- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, July 27, 1994
- Date: Wed, 27 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 27, 1994
Broadcast: By 0930 ET
INCIDENTS
94-415 - Great Falls (Virginia) - Follow-up on Probable Drowning
On July 22nd, J.W., 24, fell into the Potomac River just above the
area known as the Virginia Chute or the Spout. Efforts to find him proved
fruitless, however, and he was presumed to have drowned. On July 24th, two
visitors saw his body wash down through O-Deck Rapids and lodge in the rocks
below the observation deck. It was subsequently recovered. [Jane Anderson,
Site Manager, GRFA, 7/26]
94-423 - Mount Rainier (Washington) - Rescue
Late on the afternoon of July 21st, M.H., 24, of Lakewood, Ohio became
ill while at Camp Muir with his climbing party of six. M.H. went from
normal activity to unconsciousness in less than 10 minutes. Though only at
10,000 feet, M.H. showed classic signs of cerebral edema. A doctor at the
scene made the diagnosis, which was concurred with by the park medical
advisor. Rangers at Camp Muir, assisted by guides from Rainier
Mountaineering and M.H.'s climbing party, loaded him onto a sled while
administering high flow oxygen. M.H.'s climbing party, led by a climbing
ranger, then began a rapid descent. Meanwhile, ranger Scott Wanek ran two
miles from Paradise to Pebble Creek to set up a landing zone for the
helicopter. A MAST helicopter landed at the 7,000-foot level near the creek
just as light was fading and picked M.H. up. M.H. began convulsing while on
board the helicopter, so was flown directly to Harborview Hospital in
Seattle. He subsequently regained consciousness and is expected to make a
full recovery. This operation was especially difficult, as the incident
occurred just before dark and conditions for the helicopter pickup were
marginal. The situation was further complicated by the need to sled M.H.
down to a point below 7,000 feet, which was the upper elevation the MAST
helicopter was able to reach. Because of these conditions, Wanek had to run
the two miles - with a vertical gain of about 2,000 feet - to set up the
landing zone. The MAST air mission commander called the park the next day
to commend Wanek for his efforts; he said the landing zone was the best he
had flown into and that he would use it as an example for his troops. [Bill
Larson, MORA, 7/26]
94-424 - Lake Mead (Nevada/Arizona) - Three Fatalities
On the morning of July 17th, G.S., 25, and her sons, Jo., six, and
Ju., two, left their campsite in search of another campsite. At some
point, their vehicle apparently became wedged between two rocks and they
attempted to walk out. G.S. expired in the roadway in the wash bottom,
where her body was later found. A search was begun for her children, and
Ju.'s body was found further up the wash. The park's search and rescue
helicopter subsequently found their vehicle. Searchers from Metro SAR found
Jo.'s body further down the wash on a rocky knoll. Metro police homicide
detectives are investigating the incident. The three fatalities bring the
total number of deaths in the park this year to 32. [Terri Greene, LAME,
7/26]
94-425 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - Serious Visitor Injury
S.B., 38, of Pasadena, California, entered a posted closed
area where an active lava flow is entering the ocean on July 24th and
received second degree burns when a wave of scalding sea water struck him in
the legs. S.B. was treated by rangers at the Volcano House, but
refused transportation and refused to sign a medical release. He was then
issued a citation for entering a closed area. The park will be issue a
press release regarding the case which will stress the importance of
visitors respecting signs and closures in the active eruption area. [Jim
Martin, Acting Superintendent, HAVO, 7/26]
94-426 - Sequoia/Kings Canyon (California) - Assaults on Rangers
Shortly after midnight on July 23rd, rangers Tom Jeffrey and Thien Do
approached P.M., 34, of Ridgecrest, California, regarding out-of-
bounds camping in the Potwisha area. P.M. was sitting in his vehicle with
his keys in the ignition. Jeffrey had seen P.M. driving about 20 minutes
earlier; he now saw an open container of alcohol in the vehicle and began an
investigation to determine if P.M. had been driving under the influence.
