Flagstaff and Phoenix was climbing
in the Marble Gorge area of Grand Canyon on the 22nd when three men in the
group became stranded on ledges - two on an outcropping 300 feet below the
canyon rim, the third on another ledge 75 feet below the rim. A fourth
member of the group on the rim began suffering from heat exhaustion in the
113 degree heat. Two other men drove ten miles by dirt road to lee's Ferry
in Glen Canyon to seek assistance; during the trip, they flattened all four
tires on their vehicle and arrived driving on the rims. A joint rescue team
comprised of 13 personnel from Glen Canyon and Grand Canyon rescued the
climbers and brought them out. Two days later, four members of the group
were heading back home in a small pickup when they struck and killed a horse
on State Route 89A near Bittersprings. The only injury was to one of the
two persons asleep in the bed of the truck. He suffered minor neck and back
compression injuries when he rammed his head into the bed of the truck.
Glen Canyon park medics transported him to Page, Arizona, where he was
treated and released. The pickup was totalled. (Telefaxed report from
Larry Clark, CR, GLCA).
90-167 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Victim Found
A Hatch River Expedition group on the Colorado River found the remains of a
body at Mile 269 on the river on June 28th. The remains are believed to be
those of M.A. of Minnesota, who disappeared in the river while
attempting to swim through Diamond Rapids on June 22nd. The body has been
removed and is being identified by county officials. (GRCA dispatch, via
CompuServe message from Herb Gercke, RAD/WRD, 6/29).
90-168 - Coronado (Arizona) - Fatality
On the afternoon of the 27th, a park ranger heard a gun shot near Montezuma
Pass and went to investigate. She found the body of 52-year-old D.K.
of Fierra Vista, Arizona, in his vehicle. D.K. apparently died
from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Cochise County Sheriff's Office is
investigating. (Dwayne Collier, SOAR, via CompuServe message from Herb
Gercke, RAD/WRO, 6/29).
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level III
Two or more geographic areas experiencing incidents requiring a major
commitment of national resources. High number of fires becoming Class D
and larger. Additional resources are being ordered and mobilized through
NICC. Type 1 teams are committed in two or more areas, or 300 crews are
committed nationally.
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire Acres Status
CA CA State *Morettis 3,650 Yes
USFS Cleveland Bedford - T1 4,500 Yes
Los Padres Paint - T1 4,200 Yes
Plumas *Greenhorn - T2 480 CN 7/1
CO USFS Gunnison Horsefly - T2 3,875 Yes
Alpine Plateau 190 None
Arapaho/
Roosevelt Goodell - T2 141 Yes
BLM Montrose Menesse Mountain 950 CN 7/2
AZ BLM Phoenix Empire - T2 726 No info
USFS Tonto Dude - T1 (3) 28,480 Yes
Coronado *Maverick 800 CN 7/10
AZ State Montosa - T2 10,000 CN 7/2
State *Wreck 200 None
NM USFS Gila Draw 100 Yes
Cibola *Apache 270 CN 7/2
Santa Fe Commissary - T2 235 Yes
NPS Guadalupe Mtn. Frijole - T1 6,014 Yes
BIA Fort Apache *Stago - T2 800 None
*B33 200 None
NM State Corona 563 Yes
State *Long 225 CN 7/1
State *Corral 120 CN 7/2
NV BLM Winemucca *Kelly Creek 1,500 Yes
Elko *Crittenden 250+ None
ID BLM Boise *F012 200+ None
Salmon *Tower Creek 800 None
AK FWS Yukon Flats *A121 5,200 None
NOTES:
- Fires - Asterisk indicates newly reported fire. T1 and T2 indicate
assigned Type I and Type II Teams.
- 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.
- Agencies - All BLM areas are districts; CDF is California
Department of Forestry.
3) FIRE NARRATIVES -
- Frijole Fire (Guadalupe Mountains) - Denton's Type I team has been
committed to the fire. Over the weekend, hand crews made progress
on the east and west flanks of the fire with support from helicopters
and air tankers. Water drops were made on the slopes south of
McKittrick Canyon which were inaccessible to hand crews. In bluff
areas, water was used instead of retardant to reduce impacts on
cliff esthetics, threatened and endangered plants, and peregrine
habitat. The fire was reported to have been contained yesterday.
- Dude Fire (Tonto NF) - Three Type I teams (Shaw, Muechel and Gallegos)
have been committed to the fire, which has been contained.
4) FIRE ACTIVITY - 220 fires for 6,500 acres in past 24 hours.
5) ANALYSIS - Containment and control target dates are being met on
a number of large fires. Very high to extreme conditions continue
to be reported in the Rockies, Southwest, California, Utah,
Nevada and southern Idaho. Fire activity is increasing in Alaska
as a result of dry conditions and lightning activity.
