- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Thursday, August 20, 1992
- Date: Thurs, 20 Aug 1992
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
Ranger Activities Division Information Network
Day/Date: Thursday, August 20, 1992
INCIDENTS
92-422 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Follow-up on Drug Arrest
Following the Arrest of L.G. on drug trafficking charges on August
13th, rangers, DEA agents and Beckley City narcotics officers executed a
search warrant at his home. They found a small amount of marijuana, valium
pills (L.G. was reportedly selling valium), and five guns, including a
loaded 9mm, a .357 handgun, and a 12 gauge shotgun. All but two of the
weapons were found in the bedroom with the drugs. The narcotics officers
also arrested L.G.'s girlfriend, S.M., on charges which were
developed from information gained at L.G.'s arrest. Additional arrests are
expected. [Chris Schrader, CI, NERI, 8/18]
92-444 - Dinosaur (Colorado) - Employee Death
Late on the morning of August 15th, Glenn Harshaw, 56, a seasonal fee
collector in the park, left work feeling ill. He took a nap in the
afternoon; when his wife attempted to wake him at 3:20 p.m., she found that
he had stopped breathing. Rangers were summoned; although they began CPR
immediately, they were unable to save him. The cause of death has been
ruled a heart attack. The family has asked that anyone wishing to send
flowers should instead make a donation in his name to the DeSoto Library in
DeSoto, Missouri 63020. [Nick Eason, CR, DINO, 8/19]
92-445 - Grand Teton (Wyoming) - Bomb
On August 17th, a camper at Gros Ventre campground found a pipe bomb between
200 and 300 yards from the campground along the river's edge. Rangers and
explosives experts from the Teton County sheriff's office and the Green
River police department transported the bomb to a gravel storage area in the
park, where it was detonated. The resulting explosion was significant,
indicating that a large amount of powder was contained in the device. An
investigation is underway. [Dennis Ziemann, GRTE, 8/18]
92-446 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - EMS Rescue
Ranger Bryan Wisher was patrolling the Bright Angel trail near a series of
steep switchbacks known as the Devil's Corkscrew late on the afternoon of
August 16th when a passing hiker reported a possible heat stroke victim
further down the trail. Wisher ran to the scene, where he found an
unconscious 26-year-old male, later identified as R.Y., collapsed in
the middle of the trail. R.Y. was on the return half of an 18-mile day
hike from the South Rim to Phantom Ranch at the time of the incident; the
inner canyon high temperature for that day was 112 degrees. Wisher
immediately began cooling the patient and reported a rectal temperature that
was off the scale at 108 degrees. ALS medics and a litter team responded
from Phantom Ranch by foot and from the South Rim by helicopter. Advanced
life support measures were initiated and R.Y. was moved by litter to a
helispot about a mile up the trail. Wind conditions precluded a short-haul
rescue. R.Y. did not regain consciousness during the evacuation, but his
temperature was lowered to 97.5 degrees by the time he was loaded into the
helicopter. He remains in critical condition. [Dispatch, GRCA, 8/19]
92-447 - Sequoia/Kings Canyon (California) - Employee Arrest
Kings Canyon rangers concluded a three-week investigation with the arrest of
a campground ranger on August 19th on charges of embezzling government funds
(18 USC 641). They found that she had been taking three to four campground
fee envelopes a week for the past two months for a total theft of
approximately $400. The investigation began when rangers received
information that the woman and her husband had been distributing narcotics
in the park and subsequently learned that the pair had sold a quantity of
LSD in the park on at least one occasion. [Doug Morris, CR, SEKI, 8/19]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level III
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) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 8/19 8/20 Status
