RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION MORNING REPORT Attention: Directorate Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC CC: RAD Information Net Day/date: Wednesday, January 16, 1991 INCIDENTS 91-11 - Christiansted (Virgin Islands) - Demonstration The large Arab community on St. Croix was planning on striking in opposition to the United States' posture in the Middle East yesterday, and the park was preparing for demonstrations in the vicinity of the historic site. The staffs at both Christiansted and Virgin Islands are maintaining contact with the FBI and other law enforcement authorities and are on the alert for possible threats. The park also reports that a large number of troops are being deployed to protect the Hess oil refinery on the island's south shore. The Hess facility is the largest oil refinery in the Western hemisphere. [Joel Tutein, CHRI, via telefaxed report from John Beck, RAD/SERO, 1/15] 91-12 - Glen Canyon (Utah/Arizona) - Sinking of NPS Vessel At about 7:30 a.m. on the 15th, park staff discovered that an NPS-owned, 56-foot-long, 1944 military landing craft used to transport diesel fuel had sunk at the dock at Dangling Rope. On the 14th, the vessel had been piloted from Wahweap to the remote Dangling Rope marina, which is not accessible by road. The crew left the vessel tied to the dock for the night, and intended to pump the 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board into shoreside tanks on the 15th. Some time during the night, the vessel sank, and the 5,000 gallon diesel tank with the fuel on board, which had been sitting loose on the deck, floated free and out into the harbor. No fuel was lost from the tank, but a small quantity of diesel fuel escaped from the boats tanks. ARA Leisure Service and NPS crews are currently attempting to salvage the tank and vessel. Park rangers are investigating the incident. [CompuServe message from GLCA, 1/15] 91-13 - Everglades (Florida) - Military Aircraft Crash A fully-armed F16 from Homestead AFB crashed and blew up about 14 miles northeast of park headquarters in mid-afternoon on the 15th. The pilot was able to eject safely, and no one on the ground was killed or injured. There was no fire. At the time of the crash, there was severe weather in the area, and it may have been a factor in the accident. [Keith Whisenant, ACR, EVER, via telephone report from Steve Smith, RAD/SERO, 1/15] RESOURCE MANAGEMENT No reports today. OFFICE NOTES 1) Doug Barnard, chief ranger at Grand Teton, has completed his cancer treatment and is back at work. Doctors are confident that he is in complete remission from his lymphoma. Periodic checkups will be made in the future to determine whether or not this is the case. Doug thanks everyone who provided support of any kind to him during this battle. [Teri Pancoast, GRTE] STAFF STATUS Division Chief: No travel scheduled. Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Martin at regional chief rangers' meeting, Arlington, VA (1/14-1/18); Coffey at Society for Range Management annual meeting, Arlington, VA (1/14-1/17); Henry at meeting with aircraft overflight research contractors, Harpers Ferry, WV (1/14-1/18); Farabee at meeting on climbing bolting problems with USFS, Phoenix, AZ (1/18-1/19). Branch of Fire: Erskine at Zion (1/14-1/15) and museum curators' workshop, Washington, DC (1/15-1/18); Gale at Zion (1/14-1/16) and review of fire management for managers course, Denver, CO (1/16-1/17); Mattingly at Zion (1/14-1/16); Farrel at museum curators' workshop, Washington, DC (1/15-1/18); Botti at Western Region managers' workshop on fire effects monitoring at Golden Gate (1/15-1/18). 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