RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

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

Day/Date:  Thursday, August 5, 1993

Broadcast: By 0900 EDT

INCIDENTS

93-472 - Midwest Parks - Follow-up on Flood Impacts

* Jefferson National Expansion (Missouri) - The three barges and the cruise
boat which lodged in the half-submerged trees on park property and in front
of the Arch were successfully removed on Tuesday afternoon.  Four tugs and
two days of preparation were required before the removal effort was
undertaken due to the extremely strong current and the proximity of these
craft to other moored boats down river.  All areas that were closed to the
public because of the stranded barges and boat have now been reopened. 
Floodwaters have dropped approximately two feet since the crest passed late
Saturday afternoon, but 17.5 vertical feet of water still covers the eastern
side of the park.  Because of the strong current and possibility of
contaminated water, barricades are being maintained to prevent visitors from
reaching the river.  Three sections of the sidewalk above the Grand
Staircase have dropped up to two inches, possibly due to floodwater
undermining.  Emergency mud-jacking will take place today to prevent any
additional damage.  The area has been cordoned off as a precaution.  Three
members of the regional SET team remain on duty at the Arch to assist with
crowd control and will remain until at least August 9th.  [Deryl Stone, CR,
JEFF, 8/4]

93-566 - Jefferson National Expansion (Missouri) - Armed Robbery; Homicide

At 1 a.m. this morning, two people - a man from Florida and his female
companion from the St. Louis area, both in their 40s - had just parked their
car in the park's garage when a lone gunman came up to the female
passenger's door and demanded money.  The couple gave them about $40.  The
robber took it, but complained that it wasn't enough.  As he was leaving, he
turned and fired several rounds into the woman, then casually sauntered
away.  The male victim got into his vehicle and drove to the garage's lower
floor, where he was stopped by patrol rangers for erratic driving.  The
driver reported the shooting, and the rangers immediately responded.  They
found that the victim had no pulse or respirations, began CPR and summoned
assistance.  A responding St. Louis police department officer saw a man
discard a t-shirt into a trash can about four blocks from the garage, then
run away.  He investigated and found both the t-shirt and a .38 caliber
handgun.  Efforts to find the man who'd dumped them proved fruitless.  The
woman was taken to a local hospital by EMS units, where she was pronounced
dead at 1:45 a.m.  St. Louis homicide detectives and rangers are
investigating.  [Deryl Stone, CR, JEFF, 8/5]

93-567 - Wupatki (Arizona) - ARPA Violation

Members of a group recording rock art within Wupatki recently discovered
that three backcountry petroglyphs depicting bighorn sheep and a bird had
been vandalized, probably sometime between June 23rd and July 23rd.  It
appears that the destruction of the petroglyphs was willful and not
incidental to an effort to remove them.  The marks suggest that a chisel or
similar tool was used.  Significant public interest in the incident has been
generated by local TV coverage.  [Kim Watson, CR, FLAG, 8/4]

93-568 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Rescue

On the morning of August 3rd, Phantom Ranch rangers received a report of an
emotionally disturbed 29-year-old woman who was threatening suicide by
jumping into the Colorado River.  They found the woman located precariously
on a 40-foot-high cliff above a turbulent eddy just downstream from Silver
Bridge, which crosses the river.  Rangers used rope rescue equipment to
approach her from above, but could not get close enough to safely retrieve
her due to her extremely aggressive and agitated emotional state and her
repeated threats to kill herself.  Other rangers responded by helicopter;
upon landing, they solicited help from the operators of a commercial river
trip at Phantom boat beach.  Two rangers changed into civilian clothes and
joined the trip.  The boat operator then piloted the raft to a position
directly below the woman.  Ranger Patti Thompson, who had been talking with
the woman, talked her into willingly climbing aboard the boat with minor
assistance from the ranger "passengers".  The woman then attempted to push
Thompson, who was secured by a safety line, into the river.  The woman was
subsequently taken into protective custody, flown out of the canyon, and
admitted to a guidance center in Flagstaff where she is received
psychological care.  Neither the woman nor any of her rescuers were injured
in the incident.  [Dispatch, GRCA, 8/4]