OR USFS Fremont NF * Fort Spring - T2 - 1,500 NEC
Winema NF * Buckhorn - 125 NEC
CA CDF Tuolumne-
Calaveras RU Old Gulch 7,000+ 12,500 NEC
San Diego RU Wildcat 1,065 1,065 CND
Lake Napa RU * Borax - 600 NEC
* Wooden - 500 NEC
Nevada-Yuba-
Placer RU * Lincoln - 1,500 CND
Butte RU * LaPorte - 100 CND
USFS Los Padres Slickrock - T1 1,700+ 2,175 NEC
Gorge 200 200 CND
MT State - * Sugarloaf 2 - T2 - 200 CN 8/21
* Spokane Creek - T2 - 70 CN 8/20
ID BLM Boise Dist. * Foothills - 6,000 NEC
* Indian Creek - 3,000 NEC
* Cherry Springs - 1,000 NEC
* Bell Rapids - 500 CL
USFS Wasatch-Cache NF * Bear Canyon - 100 CN
Payette NF * French Creek - T1 - 300+ NEC
Sawtooth NF * Fairfield Comp. - T1 - 650+ NEC
UT BLM Salt Lake Dist. * Quincy - 320 CN 8/19
Richfield Dist. * Black Rock - 101 CL
[Several other project fires are burning in the northern Rockies, but no
acreages are currently available. Five Type 2 teams have been committed to
these fires]
Notes:
* - New fire (this report) T1/T2 - Type 1 or Type 2 team committed
NEC - No estimate of containment CN (date) - Expected date of containment
NR - No report received CND - Contained
CL - Controlled
3) FIRE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS -
* NPS Areas - No significant fires are burning in national parks. Some
resources are being mobilized to out-of-park fires.
* Tuolumne-Calaveras RU - Heavy fuels, winds, low humidity and steep
terrain continue to pose control problems on the Gulch Fire. Four more
structures have burned, and others are threatened. Four C-130 airtankers
have been activated.
* Montana - Sixty homes are within or near the perimeter of the Spokane
Fire and are currently threatened.
4) FIRE ACTIVITY - 289 fires for 5,358 acres in the past 24 hours.
5) ANALYSIS - Initial attack activity has increased and project fires are
being attacked in California, the Great Basin and northern Rockies.
Heavy mobilization of national resources is underway. Numerous units
in several areas of the West continue to report very high to extreme
fire indices.
6) PROGNOSIS - Activity is expected to increase due to on-going thunderstorm
activity. Red flag watches have been issued for strong gusty winds and
low humidity for southern and central Idaho, south central and eastern
Montana and western Utah. Some competition for national resources is
expected.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Possible Wolf Sighting
A local filmmaker who is very familiar with wolves has reported sighting a
canid, possibly a wolf, feeding on a bison carcass in the vicinity of Hayden
Valley on August 7th and 8th. The animals was black with lighter-colored
facial guard hairs and was larger than a coyote. It was filmed feeding
alongside bears and a coyote, so the film shows good size comparisons. The
park has been provided with a copy of the footage. A biologist conducting
coyote research in the park as part of his doctorate program has confirmed
that the animal seen on the tape appears to be a wolf, but cautions that
genetic studies would have to be done to ascertain whether the animal is
truly a wolf. Park biologists are monitoring the area to try and determine
if the animal is still there. [PAO, YELL]
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: Brady conducting "Ranger Future" site visits (8/17-8/21).
Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Sisto attending management grid
training session, Tampa, FL (8/17-8/21); Henry at wilderness and aircraft
overflight meetings, PNRO, Seattle, WA (8/19-8/22).
Branch of Fire and Aviation: Botti on annual leave (8/19-8/21).
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities
Telephone: Branch of R&VP - FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
Branch of F&A (WASO) - FTS 268-5572/5573 or 202-208-5572/5573
Telefax: Branch of R&VP - FTS 268-6756 or 202-208-6756
Branch of F&A (WASO) - FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977
CompuServe: Branch of R&VP - WASO-RANGER
Branch of F&A (WASO) - WASO-FIRE-WO
cc:Mail Branch of R&VP - WASO Ranger Activities
Branch of F&A (WASO) - WASO Fire and Aviation