- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Thursday, August 2, 1990
- Date: Thurs, 2 Aug 1990
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Thursday, August 2, 1990
INCIDENTS
90-220 - Glacier (Montana) - Bear Maulings
Around 11 p.m. on the night of the 31st, concession employees M.A.,
23, and D.M., 22, were hiking on the Iceberg-Ptarmigan Lake Trail in
the Many Glacier area when they surprised a bear. The bear attacked and
seriously mauled both of them - M.A. suffered bites and lacerations the
length of his right leg and bites on his upper right arm, D.M. received
bite wounds on her upper right arm and arm pit, her right chest and right
side, and her right leg and hip. They were able to hike out, and have since
been hospitalized. Both are reported to be in stable condition. It is
unclear whether the bear was a grizzly or a black bear. Although bear
prints at the scene of the incident were small, it is believed that the bear
was probably a grizzly. The trail has been closed. No action against the
bear is presently planned. M.A. and D.M. work at Glacier Park Lodge in
East Glacier. (Telephone report from Jim Reilly, RAD/RMRO, 7/31, and
Associated Press report, 8/1).
90-221 - Gateway (New York) - Felony Pursuit; Fatality
At 3:30 a.m. on the morning of the 24th, a Park Police unit came upon a
stolen, whose driver was reported to be armed. During the subsequent
attempt to arrest him, a scuffle occurred and the operator got into his
vehicle, rammed the cruiser and took off. The Park Police officers pursued
the vehicle down a parkway, but never got closer than a block behind him.
At 4 a.m., the vehicle hit a milk truck, killing the operator instantly.
The driver of the milk truck was not injured. An investigation is underway.
(Telephone report from Capt. Dale Dickerhoof, RAD/NARO, 7/27).
90-222 - Upper Delaware River (New York) - Drowning
On the afternoon of July 20th, four juveniles went swimming in the Upper
Delaware 200 to 300 yards south of the Skinner Falls access. Two adults,
who were parents of one of the swimmers (not the victim), watched from the
shore. As the four attempted to swim across the river, 15-year-old C.A.
of Westbury, New York, became tired and decided to turn back. He
failed to make it to shore and drowned. None of the other swimmers were
able to get to him to help. NPS divers recovered the body with the
assistance of a local fire department diver later that afternoon. (Mike
Reuber, UPDE, via CompuServe message from Kathy Jope, RAD/MARO, 7/23).
90-223 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - River Rescue
A 38-foot, motorized "C-rig" raft overturned in Crystal Rapids on June 19th
and became stuck against a rock in the center of the river. Four of the 23
persons on board became trapped under the boat. One extricated himself and
signalled responding rangers that there were others still beneath the raft.
Rangers employed short-haul techniques to extricate the victims with the
assistance of a kayaker who was able to reach the raft. All passengers and
NPS rescue personnel were safely short-hauled to shore. One of the three
victims was found to be extremely hypothermic due to the water temperature.
Meanwhile, rangers headed downstream on motor rigs to search for unaccounted
members of the group. Within an hour, all were located within three miles
of the incident. There were no fatalities; the most significant injury was
a compound wrist fracture. All members of the party were transported to the
South Rim and released following evaluations at the clinic. Four
helicopters - including one owned by the NPS - were employed in the
incident. (Dispatch, GRCA, via CompuServe message from Herb Gercke,
RAD/WRO, 7/23).
90-224 - Coulee Dam (Washington) - Shooting Incident
Early on July 14th, park rangers received a report of nude sunbathers in the
public beach area near Gifford Campground. A ranger contacted the
sunbathers, who were now clothed, and requested that they move to a more
remote area away from persons offended by their activity. They said that
they would comply, and the ranger left the area. A short time later, the
person who made the original complaint again confronted the sunbathers and
an argument ensured. One of the sunbathers drew a small-caliber handgun and
fire shots at the complainant, missing him. The assailant then fled the
area. He was later arrested by sheriff's deputies at his home and charged
with aggravated assault. The complainant is well known to rangers and other
law enforcement officers as a suspect in numerous complaints of indecent
exposure in the Gifford area, and it's suspected that the argument may have
been the result of a territorial dispute. (CompuServe message from CODA,
7/25).
90-225 - Gateway - Sandy Hook Unit (New Jersey) - Aircraft Landing
On the afternoon of July 22nd, a Piper J5A towing a 49-foot advertising
banner released the banner over the park, then began circling the area at an
altitude estimated to have been below 300 feet. After several very low
dives southbound along Atlantic Drive, the plane landed in Lot K without
incident. The pilot, 23-year-old R.P. of North Arlington, New
Jersey, said that he had to land due to fog and poor visibility. The pilot
was cited for an unauthorized landing and released to the owner of the
aircraft. The undamaged aircraft was impounded, and an FAA investigator who
was summoned to the park began an investigation into the incident. At the
time of the landing, there were about 10,000 people in the park. The lot in
which R.P. landed had 25 vehicle. (Frank Mills, CR, SAHO, via telefaxed
report from John Lynch, RAD/NARO, 7/24).
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - II
One geographic area experiencing high fire danger. Numerous Class A, B,
and C fires occurring and a potential exists for escapes to larger
(project) fires. Minimal mobilization of resources from other geographic
areas occurring. The potential exists for mobilizing additional
resources from other geographic areas.
