RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

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

Day/Date:  Friday, September 24, 1993

Broadcast: By 0900 EDT

INCIDENTS

92-614 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - Follow-up on Helicopter Crash

On Saturday, November 21, 1992, a Bell Jet Ranger owned by Hilo Bay Air and
leased by Paramount Pictures crashed on a ledge 150 feet below the rim of
the Pu'u 'O'o vent on Kilauea.  The pilot and two passengers were eventually
rescued by a team comprised of USGS and NPS employees.  The National
Transportation Safety Board recently completed its investigation of the
accident, and concluded that it occurred because the pilot deliberately flew
into a volcanic fume cloud, thereby depriving the helicopter's engine of
oxygen and causing partial loss of engine power.  The results of the
investigation were not unexpected and confirm the findings of the NPS
investigation.  This determination now clears the way for the County of
Hawaii to claim reimbursement for more than $30,000 in direct costs which
they incurred while participating in the interagency rescue effort. 
Paramount Pictures and the helicopter's pilot have consistently denied that
there was pilot error in the crash and have not offered to reimburse either
the NPS or the county.  The contract pilots whose ships were damaged by
volcanic fumes during the rescue have apparently been compensated, however.
Because of the extreme hazards involved in the rescue, rangers Paul Ducasse
and Jeffrey Judd have been recommended for Valor Awards; contract pilots T.H.
and D.S., who flew the rescue missions, have been
recommended for Exemplary Act Awards; and the team has been recommended for
a Unit Citation.  [Jim Martin, CR, HAVO, 9/23]

93-106 - Chickamauga-Chattanooga (Tennessee) - Follow-up on ARPA Arrests

E.L. and J.C., who were caught digging relics in the
park's Lookout Mountain District in February, were found guilty of illegal
excavation for artifacts (16 USC 470ee) in federal magistrate's court in
Chattanooga on August 11th.  The magistrate levied no fines against either
man, but ordered that all equipment involved in the incident be forfeited,
including two metal detectors and a pistol.  Each man also paid $2,698 in
restitution.  Ranger Arthur McDade led the investigation.  [Sam Weddle, CR,
CHCH, 9/22]

93-727 - Ulysses S. Grant (Missouri) - Flooding

Local storms bringing as much as six inches of rain caused flash floods
which struck the park on September 22nd.  Flood water at least five feet
deep carried tree limbs and other debris across the park.  As of yesterday
morning, there was still about eight inches of standing water in the main
house.  Water damage to the house and ancillary buildings appeared to be
minimal, but the flood destroyed several hundred feet of fence along Grant
Road.  The road will likely be closed until debris can be cleared and the
fences can be repaired.  [Jill York O'Bright, Superintendent, ULSG, 9/23]

93-728 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Rescue; Commercial Use Arrest

On September 17th, rangers responded to a report of a pinned boat with an
injured passenger below Insignificant Rapid on the Gauley River.  A female
rafter was treated for a knee injury and carried out through steep and rocky
terrain to a waiting ambulance.  The investigation led to the arrest of a
rafter for operating a commercial activity without a permit in violation of
both state and federal law.  [Greg Malcolm, Gauley SDR, NERI, 9/22]

93-729 - Martin Luther King (Georgia) - Burglary

On the evening of September 20th, S.M.S. was arrested for
breaking and entering a park building on Auburn Avenue and stealing wood
from the building.  The structure was first burglarized on June 8th, and
S.M.S. was identified early in the investigation as the only suspect.  Over
the past three months, the building has been burglarized four times, costing
the government over $4,000 in losses and damages.  [Superintendent, MALU,
9/21]

93-730 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Search; Fatality

Rangers responded to a report of a missing fisherman on the Lower Gauley
River in the Peter's Creek area at 2:40 a.m. on September 17th.  A hasty
search was conducted until daylight, when a thorough bank and river search
was begun.  The water flow for the Gauley was delayed for 90 minutes at the
Summersville Dam in order to lower the river level.  Employees from the
park, Corps of Engineers, and West Virginia DNR took part in the search
effort.  Divers located the body of T.S. just after noon.  The
incident is still being investigated.  [Greg Malcolm, Gauley SDR, NERI,
9/22]

93-731 - Blue Ridge (North Carolina/Virginia) - Suicide

Rangers received a report of a motor vehicle accident about ten miles south
of Mt. Pisgah on September 20th.  Upon arrival, they found a Ford pickup
truck which had run off the roadway and struck a tree.  The body of 18-year-
old J.A. was lying on the seat of the vehicle on top of a .22
caliber pistol.  A suicide note was later found in his wallet.  The incident
is still under investigation by rangers and local authorities.  [Larry
Freeman, CRO, BLRI, 9/22]

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level I

2) FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency     Area            Fire              9/23      9/24   Status

 CA    CDF    San Diego          Bell                300       300   CND

 CO    BLM    Grand Junction   * Coyote Wash           -       360   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
  CND - Contained              CN (date) - Expected date of containment

3) ANALYSIS - Initial attack activity from human-caused and prescribed
burning has increased in several geographic areas.

4) PROGNOSIS - A red flag watch has been issued for low humidity for the
north central California forests.  Initial attack activity will remain
minimal in all areas.  The potential for escaped prescribed fires and human-
caused fires will increase with continued fair weather.

[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 9/24]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Buffalo (Arkansas) - Gypsy Moth Infestation

In 1992, a gypsy moth infestation was found on private land two miles north
of the park and about 700 miles from any other gypsy moth infestation.  This
past May, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the
Arkansas State Plant Board treated 600 acres surrounding the infestation
with aerial applications of the pesticide Dimilin.  Throughout the summer,
NPS and Forest Service pest management crews monitored 500 pheromone traps
within the park - many of them in extremely rugged terrain in a designated
wilderness area - and captured 36 male moths.  State and APHIS trapping
efforts over an eighty-square-mile area north of the park resulted in 3300
moth captures.  A joint state and federal group has formed with the goal of
eradicating the gypsy moth in Arkansas.  Preliminary assessments indicate
that about 25,000 acres of private land north of the park may be recommended
for aerial treatment with the pesticide BT in 1994.  The large number of
negative trap catches in the park was a major factor in a decision not to
treat any area in the park next year.  Extensive pheromone trapping (up to
25 traps per square mile) will again be conducted next summer.  [John Apel,
RMS, BUFF, 9/23]

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Henry at Fifth World Wilderness
Conference (9/22-10/4).

Branch of Fire and Aviation: No leave or travel scheduled.


Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

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