- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 8, 1990
- Date: Wed, 8 Aug 1990
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Wednesday, August 8, 1990
INCIDENTS
90-241 - Delaware Water Gap (Pennsylvania/New Jersey) - Drowning
On August 4th, T.M., 21, of Brooklyn, New York, and several
companions were picnicking at Depew Recreation Site on the New Jersey side
of the river. T.M. and a companion attempted to swim across the river. At
about midpoint, the two turned around and attempted to return to shore.
Approximately 100 feet from the bank, T.M. began having problems while his
companion continued on. Another member of the group saw that T.M. was in
trouble, swam out to him and attempted unsuccessfully to help him to shore.
Rangers arrived on scene within twenty minutes and an NPS diver found T.M.
about ten minutes later in 20 feet of water. CPR was begun immediately.
T.M. was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. T.M.
was an aerobics instructor and a qualified lifeguard. (CompuServe message
from Tracye Allen, RAD/MARO, 8/7).
90-242 - Ozark (Missouri) - Successful Search
When A.I., 37, and his 13-year old son failed to return on time from a
hike on a trail in the park on the 3rd, A.I.'s spouse reported them missing
to park rangers. Because A.I. was a diabetic and had no insulin with
him, a search involving park personnel and a tracking dog was initiated.
Searchers were unable to find them that night. Missouri Conservation and
local sheriff's office personnel, including horse-mounted searchers, were
brought in the next day, and the search area was extended outside the park's
boundaries. A.I. and his son were located by a horse patrol unit outside
the park at about 11 a.m. that morning. Both were in good physical
condition. (Tom Graham, CR, OZAR, via telefax from John Townsend, RAD/MWRO,
8/7).
90-243 - C&O Canal (Maryland) - Incident Involving Diplomatic Staff
On the morning of the 5th, N.R., 53, of the Australian embassy in
Washington, was jogging with a friend along the park's towpath. They
stopped at Great Falls Tavern, where N.R. went into the restroom. Shortly
thereafter, a visitor discovered N.R. lying on the floor. Rangers
responded and found N.R. was not breathing and did not have a pulse. They
began and continued CPR until relieved by a local rescue medic. N.R. is
currently in critical condition in a local hospital. (Telefaxed report from
Tom Nash, CHOH, 8/7).
90-244 - El Malpais (New Mexico) - Drug Arrest
L.R., 54, was arrested by rangers and other officers on August
7th at his home in Grants, New Mexico, on charges of cultivating marijuana
in the park. Prior to the arrest, 12 live plants and six dead plants were
removed from the monument. The cannabis site was first spotted last March.
Over 100 pots made of linoleum strips and filled with potting soil were
discovered in a fenced area. In April, the first sprouts were noted, and 47
marijuana plants were found growing in the pots by early May. The
participants in the arrest were members of the Cibola County Inter-Agency
Narcotics Task Force, which includes rangers and representatives from BLM
and the New Mexico Army National Guard. (Ken Mabery, CR, ELMA, via telefax
from RAD/SWRO, 8/7).
90-245 - Mammoth Cave (Kentucky) - Assault on Job Corps Member
On August 6th, a group of students at Great Onyx Job Corps Center went to a
skating rink in Glasgow, Kentucky. During their visit, students from the
center became involved in a verbal exchange with subjects from the local
community. The apparent instigator of the incident was local resident 20-
year-old K.F., of Munfordville, Kentucky. This verbal exchange
escalated into numerous altercations between the Job Corps students and
locals in a parking lot outside the rink. During that time, L.R.
apparently produced a handgun from his car and fired several shots, some of
them aimed at the bus which Great Onyx had used to travel to the rink. One
shot stuck 17-year-old L.F. of Memphis, Tennessee, in the leg.
L.F. was admitted to a Glasgow hospital and is reported to be in
satisfactory condition. L.R. was arrested on charges of first and
fourth degree assault. (Telefaxed report from Capt. Steve Alscher,
RAD/SERO, 8/7).
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - TV
Two or more geographic areas experiencing incidents requiring Type I
teams. Competition exists for resources between geographic areas. 450
crews or nine Type I teams committed nationally.
