RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

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

Day/Date:  Friday, May 21, 1993

Broadcast: By 0830 ET

INCIDENTS

93-231 - Gulf Island (Mississippi/Florida) - Follow-up on Oil Spill

Rangers continue to help manage the cleanup of a 6,000-gallon oil spill
which has severely impacted the park's offshore islands.  On-water skimmers
were used the first two days after the May 3rd spill to scoop up surface
oil, but most of the heavy oil quickly sank beneath the surface and
coagulated into tar balls.  Both skirted and absorbent booms were deployed
around sensitive inlets to protect lagoons and marsh habitat.  During the
out-going tides on the first two days following the spill, a large amount of
the oil was swept out into the Gulf of Mexico.  Tar balls began washing up
on the south shore of Petit Bois Island on the third day; since then, tar
balls ranging in size from dime to football size have washed up on the
beaches of all the Mississippi District islands, some as far as 30 miles
from the spill.  Park employees are supervising the contracted cleanup crews
which are picking up the tar balls.  To date, work crews have cleaned over
20 miles of beaches and have picked up approximately 500 gallons of tar
balls and oily marine debris.  A reconnaissance of the islands yesterday
indicated that most of the beaches are now relatively clean, except for
Petit Bois.  Cleanup efforts will probably be suspended following another
cleanup of the island unless strong wave action washes in additional tar
balls.  Assessments and monitoring activities - as noted in Wednesday's
resource management section - are continuing.  [Gene Phillips, CR, GUIS,
5/20]

93-263 - Acadia (Maine) - Follow-up on Employee Death

A memorial service for Chuck Wood will be held tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the
lower picnic shelter in the Pretty Marsh picnic area in the village of
Pretty Marsh in Acadia.  The service is open to all employees and will be
followed immediately by a reception with the Wood family and friends at the
Brown Mountain Gate House on Route 198 in Northeast Harbor.  The family has
asked that all employees attending the service wear their summer uniforms. 
[Mike Healy, AO, ACAD, 5/20]

93-271 - Denali (Alaska) - Rescue

A 31-year-old Marine suffering from high altitude pulmonary edema and acute
mountain sickness was evacuated by helicopter from the 14,000-foot level of
Mount McKinley at noon yesterday.  M.D., from Camp Lejune, North
Carolina, was part of an on-duty Marine Corps expedition on the mountain. 
His symptoms began Tuesday shortly after reaching the 14,000-foot elevation. 
M.D. was given oxygen and medical treatment by rangers at that location, and
showed some improvement by yesterday morning.  The decision to use the
park's high-altitude rescue helicopter was based on his condition and the
need for continued medical attention.  A ground evacuation to the Kahiltna
Glacier airstrip would have taken two days.  M.D. was taken to Talkeetna,
where he was transferred to an Alaska National Guard helicopter, which took
him to the hospital at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage.  M.D. and his group
started their trip on May 13th.  This was the second medical evacuation from
the mountain this season.  [John Quinley, PA, ARO, 5/20]

93-272 - Yosemite (California) - Vehicle Fire

On the afternoon of May 18th, park dispatch received notification that a
motor home was on fire in the Lower River campground.  The first responder,
campground supervisor Mike Osborne, reported that the vehicle was fully
engulfed.  Within five minutes of the first report, the heavily populated
area was evacuated, a safe perimeter had been established, and traffic had
been redirected to accommodate incoming concessioner and NPS fire engines. 
The fire was quickly controlled, but the vehicle was totally destroyed.  Its
owners, an elderly couple from Pacific Palisades, had gone out for a short
bike ride, having left the vehicle after smelling an odor within it. 
Preliminary investigation indicates that the fire was probably caused by
faulty wiring.  The immediate response of park and concessioner firefighters
saved surrounding vehicles, prevented injuries, and kept the fire from
spreading to timber within the campground.  [Mariann Brantley, YOSE, 5/20] 

93-273 - Coronado (Arizona) - Drug Interdiction

On May 19th, four people were arrested for smuggling marijuana through the
park.  The arrests stemmed from an extended interdiction operation, which
began when rangers, DEA agents and Border Patrol officers monitored two
"test" loads of marijuana being smuggled into the country through the park
about a half mile east of the visitor center.  A pick up vehicle was then
tailed to a stash house in Tucson.  An individual from Caro-Quintero, a big
"family" organization, met the shipment there.  The smugglers were "testing
the waters" prior to establishing a smuggling route through the park.  DEA
decided to take down the individuals after a second test load was brought
across the border in order to apprehend the family member, who they'd been
trying to apprehend.  The arrests were then made.  The combined weight of
the two loads was about 500 pounds.  [Bill Smith, CR, CORO, 5/20]

93-274 - Zion (Utah) - Falling Fatality

On the evening of May 14th, two hikers advised the park that they had seen
what they suspected were human remains in the rugged eastern end of the
South Fork of Taylor Creek in the Kolob section of the park.  A search party
attempted to hike into the location that night, but the effort was suspended
after midnight because of darkness and icy conditions.  On May 15th, a Zion
SAR team composed of climbing rangers and members of the local climbing
community searched for and finally located the body after seven hours of
travel over extremely hazardous terrain, including ice bridges, precipitous
snow-covered cliffs, and unstable ground.  The rugged, narrow canyon and
high cliffs made helicopter evacuation impossible.  The SAR team removed the
body to a lower location, where they were assisted with hand-carry transport
back to the trailhead by the Washington County sheriff's SAR team.  A total
of ten people from three agencies were involved.  There was no
identification on the victim and no climbing gear was present.  It appears
that the victim fell well over 1,000 feet.  Because of the massive trauma
sustained in the fall, immediate identification was impossible.  The body
was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Salt Lake City. 
Evidence taken from a lone car at the trailhead, together with dental
records obtained from the family of the man to whom the car was registered,
led the medical examiner to a positive identification of the victim as 21-
year-old A.W.P. of Salt Lake City.  The coroner ruled that
A.W.P. had died within 36 hours of the discovery of his body.  His auto
was impounded by county officials.  Suicide has not been ruled out.  [Dave
Buccello, ACR, and Denny Davies, PIO, ZION, 5/20]

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level I

2) FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency     Area            Fire              5/20     5/21    Status

 FL    State   -               * Sun'N'Lakes           -      400    CL

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 - 129 fires for 573 acres in past 24 hours.

5) ANALYSIS - Little activity is occurring anywhere in the country.  High to
very high indices are being reported in the Southwest and southern
California.
   
6) PROGNOSIS - The potential for increased initial attack activity exists
due to warming and drying conditions in several areas.  No resource
shortages are expected.

[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 0530, 5/21]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

NOTES

1) The second cc:Mail transmission of the "Ranger Futures" report was made
yesterday afternoon.  Transmittals will be made each afternoon around 2 p.m.
EDT; if you'd like to receive a copy, please send a short message to WASO
Ranger Activities.  Do not send them to other Ranger Activity Division
addresses.

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Henry at Society of American
Foresters' interagency wilderness conference (5/17-5/21).

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Spruill at NPS-60 workgroup meeting (5/17-
5/21); Gale coordinating incident management training course (5/18-5/22);
Broyles at meeting of steering committee for fire management for agency
administrators' course (5/17-5/20); Farrel at structural fire specialist
fire applications review (5/17-5/20).

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
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