RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

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

Day/Date:  Thursday, March 18, 1993

Broadcast: By 0800 EST

INCIDENTS

92-604 - Cape Hatteras (North Carolina) - Follow-up on Burglary Arrests

On November 5, 1992, the park received a BOLO for two persons believed to
have broken into a building in nearby Nags Head.  Ranger Paul Stevens
spotted their vehicle on Bodie Island in the park's North District and
called in other rangers, Dare County deputies, Nags Head police officers and
North Carolina state troopers.  M.B. and M.J. were
subsequently arrested and charged with the burglary.  Stevens was
subsequently able to clear seven in-park car clouts associated with the
pair.  The two men were tried in North Carolina Superior Court in late
February and early March.  M.B., who pled guilty and testified against
M.J., was sentenced to 15 years in prison, ten of which were suspended
subject to the following probation conditions - completion of 150 hours of
community service, submission to two urine analysis tests per month during
the first year, submission to warrantless searches for drugs and/or stolen
property, avoidance of contact with any known criminal and/or drug user,
weekly attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for two years, and
payment of restitution and attorney's fees totalling $3,101.  A jury found
M.J. guilty of four felony counts, and he received an active sentence of 18
years.  [Mike Anderson/Paul Stevens, CAHA, 3/10]

93-45 - Guilford Courthouse (South Carolina) - Follow-up on Felony Arrest

On January 27th, park maintenance worker Earl Bennett called chief ranger
Charles Taylor by radio and advised him that there was a man near with a
shotgun standing near a park tour stop.  Bennett advised Taylor that he'd
talked to the individual - later identified as 27-year-old B.K.
of Greensboro, North Carolina - and that B.K. had subsequently ejected
two rounds from the weapon and walked off.  Taylor, who was accompanied by
superintendent Mark Woods, drove to the area, spotted B.K., exited his
patrol vehicle, and thrice ordered B.K. not to move.  Woods moved to
the front of the patrol vehicle to avoid interfering with the proceedings. 
B.K. replied that his weapon was not loaded; Taylor then took it from
him and drove him to park headquarters.  Greensboro police were summoned and
arrived about three minutes later.  Several entered the building with guns
drawn, and advised that B.K. had just shot the shotgun at three
individuals at a construction site about three-quarters of a mile from the
park, slightly injuring one of them.  Greensboro police took him to a
magistrate's office, where three warrants were served on him charging him
with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.  It
was subsequently learned that B.K. had logged 25 convictions since 1981
for (among other things) burglary, larceny, vandalism, failure to comply
with court orders, aggravated assault, interference with police, and
disorderly conduct.  Attempts were made to charge him with possession of a
weapon by a felon in federal court, but too much time had expired since his
last conviction.  B.K. was then charged with possession of a weapon in
the park.  B.K. was carrying a Mossberg shotgun with an 18-inch barrel
and a pistol grip at the time of the incident; in his coat pockets, he had
four 12-gauge .00 buckshot and two 12-gauge rifled slugs.  [Charles Taylor,
CR, GUCO, 3/16]

93-114 - Great Smokies (Tennessee/North Carolina) - Follow-up on Search

The search for missing hikers continues.  Searchers now believe that there
are ten hikers still in the park and are focusing their efforts on reaching
several shelters along the Appalachian Trail (AT).  Flight operations were
suspended yesterday because of poor weather but will likely resume this
morning.  During the night, a pair of Apache helicopters with infrared
equipment flew the park, two rangers on snowshoes worked their way toward
the Russell Field shelter, and two more rangers attempted to reach the
Spence Field shelter.  Because of "extremely rugged going" caused by drifts
up to 12 feet high, the teams had difficulty making headway and still have,
respectively, a half mile and a mile and a half to go to reach their
destinations.  Fourteen rangers with extensive winter skiing and camping
experience arrived last night from seven parks (St. Croix, Rocky Mountain,
Grand Teton, Voyageur, Apostle Island, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and Big South
Fork).  This morning, four of them will begin snowshoeing from Fontana Dam
eastward on the AT toward the Birch Spring shelter; three others will be
airlifted by helicopter to the Spence Field shelter and will move westward
toward Fontana after checking the shelter.  The remaining seven will be on
stand by until the shelters are checked and revised assessments of search
areas can be made.  Four Blackhawk helicopters will be utilized on the
search today.  Boat patrols are also being conducted on Fontana Lake in case
any hikers reach the shore line there, and a military tracked vehicle will
work its way towards Clingman's Dome.  Several park roads should be open
again today for administrative purposes.  The entire park and all vehicle
access points remain closed.  [Jason Houck, CR, GRSM, 3/18]

