- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, June 4, 1993
- Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1993
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
Ranger Activities Division Information Network
Day/Date: Friday, June 4, 1993
Broadcast: By 0830 ET
INCIDENTS
93-230 - Point Reyes (California) - Follow-up on Fatality
The coroner has determined that E.G.R., 27, who was found dead on
the top of his sleeping bag in the Sky Camp area on April 30th, died of a
self-induced drug overdose. E.G.R., who was a paramedic, had previously
attempted suicide and was reported to have been very depressed. He and his
wife had quarreled on their anniversary the day before and he had left her
without specifying where he was going. [Leroy Brock, CR, PORE, 6/3]
93-316 - Canyonlands (Utah) - Drowning; Rescues
On the afternoon of June 3rd, rangers recovered the body of S.R.H.,
52, from the lower end of Cataract Canyon. When found, he was
still wearing a full wet suit with a hood, a life jacket, boaters' gloves,
and one swim fin. S.R.H., a resident of Moab and an experienced Colorado
River rafter and commercial river runner, had hiked into the canyon with the
intention of swimming the 13 miles of rapids that run through the park. He
was last seen around lunch time by another group of rafters who visited with
him about three miles upstream from the point where his body was recovered
near Rapid 24. His body was flown out of the canyon and taken to Moab.
This is the fourth fatality associated with Cataract Canyon this year. Two
victims - P.S. and D.B. - who disappeared and presumably
drowned over the weekend (see Tuesday's morning report) are still missing.
A shoreline search along the river and upper reaches of Lake Powell is still
underway in an effort to find the two men. The Colorado River was flowing
at 65,600 cfs (cubic feet per second) yesterday. Recent levels have been
the highest on the river since 1984, when the river peaked at 109,600 cfs.
Experience has shown that critical water levels occur between 60,000 cfs and
80,000 cfs. From 80,000 cfs to 90,000 cfs, some of the rapids flatten out;
above 90,000 cfs, the larger rapids get much larger. Temporary restrictions
were implemented on May 18th to prohibit rowing trips without a motorized
support vessel at least as big as a 22-foot Baby J-rig. No single boat
trips are authorized regardless of the size of the boat. In addition to
these restrictions, river rangers have established a spike camp below the
Big Drop rapids of Cataract Canyon to assist both private and commercial
boaters after they attempt their run through this notorious stretch of Class
V whitewater. Between May 11th and Memorial Day weekend, a total of 54
private permit rafts and kayaks ran Cataract; of these, 23 flipped in the
rapids. Rangers rescued or otherwise assisted 37 individuals by plucking
them from the water, transporting them from shore to their recovered rafts,
and retrieving free-floating property. During the same period, five rafts
on commercial trips flipped and dumped 19 individuals into the river. Most
flips occurred in Big Drop 2. Along with the four fatalities recorded so
far during this boating season, there's also been one case of severed
dehydration and several injuries, including a dislocated shoulder, a broken
ankle and minor head injuries. [Tony Schetzsle, CR, and Larry Frederick,
CANY, 6/3]
93-317 - Denali (Alaska) - Illegal Commercial Use Conviction
On June 1st, French mountaineering guide T.P. was fined $3,000 in
U.S. magistrate's court for illegal guiding on Mt. McKinley. Rangers were
tipped off to his illegal expedition when two members of the party returned
early with frostbite. The two, who had been having difficulties, asked
T.P. to help them down, but he refused to do so. They sustained the
frostbite while descending by themselves. When ranger Jim Philips contacted
T.P., he confessed to illegally guiding seven clients up the mountain.
Illegal "pirate" guiding on Mt. McKinley has long been a problem. Tips
regarding potential illegal expeditions are being aggressively pursued.
Enforcement actions such as this one are part of a regionwide push to bring
all concessioners into compliance. [Ken Kehrer, DENA, 6/3]
93-318 - Glacier (Montana) - Special Event; Commercial Filming
Portions of the feature-length film, "Beethoven's 2nd", will be filmed in
the park beginning June 7th. This sequel to the original film features a
St. Bernard named Beethoven in a comedy plot centered around a small
mountain resort. A permit was issued under the park's revised commercial
filming policy, which is similar to other commercial filming policies in
Rocky Mountain Region. An in-park all-risk management overhead team and
support personnel will be utilized to oversee the filming and ensure
adequate traffic control and flow, crowd management, and visitor and media
information. The permit provides for full cost recovery for all park
operations involved in overseeing the project. [Steve Frye, CR, GLAC, 6/3]
93-319 - Mammoth Cave (Kentucky) - Assist; Cave Rescue
On May 30th, the park's cave rescue team assisted in a rescue at privately-
owned Buzzards Roost Historic Cave in Cave City about three miles east of
the park. The cave has recently been opened for "wild" cave tours. While
on a guided tour, one of the members of a party of five fell between 20 and
40 feet into a pit and became wedged at the bottom of a small V-shaped
canyon. Two other cavers were trapped behind the victim. Rangers Henry
Holman, Barry Melloan and James Blanton were dispatched to the scene around
midnight. Homan and Melloan have significant caving experience; Melloan and
Blanton are EMTs. Rescue efforts continued through the night, but all
efforts to remove the stuck person proved fruitless. He died around 5 a.m.
