- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, August 21, 1990
- Date: Tues, 21 Aug 1990
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Tuesday, August 21, 1990
INCIDENTS
90-263 - Death Valley (California) - Severe Storms
A severe afternoon thunderstorm on August 14th damaged public
roads in the park and may have contributed to the crash of a
military aircraft. Heavy rains accompanied by high winds hit
locations throughout the area, and the park staff, Caltrans road
crews and Inyo County sheriffs were kept busy responding to
motor vehicle accidents, assessing storm damage and barricading
roads. At the height of the storm, a military aircraft crashed
at the 7,000-foot elevation on Hunter Mountain near the park's
western boundary. Both crewmen ejected safely, but the crash
started a 120-acre wildland fire which required the efforts of
crews from several agencies to suppress. Maintenance crews
found from four to five feet of debris over the road to Scotty's
Castle. The thunderstorm was the third roaddamaging storm to
hit the park in the past four weeks, and forced the park to make
the following closures:
Closed until September 1st: Park Route #1 leading south from Badwater
parking area through Jubilee Pass to California State Highway 178 and
Shoshone, California. Badwater parking area can still be reached by
driving Park Route #1 south from Furnace Creek via State Highway 190.
Closed until September 15th: Wildrose Road leading from Wildrose Ranger
Station southwest to Panamint Valley Road (California State Highway
178). The park may still be entered from the west via State Highway
190 through Towne Pass.
Closed until September 30th: Titus Canyon, Westside Road,
Desolation Canyon, Natural Bridge, Salt Creek and Sand Dunes parking area.
Visitors are advised to call ahead to park headquarters
(619-786-2331) before coming to the park, at least until the
monsoon season ends. (Ed Rothfuss, Superintendent, DEVA, via
CompuServe message from Herb Gercke, RAD/WRO, 8/20).
90-264 - New River Gorge (West Virginia)- Double Drowning
On August 17th, E.W., 21, of Coal City, West Virginia,
and G.M., 28, of Oak Hill, West Virginia, drowned in the
New River near Terry Beach. Both men entered the water to
assist Wyatt's wife, who was having difficult. She was able to
return to shore safely, but neither E.W. nor G.M. were able to
make it back. Testimony from other party members and evidence
at the scene suggest that both victims had been drinking heavily.
Rangers and members of a local fire department recovered both
bodies. (Telefax report from Bill Blake, CR, NERI, 8/21).
90-265 - Baltimore-Washington Parkway (Maryland) - MVA with Fatality
Just before 2 a.m. on the 19th, Park Police were notified of an
accident on New York Avenue near the parkway. A 1984 Porsche
had been travelling east on the avenue at a high rate of speed
when the operator lost control of his vehicle, left the roadway,
struck the guardrail in the median and overturned. The male
operator was pronounced dead at the scene. The female passenger
was transported to a local hospital with multiple lacerations.
Investigation revealed that the vehicle was apparently involved
in a drag race at the time the operator lost control. The
second vehicle left the scene without stopping. (CompuServe
message from RAD/NCRO, 8/20).
90-266 - Cape Cod (Massachusetts) - Drug Arrest
On the afternoon of August 18th, C.N.H., 29, of
Darien, Connecticut, was arrested for the sale and distribution
of a controlled substance within the seashore. Reacting to a
tip received by a park employee, a surveillance operation
involving a park ranger and a Wellfleet police officer was begun
on a large beach party on Cahoon Hollow Beach. Several sales
transactions were observed between C.N.H. and other
individuals in the gathering during the fourhour surveillance.
When arrested, C.N.H. had 17 individually wrapped psilocybin
mushrooms and approximately a half ounce of marijuana on his
person. Those observed purchasing the hallucinogenic mushrooms,
which are a Class C drug, were charged with possession of a
controlled substance. Additional marijuana was confiscated at
the scene. The U.S. Attorney's Office has tentatively agreed to
prosecute the case in District Court in Boston. (CompuServe
message from Dennis Burnett, DR, CACO, 8/20).
[The remainder of the incident reports received yesterday will
appear on tomorrow's morning report]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) 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) NATIONAL FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 8/20 8/21 Status
CA NPS Yosemite *Piute 1,000 None
ID USFS Payette Wilderness Comp.
T2 7,846 7,846
MN
OR USFS Malheur Snowsheep Comp.