93-118 - Zion (Utah) - Dam Break

A dam formed by a landslide on Taylor Creek in the Kolob section of the park
broke at 9:30 pm last night, sending a ten-foot wall of water down the
canyon and over Interstate 15.  Because the highway is elevated, only two
feet of water passed over the roadway.  The force of the water was
sufficient, however, to knock over a tractor trailer and several vehicles. 
Four injuries are known to have occurred.  At the time of the report late
last night, water was still flowing over the road but was subsiding.  Water
has also backed up on Ash Creek behind another naturally-formed dam, and it
may fail in the near future.  No park facilities are threatened and no
evacuations are planned.  County and FEMA authorities have been advised and
are on alert.  The park will make a damage assessment at 7 a.m. MST this
morning.  [Larry Weiss, Assistant Superintendent, ZION, 3/18]

93-119 - Big South Fork (Tennessee) - Search and Rescue

During the "Blizzard of '93" on March 13th, rangers received word that a
troop of 24 Boy Scouts from Nashville and a group of four high school-aged
boys were camped in the park's backcountry.  Searchers labored through a 24-
inch snowfall and drifts over eight feet to reach the boys.  The scouts and
their adult leaders were eventually located and taken to a lodge outside the
park.  Some of the scouts were wearing tennis-style shoes and windbreakers;
one had lost his shoes and was wearing only stockings.  The group recovered
most of their personal belongings and left the area on March 16th.  The four
high school students were found just before dark on the 13th.  Their tent
had collapsed due to the wind and snow, and each of the four was wet and
suffering from the initial stages of hypothermia.  They were led two miles
through the snow to Charit Creek Lodge, where the park concessioner provided
food and overnight shelter.  Rangers escorted them out of the backcountry
and drove them home the following day.  Several other parties were advised
of the storm forecast prior to entering the backcountry; since they seemed
well prepared for severe weather, no efforts were made to search for them. 
[John Cannon, CR, BISO, 3/17]

93-120 - El Malpais (New Mexico) - Assist on Search

On March 15th, three park employees assisted the state on the ICS overhead
team on a search for a twin-engine Beechcraft with four men and a container
of cobalt 60 on board.  The plane went off radar just before midnight on the
14th at the 10,500-foot level on the east side of 11,300-foot Mount Taylor. 
Search efforts were delayed until dense clouds lifted just before noon on
the 15th.  the plane was located about a half hour later about 500 feet
below the summit and just slightly south of its last known course.  All four
died on impact; the cobalt 60 container was found intact.  About 70
searchers from several agencies were involved in the effort.  [Ken Mabery,
CR, ELMA, 3/17]

93-121 - Statue of Liberty (New York) - Oil Spill

A fuel pump equipment failure which occurred at the park's incinerator
building on March 14th apparently caused the discharge of about 200 gallons
of number two fuel oil into New York Harbor.  The park's existing fueling
system does not have an automatic shut-off valve, and it's possible that the
fuel shut-off valve had not fully closed after equipment fueling.  On March
15th, a maintenance employee noticed that the floor of the incinerator
building was covered with oil and employed granulated sorbent to clean it
up.  He estimated that about 200 gallons had been spilled.  A significant
portion of the fuel oil had also leaked through the door of the building
into a storm drain.  On March 17th, ranger Ray Hammond observed a sheen
measuring about 200 by 20 feet on the surface of the harbor and noted that
the storm drain outside the incinerator building lead to a pipe that flowed
into the harbor.  The Coast Guard was contacted, and they assisted in
securing a spill clean-up contractor.  Region was notified shortly
thereafter.  [Hank Brightman, RAD/NARO, 3/17]

NOTES

1) NPS-57 - The health and fitness guideline has been printed and was
distributed to all regions and training centers on March 15th.

2) Morning Report - Effective today, a file containing a Word Perfect 5.1
version of the morning report will be attached to the ASCII version that
comes to you as a cc:Mail message, thereby giving you the option of printing
either one.  Comments regarding the usefulness of the Word Perfect version
would be appreciated and should be sent to WASO Ranger Activities.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Dickerhoof on AL (3/15-3/19).

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Cook instructing S-230/260/390 (3/15-3/26);
Clark instructing S-490/590 (3/13-3/27).

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone: Branch of R&VP - 202-208-4874
           Branch of F&A (WASO) - 202-208-5572
Telefax:   Branch of R&VP - 202-208-6756
           Branch of F&A (WASO) - 202-208-5977
cc:Mail:   Branch of R&VP - WASO Ranger Activities
           Branch of F&A (WASO) - WASO Fire and Aviation