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 8/7 8/8 Status
MT USFS Custer *Sand Dunes - T2 - ? None
ID USFS Boise Porter - T1 600 800 CN 8/8
WY USFS Bridger-Teton *Maki - T2 - 50 None
WA NPS North Cascades McCallister - T2 272 280 Yes
USFS Wenatchee Canoe Creek - T2 505 505 None
Okanogan Swamp Creek - T2 120 250 None
OR USFS Deschutes Awbrey Hall - T2 3,353 3,353 Yes
Finley Bt. - 1,250 1,500 CN 8/8
Ochoco Pine Springs Comp. - T1 1,000 6,000 CN 8/14
Buck Sp. - T2 - 715 None
Malheur Whiting Sp. - T1 320 2,200 None
Sheep Mt. - T2 300 288 CN 8/9
UT BIA Ft. Uintah/Ouray Florence - T2 5,350 5,350 CN 8/9
BLM Cedar City Steamboat - T2 225 236 CN 8/8
Burley *Indian Springs - 3,500 CN 8/8
CA USFS Sequoia Stormy Comp. - 2,500+ 3,070 None
Cleveland Conejos 150+ 250 CN 8/7
Plumas Walker - T1 800+ 1,300 None
Greenville Comp. - 120 None
Angeles *Warm Springs - T2 - 450+ None
Sierra *Lily - 150+ CN 8/9
NPS Lava Beds *Unnamed - 200+ None
BLM Susanville Devine 100 100 Yes
Nolan 400 875 CN 8/8
CA CDF Cuyamaca 200 387 CN 8/8
*Campbell - 13,000 None
AZ NPS Grand Canyon Topeka NR NR None
AK FWS Galena Zone A-204 73,300 69,500 None
BLM Tanana Zone A-270 24,200 24,200 None
Southwest Area 004069 2,176 2,176 CN 8/15
004068 - T2 7,808 7,808 CN 8/15
004034 180,386 111,822 None
NPS Denali A-148 46,000 NR MN
A-374 1,800 1,800 MN
A-255 23,600 23,600 MN
A-406 11,000 11,000 MN
A-413 6,000 6,000 MN
AK Tok Area 013021 - T1 94,650 94,650 CN 8/20
013035 11,500 11,500 Yes
Native Upper Yukon A-412 37,470 37,470 None
Tanana Zone A-391 43,890 43,890 None
Alaska also has 29 fires unstaffed under modified suppression
strategy for a total of 759,491 acres and 44 fires under limited
suppression strategy for 855,447 acres.
NOTES:
- Fires - Asterisk indicates newly reported fire (on this
report). T1 and T2 indicate assigned Type I and Type II Teams.
- Status - The following abbreviations are employed:
* NR - No report received
* CN - Contained
* CL - Controlled
* MN - Being monitored
* MS - Fire is being managed under modified suppression strategy
* None - No estimate of containment
* Yes - Fire has been contained
3) NPS NARRATIVES -
- Denali (Alaska) - Visibility at Minchumin was reported to be about 100
yards yesterday morning due to heavy smoke. A thick overcast was
reported from Wonder Lake, and rainfall increased throughout the area.
* A-255 Fire - The fire is backing to the north at a few locations.
Relative humidities were reported in the mid to high 30's.
* A-374 Fire - The fire is still smoking at one spot on its southeast
edge near Birch Creek.
* A-413 Fire - No change reported.
* A-406 Fire - The fire is still backing to the northwest of Thirty Mile
Lake on state land.
- North Cascades (Washington) -
* McCallister Fire - A 15-acre spot fire was reported on the 5th. Falling
snags are still a major concern. Containment was expected yesterday
evening.
- Sequoia/Kings Canyon (California) -
* Avalanche 1 RX Fire - There has been little change on this 1,400-acre
fire, whose growth slowed due to a hail storm on the 6th. The fire
continues to move south along the Roaring River drainage.
- Grand Canyon (Arizona) -
* Topeka Fire - No new information.
- Yosemite (California) -
* Hoover Creek RX Fire - Minor burnout continues on the 29-acre fire.
4) FIRE ACTIVITY - 257 fires for 56,928 acres in past 24 hours.
1989 1990
Year-to-date Fires 40,099 42,357
Year-to-date Acres 1,405,248 3,109,898
5) NPS FIRE DANGERS - The following parks reported high to extreme fire
danger yesterday:
High Very High Extreme
Grant-Kohrs Bryce Canyon Death Valley
Redwoods Colorado North Cascades
Zion Wind Cave Noatak
Great Basin Lassen Yukon-Charlie
Hawaii Volcanoes Pinnacles John Day Fossil Beds
Whiskeytown Theodore Roosevelt Coulee Dam
Denali Cumberland Island
Grand Canyon Isle Royale
Indiana Dunes Lava Beds
Padre Island Sequoia/Kings
El Malpais Crater Lake
Olympic Craters of the Moon
Great Basin
Wrangell-St. Elias
Badlands
Gulf Islands
Scotts Bluff
Voyageurs
6) NPS MOBILIZATION/DEMOBILIZATION -
Resource August 6 August 7
Firefighters 55 57
Monitors 8 6
Overhead personnel 25 36
Type I crews 2 2
Engines 6 5
Helicopters 4 4
7) ANALYSIS - Lightning activity is continuing throughout the West and
numerous new starts have been reported. Demand remains high for Type II
crews, airtankers, helicopters and smokejumpers.
8) PROGNOSIS - An increase in fire activity and stiff competition for
available resources are expected.
(CompuServe report from Diane Wisley, Branch of Fire, Boise, 8/7; NICC
Intelligence Section, Fire Management Situation Report, 0530 MDT, 8/8).
STAFF STATUS
- Division Chief: Meeting of management task group in Seattle (8/8-8/10).
- Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Martin and Marriott at
meeting in El Paso (8/6-8/9); Coffey on SL (8/9-8/10).
- Branch of Fire: Norum on AL (7/24-8/8); Botti on AL (7/30-8/10); Clark
on AL (7/29-8/10); Diane Wisley on detail to branch from PNRO (8/6-8/24).
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)
SEAdog: 1/650