Snowshoe T1 12,530 12,530 Yes
FL USFS Apalachicola *Clear Lake 188 CN 8/21
FL State *Beehaven Bay 400 None
AK NPS Denali A148 46,050 46,050
MN
A374 1,810 1,810
MN
A255 23,800 23,800
MN
A406 16,000 16,000
MN
A413 6,010 6,010
MN
Wrang.-St. Elias 002042 436 436 Yes
FWS Galena Zone A204 150,000 150,000 None
BLM Southwest Area 004069 10,530 10,530 CN 8/22
004068 T2 15,520 15,520 CN 8/22
004056 136,115 136,115 None
AK Tok Area 013021 T1 97,300 97,300 CN 8/25
Galena Zone A467 70,000 55,000 None
*A483 350 None
Alaska also has 30 fires unstaffed under modified suppression
strategy for a total of 1,307,999 acres and 46 fires under limited
suppression strategy for 990,276 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
* None No estimate of containment
* Yes Fire has been contained
3) NPS NARRATIVES
Yosemite (California)
* Piute Fire - The fire is being managed by the Type I team that is
managing the ARock Fire. The fire is under confinement strategy,
with limited suppression actions being taken. One crew and two
overhead personnel have been committed.
* ARock Fire - The Type I team assigned to the fire will turn over
control to a Type II team this evening. Demobilization continues.
* Steamboat Fire - A Type II team is now managing the fire.
Whiskeytown/Shasta/Trinity (California)
* Hockey Fire - The fire should be fully controlled today. Mopup is
continuing with six crews and four helicopters.
Lava Beds (California)
* Ross Fire - The fire was turned back over to the park on Sunday.
Denali (Alaska)
* The weather continues to be cool and humid, and the forecast is for
a continued chance for light rain. No acreage increases were reported
yesterday.
Wrangell-St. Elias (Alaska)
* 002042 Fire - The fire is 60% contained and should be fully contained
by this evening. Showers have occurred in the area and the forecast
calls for continued light rain through today.
4) NATIONAL FIRE ACTIVITY 149 fires for 1,806 acres in past 24
hours.
5) NPS FIRE DANGERS The following parks reported high to extreme fire
danger yesterday:
High Very High Extreme
Bryce Canyon Crater Lake Noatak
Golden Gate Craters of the Moon Yukon-Charlie
Dinosaur Lassen Volcanic
Yosemite Cumberland Island
Hawaii Volcanoes
Denali
Point Reyes
Great Basin
Olympic
Zion
High Very High Extreme
Wrangell-St. Elias
Theodore Roosevelt
Isle Royale
Whiskeytown
Lava Beds
Joshua Tree
6) NPS MOBILIZATION/DEMOBILIZATION All regions except Alaska report
demobilization. Many crews are in transit and should return to their
parks by midweek. Some crews from Southeast Region were demobilized
from Western fires but rerouted to a fire in north Florida on the
Apalachicola NF.
Resource August 19 August 20
Firefighters 849 446
Monitors 4 4
Overhead personnel 196 91
Type I crews 0 0
Engines 11 11
Helicopters 5 5
The breakdown by region of personnel committed as of yesterday is
as follows:
AR MAR MWR NAR NCR PNR RMR SER SWR WR
Firefighters 0 24 36 11 1 33 0 66 25 250
Overhead 2 11 4 0 1 9 11 18 15 20
The breakdown by region of personnel available for callout at their
home parks as of yesterday is as follows:
AR MAR MWR NAR NCR PNR RMR SER SWR WR
Firefighters 28 60 20 16 19 50 122 102 95 135
Overhead 0 20 4 0 4 15 47 45 47 14
7) ANALYSIS - Fire dangers have moderated throughout the West. Only a
few areas in California and southern Nevada are reporting very
high indices. Demobilization continues on fires in the Northwest,
California, and the Great Basin.
8) PROGNOSIS - No significant activity is expected.
(CompuServe report from Diane Wisley and Kristy MacMillan,
Branch of Fire, Boise, 2100 MDT, 8/20; NICC Intelligence Section,
Fire Management Situation Report, 0530 MDT, 8/21).
OFFICE NOTES
1) Today's New York Times has a frontpage story by Dirk Johnson
entitled "In U.S. Parks, Some Seek Retreat, But Find Crime"
which talks about law enforcement problems in the parks. You
might want to read it.
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: No travel scheduled.
Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Coffey on SL (8/20-8/24); Farabee
in Boise for meeting on NIIMS (8/21-8/23); Marriott in Tennessee arranging
move (8/20-8/22) and at ARPA meeting in San Antonio (8/23-8/25).
Branch of Fire: Hurd on travel to Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings, Yellowstone
and Boise (8/20-8/24); Norum at meeting of steering committee for
wilderness fire management course, Portland, Oregon (8/20-8/23);
Diane Wisely detailed to the Branch (Boise) from PNRO (8/6-8/24); Kristy
MacMillan detailed to the Branch (Boise) from Buffalo NSR (8/10-8/20).
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