- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, June 10, 1994
- Date: Fri, 10 Jun 1994
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, June 10, 1994
Broadcast: By 0930 ET
INCIDENTS
94-279 - Saguaro (Arizona) - Follow-up on Shooting Incident
J.B., 19, and T.R., 18, both of Tucson, have been
arrested on charges of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
following last Sunday's shootout at the Douglas Springs trailhead. As was
noted yesterday, only one of the two had minor injuries despite the use of
shotguns at close range. A third individual, R.Y., 18, who
apparently witnessed the incident, has been charged by the state with making
a false report of an emergency, a misdemeanor. [Paula Rooney, CR, SAGU,
6/9]
94-282 - Glacier (Montana) - Rescue; Life Saved
M.C., 20, and a companion, Drew Wren, were hiking back from an overnight
stay at Lincoln Lake on June 5th when M.C. became seriously ill about three
miles from the trailhead. Wren left M.C. in a tent along the trail and went
for help. He arrived at the trailhead just before 6 p.m., drove to the Lake
McDonald Lodge, called 911, and reported the emergency to the county
sheriff's office. They in turn notified rangers, who were dispatched to the
scene. They found M.C. semi-conscious and only slightly responsive and
concluded that he was likely suffering from a diabetic emergency. The park
medic at the scene contacted Kalispell Regional Hospital and received
approval to administer the necessary medication. M.C.'s condition quickly
improved and stabilized. He was taken out on a wheeled litter, then
transferred to an ambulance for the trip to the hospital. He is now in
stable condition. The quick action of Wren and park rangers averted a
potentially very serious situation. [Amy Vanderbilt, PIO, GLAC, 6/9]
94-283 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - Marijuana Seizure
During the month of May, investigators, rangers and DEA agents eradicated
25,671 sensimilla marijuana plants from the park with a street value in
Hawaii of just over $77 million. The DEA price schedule indicates that
processed marijuana is selling locally for up to $10,000 per pound, and that
a single plant may bring in as much as $4,000. The park's investigators and
rangers are part of the DEA's statewide "Operation Wipeout." [N. Scott
Hinson, CI, HAVO, 6/9]
94-284 - Olympic (Washington) - MVA with Fatality
H.O., 62, of Port Angeles, was headed westbound on Highway 101 on
the afternoon of June 4th when he lost control of his 1990 Lumina van, owned
by Olympic Delivery Service, and went sideways into the oncoming lane. A
Suzuki Samarai occupied by four people struck the Lumina in the driver's
side door. H.O. was taken to Olympic Memorial Highway, where he died the
following day from massive internal injuries; the four people in the Suzuki
were treated and released. An autopsy on H.O. revealed that he was in
the advanced stages of coronary artery disease, which, in the opinion of the
pathologist, made him extremely susceptible to cardiac arrhythmias, which
can cause blackouts. Other evidence indicates that such a medical event may
have caused the accident. [Kym Hunter/Mike Butler, OLYM, 6/9]
94-285 - Yosemite (California) - Concession Employee Suicide
On June 1st, the park received a call of a suspicious death in the Yosemite
Concession Services employee housing area known as Boystown. Rangers found
C.A., 20, of Ganado, Arizona, lying without pulse or respirations
on a bed in his tent cabin. The reporting party said that he'd come into
the tent and found C.A. hanging from the rafters. He'd freed him and
attempted CPR without success. Evidence at the scene, including a farewell
note, supported his story. Subsequent interviews revealed that C.A. had
been extremely depressed for several days and had told people that he was
going to die that day. Attempts to get family members to intervene had been
unsuccessful. The death has been ruled a suicide. Because of the trauma to
fellow employees observed during the investigation, the park's investigative
team asked that counseling be provided for employees and friends of the
deceased. The concessioner has accordingly initiated such counseling.
[G.P. Jablonski, CI, YOSE, 6/9]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
The preparedness level has gone up one step. Preparedness Level II goes
into effect when the following conditions are met: One geographic area
experiencing high fire danger. Numerous Class A, B, and C fires occurring
and a potential exists for escapes to larger (project) fires. Minimal
mobilization of resources from other geographic areas occurring. The
potential exists for mobilizing additional resources from other geographic
areas.
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 6/9 6/10 Status
TX NPS Guadalupe NP Marcus - T2 1,000 3,000 CN 6/14
NM USFS Gila NF Mule 4,500 5,500 CN 6/11
Lincoln NF Bridge - T1 3,300 5,190 NEC
Santa Fe NF Rito - T2 210 210 CND
Cibola NF Ryan Complex - T1 3,775 6,940 NEC
AZ BLM Phoenix Dist. * Rest - 450 NEC
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 - Containment strategy NEC - No estimate of containment
CND - Contained CN/CS (date) - Expected date of containment
3) FIRE NARRATIVES -
Marcus Fire, Guadalupe NP - The fire was first observed around 4 p.m. on
Wednesday and may have been started by lightning on Tuesday night. The
apparent point of origin was West Dog Canyon in the park's remote northwest
corner. By nightfall that day, approximately 1,000 acres had burned. It's
expected that winds will push the fire toward the southeast. The major
goals of the Type II incident management team will be to keep the fire from
going down into McKittrick Canyon and to keep it out of the heavily forested
Bowl area; late word, however, is that the fire has spread into a pinon-
juniper and conifer forest. Six structures and associated facilities were
saved through the use of airtankers, handcrews and engines yesterday.
McKittrick Canyon, the Dog Canyon campground, and many trails have been
closed.
Bridge Fire, Lincoln NF - Fair progress was made on line construction
yesterday. Lighter than predicted winds aided burnout operations.
Ryan Complex Fires, Cibola NF - Intense fire behavior was reported on one of
the fires yesterday, and all line was lost.
4) FIRES YESTERDAY (BY AGENCY) -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 2 14 9 7 23 14 69
Acres Burned 40 28 1,823 52 153 7,082 9,178
5) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 83 30 24 13 301
Non-federal 2 3 0 0 26
6) CURRENT SITUATION - Initial attack and large fire activity continued in
the Southwest yesterday. Initial attack activity also picked up in Alaska,
which now has 16 limited fires burning on 286 acres.
7) OUTLOOK - Arizona will continue be dry and will get warmer. The western
half of New Mexico will be sunny and warm, while the eastern half will have
slightly higher relative humidities due to isolated thunderstorms. The
potential still exists for initial attack and large fire activity in the
Southwest. Southern California will continue to be sunny and hot.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/10; Rich McCamant, CI, GUMO,
6/9]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Glacier (Montana) - Coyote Study
The interrelationship of recolonizing wolves and coyotes will be the focus
of a new research study in the park this season. Up to ten coyotes will be
trapped in the area around the North Fork of the Flathead for research
purposes. The study, which will be conducted by a University of Montana
School of Forestry graduate student, will last three years. The Upper
Flathead area of western Montana is one of the last ecosystems in the United
States which still contains a full complement of prey and predators,
including the gray wolf. Except for portions of Minnesota, no other area of
the contiguous United Sates has coexisting populations of coyotes and
wolves. The effects of large numbers of wolves on current coyote
distributions, populations, trends and behaviors in the Flathead is not
currently known. [Amy Vanderbilt, PIO, GLAC]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
MEMORANDA
No memoranda.
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