- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, July 13, 1994
- Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1994
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, July 13, 1994
Broadcast: By 0930 ET
INCIDENTS
94-375 - Delaware Water Gap (New Jersey/Pennsylvania) - Drowning
On the afternoon of Sunday, July 10th, E.M., 14, of South Paterson,
New Jersey, drowned while swimming off Smithfield Beach. According to
reports made by his companions, E.M. and two friends swam about 60 feet
out to the buoy line which defines the swimming area, rested briefly, then
started back to shore. E.M. soon began having difficulties staying
afloat; one of his friends tried to help him, but had to let go when E.M.
pulled him under. By the time the lifeguards on duty at the beach were
advised of the incident, E.M. was no longer visible. The lifeguards
immediately ordered all swimmers out of the swim area, then began a line
search for the victim. Rescue efforts were slowed due to the difficulty of
getting the approximately 350 swimmers out of the water. E.M. was found
underwater about eight to ten minutes after the incident was reported.
Resuscitation efforts were immediately begun by park staff and local EMS
responders. He was taken to Pocono Medical Center, then airlifted to a
hospital in Danville, where he died late that evening. There's no
indication that alcohol or drugs were involved. An investigation into the
incident is underway. [Doyle Nelson, CR, DEWA, 7/11]
94-376 - Indiana Dunes (Indiana) - Public Nudity
A patrol ranger encountered about 30 naturists on the beach near Mt. Baldy
at the eastern end of the park on Saturday, July 9th. They were informed of
the Indiana criminal code concerning public nudity, and complied with the
ranger's request to attire themselves. No citations were issued, nor were
any arrests made. This is the fifteenth year that the park has been visited
by members of the Chicago Sun Club, which makes an annual excursion to the
park on the first weekend following the Fourth of July, primarily to test
the park's policy on public nudity. The park has adopted the state's
criminal code on public nudity under the Assimilated Crimes Act, and the
U.S. magistrate has approved a fine of $50 for infractions. [Dick
Littlefield, CR, INDU, 7/11]
94-377 - Lake Mead (Nevada/Arizona) - Falling Fatality
R.F., 35, fell about 900 feet to his death from Twin Point on the
Shivwits Plateau in a remote section of the park sometime on the evening of
July 2nd. R.F., who had just moved to St. George, Utah, was camping with
a female companion at a campsite on the end of Twin Point on the North Rim
of Grand Canyon. He left camp at 7 p.m., stating that he was going to look
for a way to hike down into the canyon. When he failed to return, his
friend reported him missing to NPS fire personnel at the Shivwits fire camp
on the morning of July 3rd. Air and hasty ground searches were initiated
and a full SAR team was summoned from Lake Mead. Air Force and BLM
helicopters also joined in the search effort. NPS ground searchers found
R.F.'s body on the morning of July 4th. He apparently went over the edge
35 yards from the camp, fell about 450 feet, hit a ledge, rolled over the
side, and fell another 450 feet before his fall was arrested by a tree.
Technical rock climbing was required to reach the victim, whose body was
subsequently airlifted from the scene. [Bud Inman, LAME, 7/11]
[More pending incident reports tomorrow...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - III
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 7/11 7/13 Status
CO USFS Grand Mesa -
Uncompahgre NF * North Fork - T1 - 200 NEC
Arapaho -
Roosevelt NF * Larimer Complex - T1 - 863 NEC
BLM Grand Jct. Dis. * 2-Road - T2 - 500 NEC
Craig Dis. * Box D - 650 NEC
AZ USFS Prescott NF Juniper 1,800 1,800 CN 7/12
Coronado NF Rattlesnake - T1 9,739 13,570 NEC
State - Redington
Complex - T2 13,309 14,814 NEC
NM NPS El Malpais NP Tube 237 240 CND
BLM Las Cruces Dis. Goodsight Peak 2,800 2,800 CND
USFS Cibola NF Big Rocks
Complex - T2 7,015 7,015 CN 7/15
State - * Ferguson - 200 CND
TX NPS Big Bend NP * Estufa - 2,500 CN 7/13
ID USFS Challis NF Blue Mountain 118 118 CND
BLM Idaho Fall Dis. * Merkley - 2,500 CN 7/13
UT BIA Uintah & Ouray Chandler 150 150 CND
Fort Ranch 16,000 30,000 CND
CA State Kern County * Miller - 350 CND
NV BLM Las Vegas Dis. Oak Springs 400 500 CND
OR BLM Prineville Dis. Maury Complex - T2 380 666 CND
Smith Canyon 5,000 9,600 NEC
State - Spence - T2 1,000 810 CN 7/13
China Hat 1,000 4,000 CN 7/13
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) FIRES YESTERDAY -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 7 8 21 0 82 27 145
Acres Burned 980 74 8,404 0 5,688 3,125 18,271
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 120 41 30 16 931
Non-federal 38 73 14 3 190
5) CURRENT SITUATION - Initial attack increased in the Rockies yesterday,
and there were reports of extreme fire behavior on fires in Arizona. A
helicopter crashed during an initial attack mission on the Gila NF
yesterday; the pilot and two crew members were killed, and two other crew
members were injured. FEMA has ordered a short Type II team to manage a
staging and distribution center in Georgia for flood assistance.