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire Acres Status
CO BLM Craig *Villard 300 CN 8/1
*Lee Gulch 100+ CN 8/2
WA NPS North Cascades McCallister 270 CN 8/5
USFS Wenatchee Canoe Creek - T2 505 CN 8/6
OR BLM Prineville Pine Hollow 500 Yes
Vale Echavie 500 Yes
Cedar Mountain 195 Yes
USFS Siskiyou *Caves - T2 100 None
UT BLM Salt Lake City Chokecherry 2,500 CN 8/1
Shoshone *Crater Butte 1,800 None
BIA Ft. Uintah/Ouray *Florence - T2 2,000+ None
USFS Wasatch/Cache *Long Bench 600 CN 8/2
NV USFS Toiyabe Floriston - T2 200 Yes
CA USFS Los Padres Ynez - T2 1,060 CN 8/1
AZ NPS Grand Canyon Topeka 200 None
AK FWS Yukon Flats A-197 - T1 127,260 None
Galena Zone A-204 73,300 None
BLM Tok Area 013026 831 None
Tanana Zone A-270 23,600 None
A-421 9,500 None
Southwest Area 004069 1,240 None
004068 - T2 4,210 None
Galena Zone A-168 2,900 None
NPS Denali A-148 46,000 MN
A-374 1,800 MN
A-255 23,600 MN
A-406 5,000 MN
A-413 6,000 MN
A-327 1,900 MN
A-391 20,000 MN
Army - A-133 14,000 None
AK Tok Area 013021 - T1 91,700 None
013035 11,500 None
Tanana Zone A-414 14,750 None
Delta Area 012054 7,500 None
Native Upper Yukon A-412 36,100 None
Alaska also has 32 fires unstaffed under modified suppression
strategy for a total of 998,716 acres and 47 fires under limited
suppression strategy for 755,611 acres.
NOTES:
- Fires - Asterisk indicates newly reported fire (on this
report). 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; MS means the fire is being managed under a
modified suppression strategy; "none" means no estimate; "yes"
means the fire has been contained.
3) NPS NARRATIVES -
- Denali (Alaska) -
* A-391 Fire - There's no new information on the fire. The acreage
listed above indicates the actual acreage on park land.
* A-148 Fire - Light rain is falling on the fire, which is expected to
slow as it approaches an old burn from 1986. No smoke is visible.
* A-374 Fire - The fire has received light rain. A small section of the
northeast flank is smoldering.
* A-255 Fire - Flames averaging from one to two feet with heavy smoke
are appearing on a two-acre section of the west flank.
* A-406 Fire - The acreage listed above now reflects the actual extent
of the fire on park land (5,000 of 11,000 total acres).
- North Cascades (Washington) -
* McCallister Fire - Four Type III helicopters, three 20-man Forest
Service crews and one 10-man NPS crew have been committed. Significant
progress is being made toward full containment.
- Sequoia/Kings Canyon (California) -
* Avalanche 1 RX Fire - The 935-acre fire is still within prescription.
The south flank is showing the most activity.
- Grand Canyon (Arizona) -
* Topeka Fire - The fire was inactive on Tuesday and remains within
prescription.
- Yosemite (California) -
* Moraine Fire - Mop-up of the fire is in progress.
* Hoover Creek RX Fire - The 18-acre fire is being monitored and still
within prescription.
4) FIRE ACTIVITY - 350 fires for 98,573 acres in past 24 hours.
1989 1990
Year-to-date Fires 39,251 41,026
Year-to-date Acres 1,378,951 2,855,237
5) NPS FIRE DANGERS - The following parks are experiencing high to
extreme fire danger this morning:
High Very High Extreme
Padre Island Sequoia/Kings Great Basin
Redwoods Voyageurs
Bryce Canyon
Joshua Tree
Lava Beds
Hawaii Volcanoes
Whiskeytown
Denali
Badlands
Cumberland Island
Indiana Dunes
Scotts Bluff
El Malpais
Grand Canyon
Pinnacles
Santa Monica
6) ANALYSIS - New fires continue to be reported in the West, with
substantial activity in the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain areas.
California continues to report very high to extreme conditions
throughout the state.
As of Wednesday, the parks reporting to the NPS Branch of Fire Management
in Boise had 52 firefighters, 11 monitors, a Type I crew and 21 overhead
personnel committed to fires nationally. Four NPS helicopters
and five engines have also been committed.
7) PROGNOSIS - Moderate fire activity is expected to continue in the West
and in Alaska. Holdover fires from recent lightning activity are
expected to appear in the next few days.
(CompuServe report from Hallie Locklear, Branch of Fire, Boise, 8/1; NICC
Intelligence Section, Fire Management Situation Report, 0530 MDT, 8/2).
STAFF STATUS
- Division Chief: No travel scheduled.
- Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: No travel scheduled.
- Branch of Fire: Norum on AL (7/24-8/5); Gale on SL (7/25-8/5); Botti
on AL (7/30-8/10); Hallie Locklear from SWRO on detail to Branch of Fire
Management (7/23-8/4).
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 (Branch of R&VP); WASO-FIRE-WO (Branch of Fire)
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