RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

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

Day/Date:  Wednesday, May 12, 1993

Broadcast: By 0830 ET

INCIDENTS

93-232 - Appalachian Trail (Eastern States) - Follow-up on Search

E.I. ("U.J.") was apprehended by Pennsylvania state troopers
yesterday in the Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania.  He
was accompanied by S.L. at the time of the arrest.  E.I. was charged
with kidnapping and interference with a minor.  The Lebanon police extend
their thanks to all those who assisted in the hunt for E.I. and S.L.  [Don
Owen, RMS, APPA, 5/11]

93-243 - Olympic (Washington) - Suicide

A visitor advised the park of a person lying at the tree line on Lisa Jones
Hill north of the Ridge visitor center at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 9th.  The
responding ranger found a woman lying face up in the snow; upon checking
her, he found that she was dead and that rigor mortis had set in.  The woman
was subsequently identified as C.H., 31, of Seattle, Washington. 
A five-page note was found with her in which C.H. stated the following:
She'd come to the park on vacation.  She had visited Ruby Beach, during
which time she'd hurt her back, then had come to Ridge around 8 or 8:30 p.m.
on Saturday.  She'd left her car, walked north, and fallen down a ten-foot-
high snow slope.  Although the hill was gradual and not very high, she said
that she was unable to climb back up it, partly because of her injury,
partly because she was an asthmatic, and partly because she'd hurt her head
in the fall.  Subsequent investigation led to the discovery of a cassette
tape in which C.H. indicated her intent to kill herself.  Her death has
been ruled a suicide.  [Mark Forbes, RAD/PNRO, 5/10; Mike Butler, OLYM,
5/11]

93-244 - Natchez Trace (Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee) - Timber Theft

On May 5th, rangers Henry Tunks and David Langley investigated the cutting
of two Royal Paulownia trees in the park and charged two men with theft of
timber.  Alabama Department of Forestry officials have estimated the value
of the trees at $1,000.  Paulownia is extremely valuable in Japan, where it
is used in furniture production.  Its theft and/or sale through
misrepresentation is a growing problem throughout its range.  [Gordon
Wissinger, CR, NATR, 5/10]

93-245 - Pipestone (Minnesota) - Flooding

Heavy rains which fell on May 6th and 7th led to extensive flooding in the
Pipestone Creek drainage.  The creek is a channelized drainage ditch for a
length of 22 miles upstream from the park, where the heaviest rains fell. 
The park recorded a total of almost five inches of rain during the two days,
but between seven and eleven inches fell elsewhere.  The heaviest flooding
occurred on Saturday, May 8th, and forced the closure of the park.  The
visitor center complex was totally surrounded by water and inaccessible
until after 3:30 p.m.  The park reopened on Sunday, but trails were closed
due to extensive damage and safety concerns.  Reconnaissance and damage
assessments are currently underway.  [RAD/MWRO, 5/10]

93-246 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Train Accident; Fatality

Just before 6 p.m. on May 8th, T.D.E., 25, of Charleston, was
killed when she was hit by a train in the Keeney Creek area of the park. 
T.D.E. and M.W., 24, of Shrewsbury, had been fishing on the
river and were walking along the tracks with their dog when the train
approached from behind them, coming around a slight curve.  T.D.E. and
M.W. stepped off opposite sides of the railroad, but the dog remained in
the middle of the tracks.  T.D.E. went back on the tracks to get the dog and
M.W. leaned over to try to pull her off.  The train hit all three at
approximately the same time.  T.D.E. was thrown approximately 40 feet over
an embankment and apparently was killed instantly.  M.W. was thrown
about 15 feet and suffered severe head injuries and other major trauma.  The
dog was killed.  Rangers responded and provided medical treatment to
M.W. and utilized a CSX highrailer as an evacuation vehicle.  M.W.
was taken to Fayette Landing by the highrailer, then to a helispot at Canyon
Rim visitor center, where he was evacuated by helicopter to Charleston Area
Medical Center for treatment.  He remains in critical condition in the
intensive care unit.  The freight train was approximately 150 cars long and
was empty at the time of the accident.  It took the conductor about a
thousand feet to bring the train to a stop after the accident.  A joint
investigation by rangers and state police is underway.  [Rick Brown, DR,
NERI, and newspaper reports, 5/10]

93-247 - Haleakala (Hawaii) - Serious Employee Injury

Facility manager Mike Gerrity was seriously injured when his bicycle was
struck by a car while he was riding on a steep road on the evening of May
10th.  Mike received multiple injuries and remains unconscious with two
basal skull fractures.  He was medevaced to Queen's Hospital on Oahu
overnight and underwent surgery yesterday for open fractures to his leg and
arm.  Mike and his family had just transferred to the park from Curecanti.
His wife arrived in Honolulu late yesterday afternoon; his son is already
there with a friend from Haleakala.  Cards can be sent to Mike Gerrity,
Floor C, Room 459, Queen's Medical Center, 1301 Punch Bowl Street, Honolulu,
HI 96813.  [Karen Ardoin, CR, HALE, 5/11]

