- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, July 16, 1993
- Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
Ranger Activities Division Information Network
Day/Date: Friday, July 16, 1993
Broadcast: By 0830 ET
INCIDENTS
93-472 - Midwest Parks - Follow-up on Flood Impacts
One additional report on flooding impacts on Midwest parks has been
received:
* Effigy Mounds - The Sny Magill area, twelve miles south of park
headquarters, is now accessible only by boat. When the river crested, the
highest mound in the Sny Magill group was under two feet of water; the top
of that mound is now about eight inches above the water line, but most
other mounds are still covered. Fencing, signs and the informational
kiosk in the area are probably either gone or ruined. There is no water
damage or debris on the visitor center terrace. All highways in the area
are open. Headquarters has been out of drinking water since June 22nd,
and has purchased bottled water for employees and the public. As might be
expected, visitation has dropped significantly.
[Thomas Munson, Superintendent, EFMO, 7/14]
93-473 - Colonial (Virginia) - Follow-up on MVA with Nine Injuries
All but one of the nine people injured in the two van motor vehicle accident
on the Colonial Parkway on July 12th have been treated and released from the
hospital. The accident occurred when a Toyota Previa van being driven by
F.R., 45, of Quebec, Canada, pulled out from a wayside into the
path of a Ford Aerostar van being driven by D.S., 54, of Sacramento,
California. Occupants of the F.R. vehicle were F.R.'s wife M., 43,
his son S., 14, and daughter E., 11; occupants of the D.S.
vehicle were D.S.'s wife P., 49, sons M., 27, and M., 23, and
daughter R., 22. S.R. was admitted to Williamsburg
Community Hospital for observation for possible internal injuries and was in
stable condition at the time of the report. Remaining members of the two
families were treated for broken ankles, cracked and broken ribs, and cuts
and bruises. Both vehicles were totalled. F.R. was cited for failure to
yield right of way. There's strong evidence that D.S. was saved from
serious injuries by the deployment of his vehicle's airbag. [Jim Burnett,
CR, COLO, 7/14]
93-477 - Yosemite (California) - Follow-up on Shooting of Ranger
A major search is underway for the man who shot ranger Kim Aufhauser on the
evening of July 14th. The area around Tuolumne Meadows has been sealed off,
and about 1,000 visitors, concession employees and park staff have been
evacuated because of the likelihood that Aufhauser's assailant is still
armed and in the area. As of this morning, there are 116 rangers and
officers on scene from the park, Western Region's ranger and Park Police SET
teams, the FBI, Tuolumne and Inyo counties, the California Highway Patrol,
the Sierra and Stanislaus National Forests, and California Fish and Game.
There are also three California Department of Corrections dog teams and
three helicopters. The strategy is to confine, evacuate and search the
area. Five roadblocks have been set up at key highways and trail points -
one each at Tenaya Lake, Olmstead Point, Tuolumne, Lee Vining Canyon and
Tioga Pass - and listening and observation points have been established at
several backcountry canyon junctures. Road and foot patrols are being
conducted continuously and are being augmented with overflights during the
daylight hours. Aufhauser was released from the hospital yesterday, and
returned to the site of the shooting to assist FBI agents in their
investigation of the crime scene. They were able to find three spent .22
cartridges from a semi-automatic weapon and the impact points from the three
shots that Aufhauser got off from his .357. There were no indications that
his assailant was hit by any of the shots. Nothing else was found at the
scene. Efforts to track the assailant proved fruitless. Investigators
talked yesterday to a visitor who said he saw a man in the Tuolumne
campground with a distinctive tattoo which matches that on a man - 36-year-
old J.S.R. - wanted for a homicide in nearby Douglas, Nevada,
but have not been able to find any evidence of any kind to confirm that
J.S.R. was Aufhauser's assailant. Aufhauser and ranger Joe Sumner
received the Department of Interior's valor award last year for risking
their lives to rescue a visitor from a creek in the inner gorge between
Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls in 1991. [Paul Henry, ICS Team, YOSE, 7/16;
Mike O'Neal, RLES, RAD/WRO, 7/15]
93-478 - Sequoia/Kings Canyon (California) - Employee Illness
On July 11th, Loren Shryer, 69, a seasonal ranger at the Ash Mountain
entrance station, was in the Giant Forest area on his lieu day when his car
became disabled and he decided to walk out to get help. Just outside the
Giant Forest registration office, Shryer suffered an apparent heart attack.
