RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

Attention: Directorate
           Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
           Ranger Activities Division Information Network

Day/Date:  Tuesday, November 24, 1992

Release:   0800 EDT

INCIDENTS

92-348 - Nez Perce (Idaho) - Follow up on Check Fraud

F.W.G.D., who was wanted for issuing an insufficient funds check
for over $1,300 worth of merchandise purchased from the Northwest
Interpretive Association at the park last June and for similar charges in
four Western states, was arrested in Alberta, Canada, the weekend before
last.  The FBI is reportedly seeking his extradition.  [Mark O'Neill, NEPE,
11/20]

92-614 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - Helicopter Crash; Three Rescued

On Saturday, November 21st, a Bell Jet Ranger owned by Hilo Bay Air and
carrying the pilot and two passengers crashed on a ledge 150 feet below the
rim of the Pu'u 'O'o vent on Kilauea.  Rescue efforts were begun by a park
team comprised of rangers Jeff Judd, Paul Ducasse, Neil Akana, Robin Cooper
and Greg Herbst, with the assistance of county fire and rescue units. 
Attempts to reach the three men were hampered by the heavy steaming and
fuming of the vent, which dropped visibility to zero, by the noxious
hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide gases accompanying the steam clouds,
which forced rescuers to wear respirators and self-contained breathing
apparatus, and by intermittent and occasionally heavy rain showers.  The
surface around the vent was also found to be extremely unstable and highly
prone to cave-ins and collapses.  On Saturday afternoon, a contract
helicopter was able to land inside the crater, allowing Ducasse to rescue
the pilot of the crashed helicopter.  It took longer to reach the two
passengers, who had attempted to hike out and had become stranded.  The
first was rescued at 3 p.m. on Sunday, the second was extricated yesterday. 
No details are yet available on their medical condition or the cause of the
accident.  This is the third helicopter crash in the park this year, and the
second on the Pu'u 'O'o vent in the past few months.  [Mardie Lane, PIO,
HAVO, 11/21 and 11/23]

92-615 - War in the Pacific (Guam)/American Memorial (Saipan) - Typhoon Gay

The eye of Typhoon Gay passed over Guam at 9:45 a.m. on November 23rd (just
before 7 p.m. EST November 22nd), but did not cause either injuries to park
staff or significant damage to either the park or to the personal property
of park employees.  Prior to making landfall, the storm had sustained winds
of 185 mph, gusts over 225 mph, and damaging winds (those over 60 mph)
spreading over 300 miles from the eye.  By the time it struck Guam and
Saipan, sustained winds had dropped to 120 mph, with gusts reaching 150 mph. 
The only facility damage reported at War in the Pacific was soaking of
carpets from water that came in through window frames and the flooding of
the visitor center basement.  The remainder of the park received washovers
that left rocks and debris blocking the roadway and parking areas at the
Asan Beach Unit and visitor center.  Picnic areas at Asan, Apaca and Gaan
were rendered unusable and will require clearing and reconstruction. 
Despite the damages, the park reopened at 7 a.m. on the 24th.  The visitor
center will open for regular hours on the 25th.  Damages to American
Memorial on Saipan were also minimal and limited to some beach washovers and
fallen trees.  That park has also reopened.  Typhoon Gay was the fifth such
storm to strike Guam in the last three months.  [Ed Wood, Superintendent,
WAPA; Phil Ward, RAD/WRO; both 11/23]

92-616 - Kennesaw Mountain (Georgia) - Tornadoes; Assist to Community

Tornadoes spawned by the severe weather outbreak which occurred late on
November 22nd made direct hits on communities just north of the park and
throughout northern parts of Cobb County.  There was extensive damage
throughout the area.  Rangers from both Kennesaw Mountain and Chattahoochee
responded to provide assistance to the city of Kennesaw.  They provided
virtually all of the security and traffic control for the community, and
also cleared debris and roadways with National Guard units.  Several NPS
employees' residences received minor damage.  [Richard Hanks, CR, KEMO,
11/23]

92-617 - Horseshoe Bend (Alabama) - Tornado

The front which caused the severe weather outbreak throughout the south on
Sunday sparked thunderstorms, strong winds and tornadoes when it passed
through Alabama around 9 a.m. that morning.  One tornado passed through the
western edge of the park and cut a path through a wooded area.  Trees were
uprooted and snapped off, and a patrol vehicle was damaged when a small tree
fell across its roof.  There was also a brief power outage, and a section of
State Road 49 was blocked for a short period of time.  [Dwight Dixon, Acting
Superintendent, HOBE, 11/23]

92-618 - Shenandoah (Virginia) - Search and Rescue

On the evening of November 19th, rangers came upon an unoccupied vehicle
without license plates in the White Oak Canyon trailhead parking lot.  A
computer check of the vehicle's identification number indicated that the
registered owner was K.R.J., 24, of Flint, Michigan.  Further
investigation revealed that K.R.J. was known to be suicidal.  A hasty
search was begun, but was hampered by dense fog and freezing drizzle.  At 5
p.m. on the 20th, a visitor reported that K.R.J. was near the upper falls,
about a mile and a half east of Skyland Lodge.  When contacted, K.R.J.
told rangers that he'd just ingested 10 sleeping pills and up to 400 aspirin
tablets.  He was stabilized by park EMTs and taken to a local hospital,
where he is currently listed in guarded but stable condition.  [Greg Stiles,
ACR, SHEN, 11/23]
 
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

1) Correction - Last Friday's report on the deer mauling at Gettysburg
contained two typographical errors.  The women weren't "waling" as reported;
they were actually walking, and there was no indication of any wailing or
lamentations.  And they weren't "attached" to the deer; they were actually
attacked by the deer, which did, however, try to attach itself.  

CALENDAR

Calendar appears in the morning report every other Monday.  If you know of a
conference, meeting or training session with Servicewide interest and
implications, please provide the specifics to Bill Halainen in Ranger
Activities.  Entries are listed no earlier than four months before the
event.  An asterisk (*) indicates a new entry; a plus (+) indicates a
revised entry.  Brackets at end of entry indicate source of information:

January 6 - March 16 - Basic Law Enforcement for Land Management Agencies,
Glynco, GA.  Funded by LEEDC/FLETC.  For application procedures, contact
your regional training officer.  [Carole Pfeifer, LEEDC/FLETC]

January 25 - March 26 - Land Management Investigator, Glynco, GA.  Funded by
LEEDC/FLETC.  For application procedures, contact your regional training
officer.  [Carole Pfeifer, LEEDC/FLETC]

* February 1 - April 8 - Basic Law Enforcement for Land Management Agencies,
Glynco, GA.  Funded by LEEDC/FLETC.  For application procedures, contact
your regional training officer.  [Carole Pfeifer, LEEDC/FLETC]

* February 2 - 5 - Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Symposium, Egan Convention Center,
Anchorage, AK.  For further information, contact Brenda Baxter at the
University of Alaska (907-474-7086).  [Steve Cinnamon, MWRO]

* February 23 - April 29 - Basic Law Enforcement for Land Management
Agencies, Glynco, GA.  Funded by LEEDC/FLETC.  For application procedures,
contact your regional training officer.  [Carole Pfeifer, LEEDC/FLETC]

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: Brady at Alaska chief rangers' conference and meetings in
ARO (11/23-11/27).

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Henry and Sisto on AL (11/27).

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Hurd on AL (11/27); Erskine and Broyles on AL
(11/23-11/27).

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