- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, July 29, 1994
- Date: Fri, 29 Jul 1994
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, July 29, 1994
Broadcast: By 0930 ET
INCIDENTS
93-801 - Ocmulgee (Georgia) - Follow-up on ARPA Arrest
On November 10, 1993, assistant chief ranger Pete Schula discovered R.K.,
a businessman from Buffalo, New York, who now resides in South
Carolina, burying approximately $1.6 million in gold, platinum and currency
in a wooded area of the park. The currency, coins and a 1993 Chevy Blazer
were seized. Subsequent investigation by the NPS, FBI and IRS led to the
discovery that Kayak Manufacturing Corporation of Buffalo, a business
controlled by R.K. and one of the largest manufacturers of above-ground
swimming pools in the Northeast, had filed for bankruptcy in 1990 in a case
still pending in the Western District of New York. On July 14th, R.K.
appeared in that court and pled guilty to one count of bankruptcy
fraud/concealment of assets, a violation of 18 USC 152. This offense
carries a maximum possible sentence of five years' imprisonment. In two
related civil forfeiture actions pending in the Middle District of Georgia,
R.K. agreed to forfeit the Blazer to the United States as property used
to facilitate a violation of ARPA and to forfeit $125,000 in currency to the
United States as property involved in currency structuring and bankruptcy
fraud. R.K. also agreed to the return of approximately $1.3 million to
the bankruptcy estate of Kayak Corporation for inclusion in the bankruptcy
action that is still pending. [Peter Schula, ACR, OCMU, 7/28]
94-433 - Sequoia/Kings Canyon (California) - Multiples SAR/EMS Incidents
On July 27th, rangers managed five separate significant incidents, including
two major searches and two backcountry medevacs. Search efforts were
assisted by searchers from Yosemite NP, Lemoore and China Lake Naval Air
Stations, Sierra Madre SAR, and CARDA SAR dogs. A 47-year-old man from
Thousand Oaks was located in good health near the Hockett Meadows ranger
station 36 hours after he left his campsite to relieve himself; a 52-year-
old Davis man was evacuated from Dusty Basin after suffering from high
altitude pulmonary edema; a 60-year-old man from Berkeley suffering from
altitude illness and fatigue was evacuated from Wanda Lake; and a 34-year-
old Frazier Park man was located in good condition 28 hours after he was
reported missing by his hiking companion. [Debbie Bird, CR, SEKI, 7/28]
94-434 - Rocky Mountain (Colorado) - Rescue
Rangers heard a scanner report of an injured party at a backcountry site 11
miles in from a trailhead on the evening of July 22nd. Upon further
investigation, they learned that a 19-year-old YMCA camp counselor had been
free climbing and had fallen about 20 feet, suffering facial, head and neck
injuries. Two rangers on horseback with a pack animal carrying rescue and
medical equipment set out on the grueling 11-mile trail, which has a
vertical elevation gain of 2,225 feet to the 10,760-foot level. Four
technical team members were flown in the next morning to assist in the
critical transport of the victim. The girl had suffered internal injuries
and fractures of the nose, sinus and C-1 and C-2 neck vertebrae. The flight
nurse stated that the victim could have been a quadriplegic if it hadn't
been for the careful treatment by park staff. [Dispatch, ROMO, 7/28]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - V
The preparedness level has gone up to the highest possible level.
Preparedness Level V goes into effect when the following conditions are met:
Several geographic areas are experiencing major incidents which have the
potential to exhaust all agency fire resources and/or 625 crews committed
nationally. Please see the memorandum below regarding the fire emergency.