Lodgepole rangers responded and stabilized Shryer; he was then taken to
Kaweah Delta Hospital. At the time of the report, he was resting well and
experiencing no pain. Plans were to release him from the hospital last
Tuesday. [Mike Warren, SEKI, 7/13]
93-479 - Yukon-Charley Rivers (Alaska) - Employee Illness
The park was notified of a medical emergency at the mouth of the Kandik
River, 70 miles down the Yukon River from park headquarters in Eagle, just
after midnight on the morning of July 14th. Kathleen Cassie Flynn, an
archeologist from Alaska Regional Office who is working on an inventory of
the historic Charley Village area, had become ill; seasonal ranger and
retired physician Charles Gregory had determined that she was suffering from
acute peritonitis and advised that she required immediate transport to a
medical facility. Chief ranger Jan Dick arranged for a helicopter to pick
Flynn up and for an air ambulance to transport her from Eagle to Fairbanks.
The helicopter flew to the site at 2:15 a.m., picked Flynn up, then
transferred her to the ALS air ambulance at 3:45 a.m. Flynn was diagnosed
as suffering from internal hemorrhaging of undetermined causes and was
admitted to surgery later that morning. [Jan Dick, CR, YUCH, 7/14]
93-480 - Chaco Culture (New Mexico) - Car Clouts
Sometime between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. on July 12th, a thief or thieves broke
into two vehicles at the trailhead to Penasco Blanco and stole two wallets
and a shoulder pack containing a wallet with credit cards and cash. Other
valuable items were left behind. Entry was made through the front passenger
doors by unknown means. The cars were relocked after they were entered. A
dark green or black van occupied by three white males and a white female,
all between the ages of 20 and 30, may have been involved in or have
additional information on the thefts. [Herschel Schulz, CR, CHCU, 7/13]
93-481 - Rocky Mountain (Colorado) - Car Clouts
The park has received six reports of car clouts which occurred in Moraine
Park campground between 9 p.m. on July 13th and 6 a.m. on the 14th. Items
taken include cash (the full amount is not yet known) and a handheld Gameboy
computer. Expensive items were left in the vehicles. Most of the vehicles
hit were pickup trucks, and it appears that all the victims were tent
camping. There are no visible signs of entry on the vehicles except for
some scrape marks on the rain gutter and weather stripping of one window.
All but one of the windows were found up and all doors were locked. There
are no suspects or witnesses at this time. [Kris Holien, ROMO, 7/14]
93-482 - Olympic (Washington) - Rescue
Park staff were notified of an injured hiker at the Cat Walk in the Soleduck
area of the park late on the afternoon of July 8th. The reporting party,
who was a physician, said that his partner, also a physician, had fallen and
suffered a severely separated shoulder. Attempts to reduce the separation
in the field were unsuccessful. Due to the location of the injured party, a
helicopter evacuation was initiated. Park EMTs flew in and treated and
evacuated the victim. The separation was reduced that evening at a local
hospital. The physician who was injured is the pediatrician who cares for
the children of many of the people on the park rescue team. [Larry Nickey,
OLYM, 7/12]
93-483 - Mount Rainier (Washington) - Rescue
D.R.B., the leader of a climbing team on Mount Rainier, called from
Camp Schurman on the morning of July 12th to request assistance in
evacuating 31-year-old D.M., a member of the team who had
sustained frostbite in both of his feet. The climbers had spent the night
at the camp after completing a climb of Liberty Ridge. D.M. was unable
to get his boots on in the morning due to the extent of the frostbite. A
ground rescue team of four rangers and two Rainier Mountaineering guides was
dispatched and reached the party around 10 p.m. that evening. It was
determined that the safest method for carrying D.M. out would be to
wait until first light before beginning the evacuation. The team started
its descent at 6 a.m. Members of the Mountain Rescue Council met the group
and provided additional and much-needed assistance. A group of six SCAs
provided additional help for the portion of the carry-out from Glacier Basin
to White River campground. D.M. was transported by privately-owned
vehicle to Enumclaw fairgrounds, where he was picked up by an Airlift
Northwest helicopter and taken to a hospital in Seattle. [Comm Center,
MORA, 7/14]
93-484 - Sequoia/Kings Canyon (California) - Rescue
On July 11th, a visitor came to the Ash Mountain entrance station and
reported that a man had suffered some type of seizure while floating down
the Southern California Edison flume across the Kaweah River from park
headquarters. Rangers Randy Coffman and Mike Warren flew the park contract
helicopter over the flume, located the victim, landed about three-quarters
of a mile down slope, and hiked up to him. The victim, 58-year-old L.L.,
complained of pain in his back and had numerous abrasions. He also
appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. Additional personnel from
the fire management office and the Sierra District were flown in; L.L.