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level II

2) FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency     Area            Fire               8/4       8/5   Status

 AK    State   SW Area           304632 - T2      11,550    11,550   NEC
               Tanana Zone       B248             36,000    36,000   NEC

 OR    BLM     Vale            * Three Fingers         -     1,600   CN 8/4

 NV    BLM     Winnemucca      * Kings River           -       400   NEC

 AZ    USFS    Tonto             Edwards - T2      3,029     3,029   CND   
       BLM     Phoenix         * Bee                   -       150   CND
               Arizona Strip   * Tweedy                -       800   CN 8/5
                               * Middlewell            -       800   CN 8/5
       BIA     Truxton Canyon  * New Water             -       600   CND
       State   -               * Spider                -       500   CND
                               * Big Well - T2         -     1,500   NEC

 NC    State   Wilmington        Spooky Too          800     2,500   NEC

 FL    USFS    Ocala             Juniper           1,150     1,150   CN 8/7
 
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
  DM - Demobilized

3) PARK FIRE REPORTS - A number of parks have had significant lightning over
the last couple of days, but no fires of any consequence have been reported. 

4) ANALYSIS - Increased initial attack activity occurred yesterday in the
Great Basin and Southwest.  Four Type II helicopters were mobilized to the
Great Basin.

5) PROGNOSIS - The potential for initial and extended attack fires continues
in the Southwest, Great Basin, Rockies and southern California because of
predicted high temperatures and scattered thunderstorms.  There will be some
light rain and few thunderstorms in Alaska.  Initial attack will continue in
the Southwest because of high temperatures and drought conditions.

[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 8/4; NPS Wildland Fire Report, 8/4]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Shenandoah (Virginia) - Peregrine Falcon Reintroduction

The park, in cooperation with the College of William and Mary and the Fish
and Wildlife Service, hacked and released eight peregrine falcon chicks from
Hawksbill Mountain in early June.  All eight successfully fledged and have
dispersed from the site.  This year's release marks the final year of
reintroduction efforts due to the increased presence of adult peregrine
falcons returning to the park.  During the reintroduction project this year,
the hack site was visited several times by a pair of adult peregrines and
two single males.  The adult falcons are believed to be occupying several of
the prominent cliff sites in the park's Central District.  A total of 42
peregrines have been reintroduced since the program began in 1989.  [Keith
Watson, RM, SHEN]

NOTES

1) On Monday, the National Parks Foundation (NPF) awarded more than $1.4
million to support nine three-year grants for "Parks as Classrooms"
programs.  NPF supports "Parks as Classroom" programs through regular
grants, but these three-year grants, which range in amount from $106,000 to
$175,000 over that period and are matched by parks, schools and communities,
will help establish sustainable partnerships, develop educational resources,
and evaluate programs.  The model programs will be supported in part by a $1
million gift to NPF from the Pew Charitable Trusts.  Additional funds were
provided by the NPF and NPS so that nine grants could be given instead of
four as originally planned.  The recipients were Boston NHP, Acadia NP, the
Cuyahoga Valley Association (at Cuyahoga Valley NRA), Everglades NP, SERO
(for parks around Atlanta), Rocky Mountain NP, Harpers Ferry NHP (and other
western Maryland parks), Santa Monica Mountains NRA and Petroglyph NM.

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: Brady on AL (8/5).

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Sisto at meetings in Alaska
Region (7/26-8/6). 

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Spruill at interagency aviation meeting (8/1-
8/8) and aviation management council work group meeting (8/8-8/13); Botti
(8/1-8/6), Gale (8/3-8/5), Broyles (8/6-8/16), Clark (8/2-8/13) and Swain
(8/2-8/6) on AL.

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone: Branch of R&VP - 202-208-4874
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