NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Monday, January 10, 1994

Broadcast: By 0900 ET

                            *** NOTICE ***

Flags which were lowered to half staff for former Speaker of the House Tip
O'Neill should be returned to full staff at sunset today.

INCIDENTS

93-510 - Zion (Utah) - Follow-up on Rescue

On July 15, 1993, D.F., 27, and K.E., 37, drowned in two
separate incidents about an hour apart on private property in Kolob Creek
adjacent to the park.  The two victims, a surviving adult and five teen-age
Explorer Scouts were on a four-day hike which was scheduled to conclude in
the park on July 17th and had a permit for the last night of their trip
through Zion Narrows.  After they were reported overdue, an extensive
helicopter search in very rugged terrain was initiated.  The six survivors
were located and rescued on July 19th through a cooperative effort by
Washington County sheriff's officers and the park's SAR team.  The body of
K.E. was retrieved the same day; D.F.'s body was not located and
retrieved until ten days later because of extremely high, cold water and
steep narrow terrain.  The latter recovery effort, directed by district
ranger Dave Buccello, was one of the most technically demanding and
hazardous retrievals undertaken by the combined county/park SAR team.  The
12-day incident generated over 300 media inquiries, including live TV
coverage from five stations in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, and made the
1993 top ten story list for two of the three network affiliates in Salt Lake
City.  On January 3rd, the park received multiple tort claims for millions
of dollars from attorneys representing families of both victims and
survivors and passed them on to DOI's solicitor in Salt Lake City.  The
solicitor's office has up to six months to rule on the case.  Attorneys for
the families filed copies of the claims directly with the Utah media, which
has generated many additional inquiries to the park.  Media reports also
indicate that the families are working with a movie studio on the
development of a feature film.  [Denny Davies, PIO, ZION, 1/7]

94-6 - San Juan (Puerto Rico) - Oil Spill

On the morning of January 7th, a barge under tow leaving San Juan Bay broke
loose and ran aground about 200 yards off Escambrow Beach a mile east of
Fort San Cristobal.  The barge, which was carrying 1.5 million gallons of #6
crude oil, was en route from San Juan to Antigua.  Two of the ten
compartments were reportedly leaking and a total of six compartments have
been damaged.  About 30,000 gallons of oil had leaked into the ocean at the
time of the report.  Although containment booms had been placed at the mouth
of Condado lagoon and were holding, the spill was traveling slowly to the
east and had already reached park boundaries.  The Coast Guard is managing
the cleanup and containment operation and expects substantial damage to the
heavily used tourist area along Puerto Rico's north coast.  [Mark Hardgrove,
Assistant Superintendent, SAJU, 1/7]

94-7 - Chattahoochee River (Georgia) - Arson Fire

An abandoned barn in the Gold Branch area of the Bull Sluice district burned
to the ground on the night of January 6th.  Rangers and Cobb County
firefighters responded to the initial call, which came in at 10 p.m. 
Control efforts were hampered by the lack of vehicle access to the
structure.  Arson is suspected.  [Anthony Roybal, CHAT, 1/7]

94-8 - Big Cypress (Florida) - Helicopter Accident

Around 7 p.m. on January 7th, a contract helicopter sustained minor damage
when it was involved in an accident at the Oasis Airstrip.  Following
maintenance work on the ship, contractor personnel were conducting a flight
check despite instructions not to fly after dark.  The pilot was reportedly
blinded by glare from a landing light; when he pulled up, the helicopter
struck the tops of cypress trees immediately west of the airstrip.  The ship
suffered damage to its windshield, exterior speaker, rear view mirror and
hull.  OAS has been advised, and an investigation is underway.  [Bill
Carroll, CR, BICY, 1/9]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No notes this morning.

MEMORANDA

No memoranda today.

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone: 202-208-4874
Telefax:   202-208-6756
cc:Mail:   WASO Ranger Activities
SkyPager:  Emergencies ONLY: 1-800-759-7243, PIN 2404843