was carried down to the helicopter, flown to the Ash Mountain heliport, then
driven to Kaweah Delta hospital by Exeter ambulance. [Mike Warren, SEKI,
7/13]
93-485 - Gateway (New York/New Jersey) - Sexual Assault Arrest
On July 11th, rangers responded to the North Beach section of Sandy Hook to
investigate a report made by lifeguards of a sexual assault upon a juvenile.
They determined that an eleven-year-old female had been sexually abused by
39-year-old E.G., a resident alien from the Dominican Republican
and alleged friend of the girl's mother. The mother was asleep during the
assault. E.G. was arrested and a state warrant was obtained for a
felony charge of aggravated sexual assault. E.G. was placed in the
Monmouth County correctional facility; bail has been set at $50,000. The
county prosecutor's office's special sex crime unit assisted in the
investigation; the U.S. attorney has deferred prosecution to the state. The
victim was interviewed by representatives from the New Jersey Division of
Youth and Family Services, who made a determination to release her to her
mother, who resides in Passaic, New Jersey. E.G. could face a maximum
of from five to years in prison if convicted. [Frank Mills, CR, GATE-SHU,
7/12]
93-486 - Valley Forge (Pennsylvania) - Marijuana Eradication
While conducting a surveillance flight over Upper Merion township, observers
in a Pennsylvania state police helicopter discovered a small cultivated
marijuana patch growing in a wooded area between the Conrail tracks and the
Schuylkill River inside the park. The helicopter landed on the Conrail
right of way and the plants were pulled and taken to a local police station
for destruction. The plants were too small to determine if they were being
cultivated for sensimilla. The park has scheduled overflights for later in
the growing season. [CRO, VAFO, 7/12]
93-487 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Rescue
An individual called park dispatch on June 30th and reported a hiker in need
of assistance on the South Kaibab trail. The reporting party said that 20-
year-old C.R. was "talking crazy" and did not know her friend's
name. Rangers Ken Phillips and Michael Nash responded; they found C.R.
suffering from a diminished level of consciousness and found that she had an
initial oral temperature of 103 degrees. Since the signs indicated that she
was suffering from the early stages of heat stroke, the rangers quickly
began cooling her down. Communication with C.R. was possible only
through a German interpreter at the scene, who said that C.R. thought
she was in Germany. After her temperature was lowered to 101, she was
medevaced to the South Rim, then taken to Grand Canyon Clinic for
evaluation. She awoke later that evening and began speaking to her nurse in
perfect English. She was later released with no lasting impairment. [CRO,
GRCA, 7/14]
93-488 - Arches (Utah) - Pursuit and Arrest
On July 10th, ranger Marc Yeston attempted to stop a late model BMW which
was being driven in a reckless and dangerous manner - travelling at a high
rate of speed and passing on blind curves. The driver sped away from the
pursuing ranger, drove through two stop signs and left the park. A pursuit
ensued which involved the ranger, a Grand County deputy, and Utah state
troopers until it was apparent that the driver had eluded authorities. A
roadblock was set up on the Colorado state line by Colorado troopers. The
vehicle was eventually located about 37 miles northeast of the park by a
local tour helicopter pilot who had been monitoring the pursuit over the
radio. The BMW was finally stopped by a Utah trooper and an Emery County
deputy north of Green River after having driven a circuitous 94-mile route
east, west and then north of the park. Rangers Yeston and Al Cummings
arrested the driver, W.H. of Pipersville, Pennsylvania. W.H.