93-248 - Yosemite (California) - Auto Theft; Pursuit and Arrest

Rangers Wilson, Robinson and Sholly responded to a report of two young males
in the process of breaking into a car at 2:15 a.m. on May 10th.  They
arrived on scene within three minutes and were advised by the reporting
party that the suspects had hurriedly left the area in a red '93 Oldsmobile
and were westbound on Northside Drive.  The vehicle was overtaken within a
few miles and a car stop was initiated.  The suspects slowed to five miles
an hour, then quickly accelerated and sped away.  Sholly and Robinson
pursued the vehicle for 30 miles through the Merced River Canyon into
Mariposa County jurisdiction; they requested assistance from the county
sheriff's office, which dispatched two units to intercept the vehicle.  The
car raced by them, however, so county and NPS units continued the pursuit
for another nine miles until the car went off the road on a curve near
Midpines Summit and crashed.  The suspects exited the totally wrecked
vehicle and disappeared into the brush.  Sholly and Robinson began a search
and found one suspect, a 15-year-old male, within about 20 minutes.  He was
placed under arrest for grand theft auto and evading peace officers, then
treated for minor injuries.  Mariposa County deputies arrested a second 15-
year-old in the area around 9 a.m.  He was also taken into custody and
treated for minor injuries.  NPS investigators Elchlepp, Jablonski and Jones
determined that the red Oldsmobile was an Alamo rental which the juveniles
had stolen earlier in the evening from the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite after
abandoning two inoperable Oldsmobiles there that had been stolen in Fresno
and Madera, California.  The car which was being broken into in Yosemite was
also an Alamo rental.  The juveniles subsequently admitted to numerous
instances of stealing or car-jacking autos, then selling them to chop shops
in the San Joaquin Valley.  The case has been turned over to California
Highway Patrol investigators in Fresno County, the county of residence for
both juveniles.  [Fred Elchlepp, YOSE, 5/11]

93-249 - Everglades (Florida) - Weapons Seizure

On the evening of May 2nd, rangers Dave Parker and Ben Morgan observed
several men shooting an AR-15 assault rifle inside the legislative boundary
of the park's East Everglades addition.  When they contacted the men, they
saw what appeared to be a grenade launcher in the open trunk of the vehicle. 
The 37 mm device, which was designed to be mounted on an assault rifle, had
no serial number, manufacturer's name, or any other identifiers.  The weapon
was seized until its legality could be determined.  Parker contacted ATF the
following day; he learned that possession of such a weapon is legal, but
that the explosive ammunition is controlled.  The only ammunition found in
the vehicle were legal riot smoke flare grenades.  The subjects reported
that they had purchased the weapon at a Miami gun show.  [Bob Panko, DR,
EVER, 5/6]

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level I

2) FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency     Area            Fire              5/11     5/12    Status

 CA    USFS    Cleveland         Ramona Complex:
                                 - Eagle           4,000    4,000    CN 5/13
                                 - Boden           1,200    1,200    CND
       Navy    Elk Hills       * Seven fires           -    7,100+   CND
       County  Kern County     * Sabadan               -    2,500    CND
                               * Round Mountain        -      800    CND    

 OR    USFS    Rogue River       Ranch               200      100    CN 5/12
               Deschutes       * Surveyor's 
                                  Lava - T2            -      600    CN 5/13
       State   -               * Chemult               -      100    CND

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
  CL - Controlled              MN - Being monitored
  CS - Confinement strategy    NEC - No estimate of containment
  CN (date) - Expected date    CND - Contained
     of containment

3) PARK FIRE REPORTS - No reports today.

4) FIRE ACTIVITY - 127 fires for 1,849 acres reported in past 24 hours.

5) ANALYSIS - Fire activity is increasing in California and Oregon and
continuing in the Southwest and South.
   
6) PROGNOSIS - The potential exists for increased activity due to warm, dry
and windy weather conditions.  No resource shortages are anticipated.

[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 0530, 5/12]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Western Region - Desert Tortoise Recovery

Western Regional Office is currently reviewing and compiling comments on the
draft recovery plan for the Mojave Desert population of the desert tortoise. 
Parks wishing to comment on the plan should contact natural resource
specialist Richard Hadley at 415-744-3874.  [Richard Hadley, NRS, WRO]

NOTES

1) We are experiencing some mechanical problems with the cc:Mail hub in
WASO.  Although efforts are being made to remedy them, access to the hub is
currently limited, which may lead to delays in morning report transmissions.

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: Brady on AL (5/11-5/12).

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: No leave or travel scheduled.

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Broyles at overhead development review (5/10-
5/14; Gale at ICS working team meeting (5/10-5/12); Clark at S-290 meeting
(5/11-5/12).

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
SkyPager:  Emergencies ONLY (numeric message) - 1-800-759-7243, PIN 2404843 
SkyTalk:   Emergencies ONLY (voice message) - 1-800-759-8255, PIN 2404843