RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

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

Day/date:  Tuesday, October 9, 1990

                      **** NOTICE ****

During the week of October 8th through the 12th, the Ranger Activities
Division Morning Report will be prepared and transmitted by Mark Forbes in
Ranger Activities, PNRO. Incident reports should be forwarded to him at
the addresses listed at the bottom of the report.

INCIDENTS

90-357 - Glen Canyon NRA (Arizona-Utah) - Trailer Fire

In midmorning on Oct. 3, a fire was reported in trailer 75 at Wahweap
Trailer Village. The ARA Leisure Services owned 1971 64 foot Vintage brand
mobil home was occupied by the Laura Gishic family. A 12 year old girl and
three small children were at home watching television when the fire
started. Flames were seen in the curtains behind the tv and the children
fled the trailer. ARA, NPS and Page City Fire Departments responded to the
call. The fire was rapidly extinguished with no injuries. Investigation
of the fire was conducted by the Arizona State Fire Marshals Office and NPS
Rangers. The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical in nature
and the origin was identified as being in the vicinity of the T.V. It was
noted that the trailer had aluminum and copper wire mated in violation
of State Electrical Codes. There were two electric circuits which were
15amp but had 20amp fuses installed. The trailer damage was estimated at
$15,000.00, loss of personal property was $3000.00 and a nearby car
sustained $600.00 paint damage. (CompuServe from Larry D. Clark, C. R.)

90-358 - Yosemite NP (California) - Safety Inspections

A two day commercial bus inspection was conducted in conjunction with
California Highway Patrol, Public Utilities Commission, the Yosemite Law
Enforcement Office, and Valley District rangers. During this two day
period, 44 buses were inspected which resulted in 69 violation notices
being issued and 9 buses being placed out of service for major safety
violations. The inspection was well received by passengers. Many of
them thanked us for being concerned with their safety and several of them
were upset at the bus operators for operating unsafe buses. We also
received favorable media coverage from CBS-TV in San Francisco and the San
Francisco Chronicle. (CompuServe from Roger Rudolph, C.R. through Herb
Gercke, WRD)

90-359 - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina-
Tennessee) - Hunting Case

On Friday evening, September 28, two-person teams of rangers were staked
out at three separate locations on the North Carolina side of the Park. In
addition, two officers with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission were in position to serve as backup. The team watching the
Thomas Divide area, at which an unofficial trail entered the Park, observed
two men with a weapon and several dogs enter the Park at approx. 2200
hours. Rangers jumped the men but they escaped. The stakeout team
notified the others and called in one other team, a supervisor and the two
North Carolina officers. Acting on a hunch they subsequently found two
Jeep pickups parked outside the Park and initiated a stakeout at their
location. While in position they heard a dog race and two shotgun blasts
from inside the Park. They also caught three dogs which returned to the
Jeeps.

At approx. 0400 hours, September 29, two men approached the Jeeps and
deposited assorted bear parts in a dog box. Rangers stopped them as they
started the vehicles and attempted to leave. They were NOT the same two
men jumped the night before. At daylight two rangers and a North Carolina
officer began backtracking the suspects. Approx. 1 1/4 mile from the Jeeps
and inside the Park, they located a gut pile, the head of a bear and the
upper torso of a second bear. Another team began tracking at the point of
contact from the night before and located a .22 cal. rifle and a knife.
All evidence was seized and the vehicles confiscated. On Sunday, September
30, rangers backtracked from the gut pile and found a second gut pile,
another bear head and additional evidence within 250 yards.

A shotgun was used to first shoot the bears but has not been recovered. An
informant has identified two other men involved in this hunt. Rangers have
a suspect for one of the two who escaped capture-they were apparently
involved in a separate hunt. The two men at the Jeeps were Sherman Ogle,
DOB 1/18/48, of Bryson City, NC and William Paul Owl, DOB 12/20/33, an
Indian from Cherokee, NC. No arrests were made but they were escorted home
and their blood soaked clothing confiscated.

The bear skulls have been radiographed. One skull contained four .22 cal.
bullets. A .22 cal. pistol was also found in one of the Jeeps. The Park
is considering charges under the Lacey Act. The State is considering
charges for hunting out of season, hunting without a license and wastage.
Both bears were females. If they are found to have been pregnant the Park
may ask replacement costs for both the bears and the fetuses.

A total of seven rangers from the South District and two North Carolina
officers were involved in the incident. (CompuServe from Jason Houck, C.R.)

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - I

2) NATIONAL FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency      Area             Fire                    xx/x        xx/x  Status

OR     USFS      Siskiyou          Chrome - 600 acres                         NR

MT     USFS      Gallatin          Iron Mtn - 3400 acres (T2)                 CN 10/10

FL     NWR       Okefenokee        Shorts - 18,900 acres (T1)                 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 ACTIVTY - Summary not available.

4) ANALYSIS: Fire activity is continuing in the Southwest. RED FLAG
WARNING for the ridges of extreme southwest Oregon for Tuesday morning
with easterly winds and low humidities. RED FLAG WARNING for all areas
in Riverside District for strong Santa Ana Winds and very low
humidities.

5) PROGNOSIS: Expect fire activity to continue in the Southeast. No
resource shortage anticipated.

(NICC Intelligence Section, Fire Management Sit Report, 0530 MDT, 10/9).

STAFF STATUS

- Division Chief: Dabney on AL at Rendezvous in Las Vegas (10/10-10/12).

- Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Halainen on AL at Rendezvous
  (10/6-10/12); Farabee on AL at Rendezvous (10/10-10/12).

- Branch of Fire: Gale and Broyles on AL at Rendezvous (10/6-10/12).

Prepared by Ranger Activities Division, Pacific Northwest Regional Office
Mark Forbes

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