The NPS currently has 140 firefighters and 53 overhead personnel
committed to fire suppression efforts nationwide. The majority are on
fires located in Texas, Arizona and California. Here's a breakdown:
Firefighters Overhead Firefighters Overhead
AR 0 0 PNR 0 0
MAR 0 0 RMR 24 9
MWR 0 0 SER 2 0
NAR 0 0 SWR 32 12
NCR 0 1 WR 82 31
6) PROGNOSIS - Fire activity is expected to increase in Alaska. The
potential for human-caused fires of the 4th is significant. Major
demobilization from Southwest fires is expected.
(Telefaxed report from Reed Detring, Branch of Fire, Boise, 1400 MDT, 7/1;
NICC Intelligence Section, Daily Situation Report, 1630 MDT, 7/1; NICC
Intelligence Section, Fire Management Situation Report, 0530 MDT, 7/2).
CALENDAR
Asterisk (*) indicates new entry; plus (+) indicates revised entry.
Brackets at end of entry indicate source of information:
July 29 - 31 - "Wildlife 2001: Populations", Oakland Airport Hilton Hotel,
Oakland, CA. An international conference for research workers and agency
personnel with interest in the science, conservation and management of
vertebrate populations, exclusive of fish and primates. Sponsored by The
Wildlife Society and Department of Forestry and Resource Management,
University of California, Berkeley. For further information, contact Dale
McCullough (415-642-8462) or Reg Barrett (415-642-7261).
August 5 - 9 - "Recapturing a Vanishing Heritage", Twelfth North American
Prairie Conference, University of Northern Iowa, (Cedar Falls, Iowa. For
further information, contact Twelfth North American Prairie Conference, 2759
McCollum Science Hall, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614.
[Kurt Topham, HERO]
September 11 - 13 - EMS Coordinators' Training, Albright Training Center.
More information to follow. [Butch Farabee, RAD/WASO]
October 13 - 19 - "Natural Areas and Yosemite: Prospects for the Future",
Yosemite (10/13-14) and Sheraton Conference Center, Concord, CA (10/15-19).
Sponsored by The Natural Areas Association, Yosemite NP, and The Yosemite
Fund. Inquiries should be directed to Coordinator, NA/Yosemite Centennial
Symposium, GGNRA, Fort Mason Building 201, San Francisco, CA 94123 (415-556-
1009). [Jenness Coffey, RAD/WASO]
November 8 - 10 - "The Spanish Missionary Heritage of the United States",
Fountain Plaza Hotel, San Antonio, TX. For registration information, please
write to Quincentenary Committee, San Antonio Missions NHP, 2202 Roosevelt
Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78210 or call either Racinda Meno or Dr. Art Gomez
at 512-229-5701.
November 12 - 15 - "Resource Technology 90", International Symposium on
Advanced Technology in Natural Resource Management, Washington, D.C. For
more information, contact conference coordinator Janette Evans at 303-226-
1688. Harvey Fleet, NPS-GIS, DSC, is coordinating the "Parks and Protected
Areas" segment of the session. [Kathy Jope, RAD/MARO]
November 12 - 17 - Sixth Conference on Research in the National Parks and
Equivalent Reserves, Westin Paso Del Norte Hotel, El Paso, TX. Sponsored by
George Wright Society. For further information, call the 1990 Conference
(Committee at 415-556-1866. [George Wright Forum].
November 13 - 16 - "Agency and Inter-agency Response to Natural and
Technological Disasters", Sixth Annual Environmental Roundtable, Interlaken
Resort and Spa, Lake Geneva, WI. Sponsored by MWRO, DOI's Office of
Environmental Affairs (Chicago), USFS (Region 9) and EPA (Region 5). For
further information, contact John Townsend, FTS 864-3475. [John Townsend,
MWRO]
November 27 - 30 - Annual regional recreation fee and reservation system
coordinator training, 7000B, Department of Interior. Benefitting account
pays travel and per diem. Contact Wes Kreis, FTS 268-4205. [Wes Kreis,
RAD/WASO]
December 10 - 14 - FMO meeting, location to be determined. [Doug Erskine,
FIRE]
(Calendar appears in each Monday's morning report. If you know of a
conference, meeting or training session with Servicewide interest and
implications, please provide the specifics to Bill Halainen in Ranger
Activities).
STAFF STATUS
- Division Chief: Dabney on AL (7/2-6).
- Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Loach on AL (6/18-7/9);
Farabee in Alaska for aviation program evaluation (7/2-7/4); Henry on SL;
Halainen on AL (7/2-7/4).
- Branch of Fire: Hurd meeting with branch staff in Boise (7/2-7/5).
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