RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                       MORNING REPORT

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

Day/date: Friday, September 21, 1990

INCIDENTS

90-318 - Wrangell-St. Elias (Alaska) - Bear Mauling

On the evening of September 6th, B.B., 25, of Valdez, Alaska, was
seriously mauled by a brown bear while hunting in the preserve. B.B.
suffered numerous lacerations and puncture wounds to the head, hands, legs
and feet. B.B. and D.D., 27, had been bow hunting for brown
bears while two other members of their party hunted for moose. B.B. later
reported that he shot a young brown bear, then trailed the wounded animal
for 20 minutes in thick brush and watched it die. As he approached the
bear, two other bears were spotted, apparently the sow and another juvenile.
The sow charged Brown, who said that he was unable to fire the shotgun which
he carried for backup protection. D.D. confirmed that the bear attacked
B.B., and said that he was unable to fire his own shotgun for fear of
hitting his companion. When the bear was on top of B.B., D.D. said
that he attempted to shoot it, but that his gun jammed. Fearing for his own
safety, D.D. then fled from the area and never returned to assist B.B.
Meanwhile, the bear grabbed Brown by the head and hand, and then by the
feet. B.B. was eventually able to pull a .44 magnum from a shoulder
holster and killed the bear with four shots. Seriously injured, he then
walked approximately 100 yards to the McCarthy road and drove himself to the
village of Chitina, an hour and a half away. Locals summoned park rangers
and the local EMS service. B.B. was transported to a clinic in Glennallen,
then air-evacuated to a hospital in Anchorage for treatment. Rangers found
D.D. later that night and returned him to his hunting camp, where they
discovered that the two members of the party who were hunting moose had
failed to return. As a search was being organized late that night, the
moose hunters returned to camp. They had apparently been lost during most
of the day and evening. An investigation of the bear mauling is continuing.
There is some indication that the first bear killed with the bow may have
been taken illegally, as state law prohibits the taking of a cub bear or a
sow with cubs. Both carcasses were seized and the juvenile bear is being
aged by tooth sectioning and through an examination by state bear
biologists. Evidence also suggests that the two may have been hunting brown
bear illegally by using bait. (Telefax from Jay Wells, CR, WRST, 9/20).

90-319 - Wrangell-St. Elias (Alaska) - Theft

On the night of August 25th, a trophy Dall sheep head mount was stolen from
the park's visitor center in Copper Center. The ram had been illegally
killed in the park in 1986 by C.W., a well-known Alaskan big game
guide. The trophy mount had been seized from C.W.'s home in 1989 after
an investigation by park rangers and US Fish and Wildlife special agents.
Wirschem pled guilty to sport hunting in the park and to other unrelated
game violations which occurred in a refuge in Alaska. The mount had been
presented to the park for display in the visitor center. The ram's head,
which has 46-inch-long horns, was carefully removed during the break-in. No
other items were stolen. The theft is being jointly investigated by Alaska
State Troopers, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and park rangers.
(Telefax from Jay Wells, CR, WRST, 9/20).

90-320 - Isle Royale (Michigan) - Two Employee Injuries

D.S., a member of the park's trail crew, was injured on the 19th when
a deer carrier with a 90-pound load got away from him and another trail crew
member while coming down a steep incline and fell on top of D.S. He was
flown from McCargo Cove, where the incident occurred, to Ely/Bloomington
General Hospital by a Forest Service Beaver aircraft. He remained overnight
in the hospital for observation. Later that same day, A.K., an
employee of National Park Concessions, Inc., suffered what appeared to be a
stroke. A.K. passed out while working; when he regained consciousness
five to ten minutes later, he was unable to speak or move his extremities.
He was evacuated to McKellor Hospital in Thunder Bay, Ontario, by the
Ministry of Health's "Bandage III" Sikorsky 76 helicopter. A.K. was
examined and later released. This is the fourth time this year that victims
of illness or accidents in the park have been flown to Thunder Bay by
"Bandage III." (Stu Croll, CR, ISRO, via CompuServe message from Capt. J.J.
McLaughlin, RAD/MWRO, 9/20).

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No reports today.

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) NATIONAL FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency      Area             Fire                    9/20           9/21  Status

AZ     FWS       Havasu NWR        BW Delta                  280            260  CN 9/19

CO     USFS      White River NV    Ute Creek - T2            200            200  Yes

GA     FWS       Okefenokee NWR    Shorts - T2             2,620          2,620  None

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      * MS - Modified suppression strategy
  * CN - Contained               * MN - Being monitored
  * CL - Controlled              * None - No estimate of containment
  * CS - Confinement strategy    * Yes - Fire has been contained

3) NATIONAL FIRE ACTIVITY - 88 fires for 464 acres in past 24 hours.

4) NPS FIRE DANGERS (9/20) -

       High                Very High                 Extreme

Golden Gate              Cumberland Island         Joshua Tree
Great Basin              Lassen Volcanic
Lava Beds                Theodore Roosevelt
Natchez Trace
Pinnacles
Point Reyes
Redwoods
Whiskeytown
Zion

5) NPS MOBILIZATION/DEMOBILIZATION -

  Resource          9/19       9/20

Firefighters         125        70
Monitors               1         4
Overhead personnel    50        39
Type I crews           0         0
Engines                9         -
Helicopters            5         5

6) ANALYSIS - Minor fire activity continues to be reported.

7) PROGNOSIS - No resource shortages expected.

(Telefax from Marla Mino, Branch of Fire, Boise, 1530 MDT, 9/20; NICC
Intelligence Section, Fire Management Situation Report, 0530 MDT, 9/21).

STAFF STATUS

- Division Chief: No travel scheduled.

- Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Coffey on SL (9/17-9/21); Kreis
  on lieu day (9/21).

- Branch of Fire: Gale in Shenandoah to review fire management program, work
  on MAR all-risk training and attend ICS working team meeting (9/15-9/26);
  Broyles in Shenandoah for all-risk and ICS meetings and in Washington for
  NWCG meeting (9/16-9/26); Erskine at NWCG meeting in Maine (9/17-9/23);
  Clark instructing at extreme fire behavior seminar (9/17-9/22); Marla Mino
  on detail to Branch from Big Cypress (9/10-9/24).


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