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 7/28 7/29 Status
WA USFS Wenatchee NF Tyee Comp. - T1 25,000 54,000 NEC
Hatchery
Comp. - T1 400 4,775 CN 8/1
Okanogan NF Okanogan Comp. -
T1 and T2 1,550 3,043 CN 7/29
Colville NF Republic Comp. - T2 300 372 CND
Olson Comp. - T2 250 280 NEC
BIA Yakima Agency Klickitat
Comp. - T1 3,325 NR NEC
State - Highlands Comp. 1,500 1,400 NEC
- Butler Comp. 1,150 1,100 CND
Murray Comp. 304 304 NEC
OR USFS Siskiyou NF Mendenhall
Comp. - T1 4,136 4,403 NEC
Umatilla NF Bracken Point - T2 700 1,685 NEC
Wallowa-
Whitman NF * Baldy Comp. - T2 - 168 CN 7/29
BLM Burns Dis. Riddle Ranch 350 350 CND
Prineville Dis. Little Ferry 6,300 7,050 CN 7/31
Narrows 2,410 2,410 CND
* Fossil Beds - 2,000 NEC
BIA Warm Springs
Agency Le Clair - T2 25,700 33,490 CND
State - * Parrish Creek - 2,150 CN 7/28
CA USFS Klamath NF Dillon Comp. - T1 8,099 9,650 NEC
Six Rivers NF Blue/Salmon - T2 705 708 CN 7/29
State - * Digier - 700 CND
NV BLM Carson City Dis. Stillwater 150 150 CN 7/27
UT BLM Cedar City Dis. * Cave Canyon - 700 CN 7/30
Richfield Dis. * Antelope - 15,000 CN 7/28
State - * Bullock - 1,500 CND
MT BIA Flathead Agency Nirada 1 - T2 3,600 4,310 CN 7/30
State - Henry Peak - T2 1,000 2,000 NEC
ID USFS Idaho
Panhandle NF Moose Lake Comp. 68 68 CND
Payette NF Ruby - T1 250 944 CN 7/30
Boise NF * Idaho City
Comp. - T2 - 1,000 NEC
BLM Burley Dis. Elevator - T2 NR 15,000 CN 7/31
* Hawley - 13,300 CN 7/28
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 has burned approximately ten miles
from Chelan, Washington. Many areas are being evacuated. Thirteen homes
and 75 outbuildings have been destroyed to date. Sixty-three engine strike
teams have been called in through the State Mobilization Act.
* Okanogan Complex, Okonogan NF - The Poorman, Thunder, War Creek, Burnt Saw
and ABC Misc. Fires have been grouped in this complex. The War Creek Fire
includes Stehekin Valley fires in North Cascades NP. Type I and Type II
teams have been assigned to the complex.
* Lakebeds Fire, Yakima Agency - Erratic fire behavior is making line
construction difficult and the fire is expected to double in size.
* Klickitat Complex, Yakima Agency - This complex contains several
previously reported fires, all of which blew out of control yesterday.
* Fossil Beds Fire, Prineville District - The fire, which is located
adjacent to John Day Fossil Beds NM, blew up yesterday and Camp Hancock was
evacuated.
* Elevator Canyon Fire, Burley District - During the night of the 27th,
crews were forced to withdraw from the fireline due to very active, extreme
fire behavior.
* Antelope, Richfield District - The fire, pushed by erratic 40-mph winds,
made a significant 7,000-acre run yesterday and pushed across containment
lines. Similar fire behavior is expected today.
* Henry Peak, Montana State - The fire blew-up yesterday, resulting in lost
line and forcing the removal of crews from the line. The town of Camas
Prairie has been evacuated.
* Dillon Complex, Klamath NF - Several of the fires have combined, and fire
size could increase from 16,000 to 65,000 acres. Cultural resources are
threatened.
4) FIRES YESTERDAY -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 6 16 26 0 88 184 320
Acres Burned 127 19 741 0 674 9,208 10,769
5) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 334 140 71 13 1,934
Non-federal 82 489 23 6 1,281
6) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 47,850 44,095
Acres Burned 1,779,793 1,542,776
7) SITUATION - Explosive fire behavior was again reported on most large
fires. Many fires are escaping initial attack and rapidly increasing in
size due to continuing severe weather conditions. NICC continues to process
significant numbers of resource orders for all resources. Shortages
continue for helicopters, airtankers, hotshot crews, smokejumpers and
various overhead positions. Two battalions of Marines from Camp Pendleton
are being trained and will be deployed to fires on the Wenatchee NF by early
next week.
8) OUTLOOK - Red flag watches have been posted for dry thunderstorms over
the west central Idaho mountains and western Montana. Red flag warnings are
up for dry thunderstorms in southeast Montana, for strong westerly winds
over the east slopes of the Oregon Cascades, and for gusting westerly winds
over portions of eastern Washington. Large fire activity will continue and
initial attack activity will increase, as no relief from current weather
conditions is in sight. Resources are critically low.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/29]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) Bevinetto Fellowship - The announcement for the Bevinetto Congressional
Fellowship for 1995-1997 opened on July 26th and closes on August 26th. The
announcement is available through AVADS; the supervisory evaluation form is
available from the WASO Personnel at 202-208-4648. [Lucia Bragan, EDD/WASO]
MEMORANDA
"Current Wildfire Emergency", signed by the Acting Associate Director,
Operations, on July 28th and sent to all Regional Directors. Because of its
consequence, the full text is being reprinted here:
"Dry lightning continues to contribute to escalating wildfire activity in
the northern Rockies, Northwest, and eastern Great Basin under persistent
hot and dry weather conditions. Initial attack activity continues in the
Southwest, and while the potential there for large fires has moderated some,
it may increase with a drying trend.
