- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, May 25, 1993
- Date: Tues, 25 May 1993
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
Ranger Activities Division Information Network
Day/Date: Tuesday, May 25, 1993
Broadcast: By 0830 ET
INCIDENTS
93-177 - Kennesaw Mountain (Georgia) - Follow-up on ARPA Case
On May 21st, C.B. was convicted in federal court of a misdemeanor
violation of the Archeological Resource Protection Act. C.B., who was
found metal detecting and in possession of minie balls and shell fragments
on April 11th, was sentenced to a year's probation and ordered to pay a
$1,000 fine and $793.81 in repair and restoration costs. [Rich Hanks, CR,
KEMO, 5/24]
93-276 - Golden Gate (California) - Illegal Aliens
At 1:20 a.m. yesterday, Park Police dispatch received notification that a
ship had docked at the old Coast Guard station near Fort Point. Arriving
officers observed a ship headed out of the bay toward Golden Gate Bridge;
shortly thereafter, military police stopped a vehicle containing seven
illegal aliens and soon came across another ten to twelve vehicles carrying
approximately 150 more aliens. All ran into the nearby woods. Backup was
requested and provided by MP's, California Highway Patrol, and the Golden
Gate Bridge, Veteran's Administration, and San Francisco police. A total of
169 people were apprehended. All are being detained at Fort Point NHS until
they can be processed by INS. [USPP Dispatch, 5/24]
93-277 - Great Smokies (North Carolina/Tennessee) - MVA with Fatality
A vehicle being driven by S.S., 45, of Sevierville, Tennessee,
crossed the center line of Little River Road near the Metcalf picnic area on
the afternoon of May 22nd and struck an on-coming vehicle with three people
in it. W.S., 78, who was sitting in the back seat of the
second vehicle, apparently went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene;
his wife, M., 89, and daughter, M.M., 49, received severe
injuries. All were taken by helicopter to the University of Tennessee
Medical Center. M.M. was admitted with severe head injuries;
M.S. is in intensive care; S.S. is listed in serious condition.
S.S. is believed to have been driving under the influence. The accident
is still under investigation. [Jason Houck, CR, GRSM, 5/24]
93-278 - Coronado (Arizona) - Drug Seizure
On May 22nd, rangers Scott Sticha and Bill Smith discovered a cache of
marijuana about a half mile east of park headquarters. A surveillance of
the area was conducted through the following night with the assistance of
officers from Customs and the Border Alliance Group (BAG), but without
results. The cache, which contained just over 200 pounds of marijuana in 16
packages, was seized the next day. An investigation continues. Two days
before, rangers, Forest Service officers and Arizona Air National Guardsmen
seized a cache of 300 pounds of marijuana on land adjacent to the park.
[Bill Smith, CR, CORO, 5/24]
93-279 - Lake Mead (Nevada) - Attempted Homicide
M.H., 35, of Henderson, Nevada, was arrested on May 23rd and
charged with attempted murder following an assault on 32-year-old P.S.
in Government Wash on May 21st. M.H. was charged with
assaulting P.S. with an iron pipe and attempting to drown him by
pushing his face under water. According to witnesses, the altercation began
as a fist fight. P.S. received serious injuries to his face and skull
from the pipe. [Karen Whitney, LAME, 5/24]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level I
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 5/24 5/25 Status
CA BLM Cal Desert * Opal - 100 CN
AZ USFS Gila Whiskey 300 300 CN 5/25
NM State - * Wylie - 150 CL
TX State Jeff Davis Cty Donahoe 6,000+ 21,000 NEC
- Kaywell Park 800 300 CN
Hudspeth Cty Cornudas 4,000+ 4,000+ NEC
FL State - * Turkey Point - 7,000+ NEC
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) ANALYSIS - High to extreme fire danger continues in Florida, Georgia and
Texas, resulting in increased fire activity and acreage burned. High to
very high indices and predicted winds caused fires to have increased rates
of spread in west Texas. The Southwest and southern California had less
initial attack and lighter winds than expected yesterday.
5) PROGNOSIS - Initial attack activity is expected to increase in the South
and Southwest, with high to extreme fire dangers, high temperatures, and
forecasted thunderstorms. A red flag watch has been posted for strong west
winds in western Arizona.
[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 0530, 5/25]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Pictured Rocks (Michigan) - Bear Management
On May 20th, rangers destroyed a black bear that they had baited into a
backcountry campsite by cooking bacon. The previous evening, the same bear
had walked into the same site and torn apart a pack and two tents belonging
to a school group of teenage boys. The group's food had been hung up, but
some bread had been left in the pack. When the bear attacked the tents, the
group moved away to a nearby beach, and the boys crawled under some aluminum
boats left by fishermen. As the bear pawed and dug at the boats, the
group's leaders threw rocks at it. The bear then moved toward them,
snarling, and the leaders ran into Lake Superior. The group spent the night
on the beach with bonfires. Rangers went in the next day. When the bear
showed up, they used a total of three canisters of OC-10 red pepper spray,
but could not get the bear to leave. It was then destroyed, as authorized
by the park superintendent in accordance with the bear management plan. No
bear incidents had occurred in the park for several years until 1991, when
there were at least 21 incidents. In 1992, there were over 60, many
involving property damage and increasingly bold behavior. The park
developed the bear plan in 1992; it calls for an extensive education and
information effort, food poles in backcountry sites, and management actions
based upon individual bear's behavior. The bear's aggressive behavior was
indicative of a food-conditioned animal. Closure of a nearby town dump, a
poor 1992 berry crop, and the increasing popularity of bait-hunting (legal
in Michigan) are believed to be the primary factors in the sudden rise in
incidents. [Brian Kenner, RMS, PIRO]
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.
Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Dickerhoof at regional LES
conference (5/24-5/27); Martin on AL (5/28-6/6).
Branch of Fire and Aviation: Hurd at National Wildfire Coordinating Group
(NWCG) meeting (5/25-5/28); Erskine at MAC group steering committee meeting
(5/24-5/26); Broyles at NWCG safety and health working team meetings (5/22-
5/29); Gale on AL (5/22-5/26); Farrel at NFPA and NWCG meetings (5/22-5/29);
Cook on IHC detail (5/25-10/15); Berg at meeting (5/24-5/28).
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