As Jeffrey attempted to place him in custody, P.M. charged him, placed his
hands around Jeffrey's neck and attempted to choke him. Jeffrey broke free
and employed Capstun on P.M., who rand down a trail, crossed the Kaweah
River and disappeared into the forest. Do then made a show of driving away,
while Jeffrey waited near P.M.' car. When P.M. returned, Jeffrey again
attempted an arrest. P.M. punched him in the face, knocking him down, then
punched Do in the face and again escaped. Only when three other rangers
appeared on scene did P.M. submit to arrest. Various charges, including
DUI and assaults on federal officers, are being filed in federal court.
[Pete Allen, LEO, SEKI, 7/26]
94-427 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Assist; Child Molestation
Just after midnight on July 12th, a South Rim patrol ranger on a routine
patrol of the Camper Services parking lot observed a vehicle parked with a
person asleep at the wheel, a teenage male asleep in the trunk, and two
younger children asleep in the rear seat. The operator, identified as
D.T., 68, of Phoenix was awakened and at first stated the children
were his. Upon further questioning, D.T. said the children were his
grandchildren, then said the older boy was his nephew and the others were
his friends. D.T. was extremely nervous during the contact and repeatedly
attempted to speak quietly to the children. Each child was interviewed and
each told a story consistent with D.T.' story. A missing check was run on
each child and a wanted check was run on D.T.; all were negative. Only
one of the boys had a home phone, but a park dispatcher was able to reach
one os his parents, who said that the children had been allowed to go with
D.T. to the Grand Canyon. D.T. asked if he could stay in the lot
overnight and he was allowed to do so. After clearing the contact, the
ranger requested a criminal history on D.T. based on some of the
inconsistencies in his story and his concern for the welfare of the
children. The history returned with multiple convictions for offenses
involving children, and rangers were immediately dispatched back to the
Camper Services lot. D.T. and the children, however, were gone. A
bulletin was put out to surrounding agencies, a perimeter was set up on the
South Rim, and the entire area was searched, but with no success.
Detectives from the Coconino County sheriff's office took over the
investigation in conjunction with Phoenix police. D.T. was found in that
city with the children the following night. The subsequent investigation
led to his arrest on multiple charges involving sexual misconduct with
children. [CRO, GRCA, 7/24]
94-428 - Ross Lake/North Cascades (Washington) - MVA with Fatality
A.G., 46, was seriously injured on July 22nd when his 1988 Harley
Davidson went off the right side of State Route 20 near Newhalem. A.G.
was wearing a helmet, but nonetheless suffered head injuries. He was
airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Bellingham, where he was pronounced
dead on the morning of Sunday, July 24th. [Pat Young, NOCA, 7/26]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - III
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 7/26 7/27 Status
NM USFS Gila NF Pigeon 6,250 6,250 CND
AZ Sate - * Homestead - 250 NEC
CA USFS Klamath NF Dillon Comp. - T1 3,700 6,221 NEC
Six Rivers NF Blue/Salmon - T2 ? 795 CN 7/27
WA USFS Wenatchee NF Tyee Comp. - T1 680 14,500 NEC
Hatchery
Crk. - T1 4,700 250 CN 8/1
Okanogan NF Poorman - T1 ? 200 NEC
* ABC Misc. - 137 NEC
Colville NF Republic Comp. - T2 100 300 CN 7/28
* Olson Comp. - 175 NEC
Ochoco NF * Grandview - 800 CND
Wallowa-
Whitman NF * Baldy - 100 CN 7/28
BIA Yakima Agency * Lakebed - 2,500 NEC
* ABC Misc. - 120 NEC
* 85 - 100 NEC
State - * White Stone - 1,600 NEC
- * Highlands Comp. - 1,500 NEC
- * Butler Comp. - 1,400 NEC
* Murray Comp. - 200 NEC
OR USFS Siskiyou NF Mendenhall - T1 680 3,666 NEC
BLM Burns Dis. Red Point ?