"The National Multi Agency Coordination (MAC) Group has declared a national
preparedness level IV [Editors note: Superceded by level V after the memo
was signed] based on the prevalence of large scale project type fires in
several geographic areas creating intense competition for wildfire
suppression and support resources.
"In all agencies, initial attack forces are becoming taxed with the number
of fire starts and the weather conditions. Attention to prompt initial
attack remains essential to control fires while they are small and prevent
any further compounding of the national situation.
"All offices are to assess their need for qualified fire personnel and make
available those not essential to initial attack or critical park operations.
Permanent employees should be assigned to overhead assignments, wherever
possible, while seasonal employees should generally fill our commitments for
crew assignments. Those personnel that have received additional training
since their last assignment should be identified for a qualifying trainee
assignment into that newly acquired skill. Program managers are reminded
that they have backfilling authority for positions assigned to emergency
wildfire operations (see Section 1.2, NPS Fire Management Compendium;
Section IV, Chapter 1, Page 3, NPS-18).
"All Regions are to expedite their mobilization efforts in concert with
their cooperators."
COMING EVENTS CALENDAR
The Coming Events calendar appears in the morning report every other
Thursday. Entries are listed no earlier than FOUR months before the event.
Asterisks indicate new entries; brackets at end of entry indicate source of
information:
8/6 -- American Camp Lantern Tour, San Juan Island, WA. An 1860s U.S.
Army encampment is the setting for an evening guided walk and
drama presented by park staff and volunteer reenactors.
Contact: SAJH, 206-378-2240.^,
-
-
8/7* -- 117th Anniversary, Battle of the Big Hole, Big Hole, MT. The
day's events will feature the Frontier Soldiers' Association,
the Nez Perce nation, several guest speakers, and food and drink
concessions. Activities will be scheduled throughout the day.
Contact: BIHO, 406-689-3155.
8/6 -- "Order In The Court", Ninety Six, SC. Colonial courtroom drama
presentation in which actual judicial procedures from the 18th
century are reenacted. Contact: Eric Williams, NISI, 803-543-
4068.
8/6-7 -- Hooverfest, Herbert Hoover, West Branch, IA. Annual
commemoration of birth of Herbert Hoover. Features
entertainment in chautauqua tent, old-fashioned craft
demonstrations, concert and fireworks. This year's event will
focus on the Civil War. Conducted in cooperation with Hoover
Presidential Library. Contact: Candy Madsen, 319-643-2541.
8/10 -- 133rd Anniversary, Battle of Wilson's Creek, Wilson's Creek,
Republic, MO. Traditional programs and guest speakers.
Contact: WICR.
8/13-14 -- Rendezvous Days, Grand Portage, MN. A combination of activities
on park grounds and a traditional pow-wow on adjacent lands.
Events include historic voyageur contests, voyageur encampment
exhibit, voyageur canoe race, musket firing demonstrations,
voyageur pack race, and tomahawk and knife throw. Contact:
GRPO.
8/20-21 -- Archeology Day, Hopewell Culture, Chillicothe, OH.
Demonstrations of various Eastern Woodland Indian crafts and
identification of Indian artifacts by professional
archeologists. Contact: HOCU.
8/25 -- Celebration of 78th Anniversary of the National Park Service,
Officers Club, Bolling AFB, Washington, DC. The event will also
honor the almost 500 "buyout" employees who retired in early
May. All employees, alumni and friends of the NPS are welcome
to attend the reception, buffet and program, which begins at 6
p.m. Cost: $27 per person. Reservations and checks should be
sent to E&AA (78th), PO Box 1490, Falls Church, VA 22041. Make
checks out to E&AA. Contact: Terry Wood, 202-208-4481 or 703-
931-5608.
9/10-11 -- 181st Anniversary of Battle of Lake Erie, Perry's Victory, Put-
in-Bay, OH. The event will include a historic military camp,
reenactor and musket firing demonstrations, a memorial ceremony
to honor those who fell in the battle and to reenforce the
lessons of international peace, and a concert by the Toledo
Symphony. Contact: PEVI, 419-285-2184.
10/15* -- "Forge and Furnace: An Exhibition of the Arts and Industries of
Metal Working", Saugus Iron Works, Saugus, MA. Exhibit of the
unique and diverse uses of metal in today's world. Co-sponsored
by New England Blacksmith Association and area schools.
Contact: Phil Lupsiewicz, SAIR, 617-233-0050.
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