appeared before a U.S. magistrate that day and plead no contest to a count
of reckless driving. He was fined $700. [Jim Webster, CR, ARCH, 7/12]
93-489 - Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Motor Vehicle-Pedestrian Fatality
C.G., 35, of Plainsville, Massachusetts, was struck in the head and
seriously injured by the mirror of a passing recreational vehicle while
standing on the shoulder of the road at Frying Pan Springs on the evening of
July 13th. Rangers and Lake Hospital medical staff responded immediately
and provided emergency medical care. C.G. was taken by ambulance to the
Canyon area, then evacuated by Lifeflight to the Eastern Idaho Medical
Center in Idaho Falls where she died the following evening. C.G. and her
sister were visiting the park at the time and had stopped to view the
springs. C.G. was standing on the road shoulder. The driver of a
southbound recreational vehicle saw the two women, but was unable to veer
around them because of oncoming traffic. The driver had slowed to about 15
mph when the incident occurred. An investigation to determine C.G.'s
exact location at the time of the incident is underway. [CRO, YELL, 7/15]
93-490 - White Sands (New Mexico) - Search
G.L. and P.C., both 19, became lost while looking for
their dog around 9:30 p.m. on July 14th. A patrol ranger found their car
parked with the doors open, the key in the ignition and money lying on the
front seat. A search was begun on the morning of the 15th, but searchers
were unable to find any tracks because of the rain which fell overnight.
While conducting the search, the park received notification from Holloman
Air Force Base that the two young men had wandered into a secure area and
were being held pending a ranger's arrival. Both men were tired but
otherwise in good condition. [Bob Appling, CR, WHSA, 7/15]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level II
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 7/15 7/16 Status
NV BLM Ely * White Rock-T2 - 1,000 NEC
AZ BLM Phoenix * Harquahala - 2,400 CN 7/18
BIA Colorado River * Wilson Road - 400 CN 7/17
CO BLM Craig Greasewood 105 105 CND
* Great Divide - 1,800 NEC
NC State - Pinder Complex 5,000 5,000 CND
GA USFS Chattahoochee-
Oconee Raban 1,050 - NR
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 - Park reports are not available today.
4) ANALYSIS - Fire activity is continuing in the Southwest, Rockies, South
and eastern Great Basin. Strong winds are pushing holdover fires in the
Rockies and western Great Basin. Little activity is occurring elsewhere for
this time of year.
5) PROGNOSIS - A red flag watch has been issued for strong southwest winds
over northern Arizona. Red flag warnings have been posted for strong
southerly winds and low humidities for southwest and northeast Utah, and for
strong southwest winds and low humidities in northwest Colorado. Scattered
afternoon and evening thunderstorms are predicted for the Southwest, central
Rockies and Great Basin. The South will be partly cloudy with afternoon and
evening thunderstorms. Initial attack activity is expected to continue.
[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 0530, 7/16]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.
Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Henry at SFAR oversight group
meeting (7/14-15); Dickerhoof at visitor management and resource protection
assessment program meeting (7/14-16); Martin on AL (7/15).
Branch of Fire and Aviation: Gale on extended attack analysis of project
fire migration at GUMO, ELMA and LAMR (7/12-16); Botti at national park and
wilderness fire management meeting (7/12-16); Farrel at wildland/urban
interface initiative meeting (7/12-16).
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