* Riddle Ranch - 300 CN 7/28
* Rye Crass Crk. - 100 CN 7/26
* Red Point - NR NEC
Prineville Dis. * Little Ferry - 1,450 CN 7/28
* Narrows - 2,410 CN 7/28
BIA Warm Springs
Agency * Le Clair - 11,000 NEC
NV BLM Elko Dis. Goose Creek - T2 13,560 14,500 CN 7/27
Rain Fire - T1 12,000 12,100 CND
USFS Humboldt NF Big Table - T2 2,517 2,517 CND
MT BIA Flathead Agency * Nirada - T2 - 1,800 NEC
State - * Henry Peak - T2 - 160 NEC
UT State - Bullock 1,200 1,500 CN 7/27
ID USFS Payette NF Walters 150 150 CND
Nez Perce NF * Lightning Crk. - 150 CND
Idaho
Panhandle NF * Moose Lake Comp. - T2 - 68 CN 7/27
CO BLM Craig Dis. * Three Forks - 200 CN 7/27
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 NEC - No estimate of containment
CND - Contained CN/CS (date) - Expected date of containment
3) FIRE HIGHLIGHTS -
* Tyee Complex, Wenatchee NF - The fire made a spectacular run in the late
evening, dropping debris over three miles downwind. The fires could consume
as much as 30,000 acres.
* Le Clair, Warm Springs Agency - The fire is burning rapidly with spotting
ahead of the main fire during the day. Structures have been destroyed.
4) FIRES YESTERDAY -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 20 16 37 2 219 310 604
Acres Burned 9 8 345 117 1,629 5,961 8,069
5) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 227 273 83 16 1,706
Non-federal 188 180 13 0 660
6) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 54,367 43,780
Acres Burned 1,721,122 1,504,656
7) SITUATION - Several fires in the northern Rockies and easter Great Basin
escaped initial attack on Tuesday and have gained large fire status. NICC
received a considerable number of orders for overhead, crews, aircraft,
caterers and showers for large fires in the Northwest and northern Rockies.
Shortages of helicopters, airtankers, smokejumpers and various other
specialized units have occurred. Fire behavior is extreme due to persistent
hot weather.
8) OUTLOOK - A red flag warning has been posted for dry lightning and low
humidity in western Montana; red flag watches have been posted for strong
westerly winds and low humidity over eastern slopes in central Oregon and
for dry lightning in extreme northeast Oregon. Hot and dry conditions will
remain; scattered thunderstorms are predicted for most of the interior West.
Fire activity is expected to increase in the north.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/27]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Glacier (Montana) - Bear Relocation
A 155-pound female black bear and her two cubs-of-the-year were successfully
trapped and relocated in the park on July 21st. The black bears were
trapped approximately 100 yards north of park headquarters near the Going-
to-the-Sun Road, where the bears had been frequenting roadside areas for
several weeks. The family group was transported by culvert trap to a remote
area on the park's east side. The black bears had repeatedly been observed
along the roadway between the West Glacier entrance and Apgar Village since
July 3rd. Rangers had noted that the bears were becoming overly familiar
and neutral around humans and showed signs of habituation, and park
management became concerned that the bears would become conditioned to
humans and/or human food or garbage. After chasing her cubs up a tree,
rangers tranquilized the mother bear by darting her. She was ear-tagged and
weighed and placed in a "family" culvert trap designed to lure cubs in with
their mother. A remote release was utilized to close the trap door once the
cubs were safely inside with their mother. No tranquilizer was used on the
cubs because of the significantly higher chance for mortality with cubs-of-
the-year than with older bears. [Amy Vanderbilt, PIO, GLAC]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) Climbing Management - Devils Tower has released a draft climbing
management plan for public comment. The draft plan has been in the making
for over a year and is the focus of intense local and national interest.
Devils Tower is considered a sacred site to American Indians and some
believe that climbing on it is sacrilege. The tower, however, is also
acclaimed as one of the premier crack climbing areas in North America and
boasts a colorful 100-year climbing history. A work group was assembled to
help draft the plan's management alternatives which included American
Indians, climbers, environmentalists and a local elected official. The
preferred alternative calls for a voluntary closure to climbing during June
out of respect for cultural beliefs of American Indians, a cross-cultural
education program, no new bolting, and replacement of existing bolts by
permit or registration. A 90-day public comment period is scheduled for the
period from August 1st to October 31st, and public meetings are scheduled
this fall. To receive a copy of the plan, call the monument at 307-467-5283
or send a cc:Mail message to DETO Ranger Activities with your name and
address. [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO]
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