6) OUTLOOK - Hot temperatures with low humidities will continue over the
West. Wet thunderstorms will develop over eastern Montana and eastern
Wyoming. The rest of the West will experience isolated dry afternoon
thunderstorms over higher mountain ranges. Fire activity is expected to
increase with forecasted dry lightning.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/13]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) Operation Opportunity Update - Operation Opportunity was put into effect
to avoid the kind of highly disruptive placement and reduction process that
has occurred in other agencies when central offices have been downsized. If
the effort to downsize our central offices does not occur this year, the
entire agency will suffer when next year's FTE reductions are mandated.
These reductions would most likely affect the parks and trickle down to the
lowest graded positions. In order to reduce the potential impact on parks
neat year, Operation Opportunity must succeed this year. Participation in
and support of this effort is critical. Here are some answers to questions
commonly asked about Operation Opportunity:
Q: Why was Operation Opportunity created?
A:XxxOperation Opportunity was designed to help parks. Critical positions
in parks became vacant due to the recent buyouts. Operation
Opportunity enables park managers to rapidly fill buyout positions
with qualified central office employees and permits the restoration of
FTEs and funding.
Q: Won't all the "good jobs" go to central office personnel?
A: The perception that all the "good jobs" will be taken through this
process is not true. AVADS is alive and well. On the week of July
3rd, there were over 100 vacancies listed on AVADS, which altogether
fills about 1500 jobs annually. Operation Opportunity will likely
fill 250 to 300 jobs - about 15 - 20 percent of the annual total.
Q: Who will be selected to fill park vacancies?
A: Operation Opportunity is a voluntary program designed to place
qualified personnel in park vacancies - the same purpose as AVADS.
This will help members of the NPS family who are currently in central
offices and who possess significant skills to contribute to park
operations. Many central office personnel formerly worked in parks.
Q: Can I get a promotion through an Operation Opportunity placement?
A: Operation Opportunity is only for lateral transfers, or for those
willing to accept lower grades. It is NOT for promotions. the merit
promotion system is still in place. Only positions advertised at a
single grade level will be listed. Multi-grade positions must use
AVADS.
Q: Who makes the selection when a request is made to fill a park vacancy
through Operation Opportunity?
A: As with AVADS, the park will assign a selecting official who will make
a choice.
MEMORANDA
No memoranda.
IN CONGRESS
The following activities have occurred recently or will be taking place in
Congress during coming weeks on matters of interest or consequence to the
National Park Service. If you would like further information on any of
these hearings or bills, please contact Mary in WASO Legislation at 202-208-
3636.
Upcoming Hearings
7/14 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Hearing on H.R. 3079, to protect the
integrity of Point Reyes National Seashore and the Golden Gate
National Recreation Area; S.1703 and H.R. 3973, to expand the
boundaries of Piscataway National Park; and H.R. 4642, to
provide for restoration of Washington Square in Philadelphia and
for its inclusion within Independence National Historical Park.
7/15 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Markup of H.R. 359, to improve the
administration of the Women's Rights National Historical Park,
NY; H.R. 4448, to amend the Act establishing Lowell National
Historical Park; H.R. 3898, to establish the New Bedford Whaling
National Historical Park, MA; H.R. 4158, to establish the Lower
East Side Tenement Museum National Historic Site.
7/19 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Hearing on H.R. 4213, to amend LWCF
Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish a
national registry of rivers and watersheds to be protected and
restored
7/20 -- House Public Works and Transportation's Subcommittee on Aviation
(Oberstar): Hearing on legislation and regulations affecting
scenic overflights above national parks.
7/21 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Markup of H.R. 1562 and S. 310, to
amend title V of Public Law 95-550, designating the Chaco
Culture Archeological Protection sites; H.R. 4533, to promote
entrepreneurial management of the National Park Service; S. 1703
and H.R. 3973, to expand the boundaries of Piscataway National
Park.
7/25 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Hearing on H.R. 746 and S. 1033, to
establish the Shenandoah Valley National Battlefields and
Commission; H.R. 3714 and S. 986, to provide for an interpretive
center at the Civil War Battlefield of Corinth; oversight
hearing on Civil War Sites Advisory Commission.
7/28 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): H.R. 3408 and S. 1586, to establish
the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, LA; H.R. 4642, to
provide for the restoration of Washington Square in Philadelphia
and for its inclusion within Independence National Historical
Park.
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