and his body remained lodged in the canyon. More assistance was requested
from the park. Rescue teams were formed utilizing members of the National
Speleological Society who were attending a regional caving event at a
campground near the park. The team was headed by park ecologist Rick Olsen
and park hydrological technician Marty Ryan, both of whom have extensive
caving experience. A second team composed of members of the Cave Research
Foundation who were in the park for their Memorial Day expedition was formed
to replace Olsen's team in the event that the rescue went into a third
operational period. Park hydrologist Joe Meiman and ranger George Corrie
headed this team. Members of Olsen's team were successful in their efforts
to remove the victim from the cave. The other two cavers were then rescued.
Both were in good shape and declined medical treatment. [Bill Sturgeon,
RAD/SERO, 6/3]
93-320 - Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico) - Self-Rescue
On May 16th, P.J., a volunteer working with the Lechuguilla
Exploration and Research Network (LEARN), slipped while in Lechuguilla Cave
and broke a fibula. P.J., who was unaware that he'd sustained the injury,
trekked the long route out of the cave with his eight companions. He
attempted to hobble along with their support, but eventually decided that
crawling would be easier and essentially crawled the last three miles out of
the cave. He was assisted on small climbs and had no problem on vertical
rope drops. P.J. arrived at the cave entrance 28 hours after the accident
took place. [Dale Pate, CACA, 6/2]
93-321 - Assateague (Maryland/Virginia) - Sexual Assault
Around 2 a.m. on May 30th, a 12-year-old female reported that she'd been
raped and assaulted while with a 34-year-old male near the Bull Pen camping
area in the off-road vehicle zone. A suspect in the case has been
identified. Rangers and Maryland state police are conducting a joint
investigation. [Bob Thomas, Acting CR, ASIS, 6/2]
93-322 - Olympic (Washington) - Attempted Suicide
Employees of Kalaloch Lodge discovered concession employee D.M.,
25, of Callisville, Montana, semi-conscious in his quarters
around 4:30 p.m. on June 2nd. D.M. had attempted suicide by consuming
excessive amounts of over-the-counter sleeping pills and beer. He was
immediately taken by ambulance to Forks Hospital for treatment, and is being
held there for observation. D.M. is considered emotionally unstable
and has been threatening suicide since he began working at the lodge two
months ago. Fellow employees say that he'd been walking around the lodge
saying good-bye to everyone and telling them that he was going to kill
himself. Rangers found a handgun, shotgun, rifle and ammunition in his
quarters. [Kym Ulin, OLYM, 6/3]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level I
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 6/3 6/4 Status
NM BLM Las Cruces Escondido Comp:
- Martin 1,870 1,870 CN 6/4
- Mashed O 19,000 19,000 CN 6/4
- 3 others - 10,000+ CN 6/4
Roswell * Jal #2 - 9,000 NEC
TX Army Fort Bliss * Trans Mountain - 3,000 CND
AZ State - Redhill 300 1,760 CL
BIA Pima Santa Cruz 2,500 2,500 CND
USFS Gila * Miller - 370 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
CND - Contained CN (date) - Expected date of containment
3) PARK FIRE REPORTS - The following are highlights from the NPS National
Wildland Fire Summary for June 3rd:
* Cumberland Island - The park reports extreme fire danger. Thunderstorms
and high temperatures forecast for the area have greatly increased the
possibility of ignitions.
* Carlsbad Caverns - Extreme conditions continue. The park has ordered two
engines for presuppression and hopes to keep them at Carlsbad and
Guadalupe Mountains.
4) ANALYSIS - High to very high indices are still being reported in southern
California and the Southwest; extreme indices are being reported in southern
Georgia and Florida. Initial attack is on-going in the Southwest and
Alaska.
5) PROGNOSIS - A red flag watch for afternoon winds is in effect in
northwest Arizona. Initial attack is expected to continue in the Southwest
due to seasonal temperatures and breezy conditions. Afternoon thunderstorms
and high temperatures in Alaska could lead to initial attack activity
throughout the state.
[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 0530, 6/4]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
NOTES
1) NPS-58, the Service's structural fire guideline, is now being revised.
The committee established to work on chapter seven on training and
certification plans to meet in Yellowstone between July 18th and 21st. If
you have any suggestions or recommendations, please send them to Galen D.
Warren at Yellowstone via cc:Mail. Your assistance is appreciated. [Galen
Warren, YELL]
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.
Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Martin on AL (6/1-6/4); Berkowitz
at ARPA conference (6/1-6/4); Sisto at commercial use license meeting (6/1-
6/4); Lee at wilderness management seminar (6/2-6/4).
Branch of Fire and Aviation: Spruill consulting with Big Bend staff on
aircraft selection (6/1-6/4); Gale at NASAR conference (6/1-6/6); Botti at
meeting on post-fire emergency rehabilitation of cultural and archeological
resources (6/1-6/4).
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