- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, August 2, 1994
- Date: Tues, 2 Aug 1994
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, August 2, 1994
Broadcast: By 0930 ET
INCIDENTS
94-418 - Chickasaw (Oklahoma) - Follow-up on Homicide
J.C., 34, who was wanted in connection with the murder of B.S.,
was apprehended while hitchhiking along Highway 69 near Durant,
Oklahoma, on July 31st. B.S.'s body was found in the park's Breezy Point
are on July 24th. He was transported back to Sulphur, Oklahoma, where he
signed a full confession. First degree murder charges were to be filed
against him yesterday. [Allen Hill, CHIC, 8/1]
94-438 - Dinosaur (Colorado) - Drowning
A 25-year-old Paraguayan national drowned in the Green River in Echo Park on
July 30th. D.C., who was participating in a Colorado State
University course on management of wild lands and protected areas which has
been designed for South American park managers, was swimming near the upper
end of Steamboat Rock when he was caught by the current, pulled against the
rock, then pulled under the river's surface. Extended search activities
were begun immediately, including surface, dog team and helicopter searches.
Water flows dropped about 500 cfs during the night, which apparently led to
the freeing of his body by lower flows. It was recovered in an eddy about a
thousand feet downstream on the morning of the 31st. Course coordinators
from CSU have made contacts with the Paraguayan embassy and D.C.'s family.
[Stephen Petersburg, DINO, 8/1]
94-439 - Capitol Reef (Utah) - Rescue
On July 28th, eight-year-old J.C. of Nephi, Utah, wandered away from
a large group while hiking on the Hickman Bridge trail and became lost.
J.C. decided to climb down a 500-foot cliff to a highway he saw below; he
descended most of the cliff face successfully, but then fell and slid until
he lodged in a tiny pocket in the sandstone 70 feet above the bottom of the
cliff. A passing motorist heard the boy's calls for help. Ranger Tom Cox
ran to the base of the wall and calmed the boy for over two hours while
rescue teams scrambled over rough terrain to a point above him. During that
period, Cox was joined by the boy's father and a doctor. Rangers Scott
Brown and Garry Olson rappelled to J.C., picked him off his perch, and
descended to his waiting parents. Except for some abrasions, the boy was
uninjured. At times, the highway shoulder was lined with vehicles, as over
200 people watched the rescue. [CRO, CARE, 7/31]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - V
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 8/1 8/2 Status
WA USFS Wenatchee NF Tyee Comp. - T1 90,900 95,800 CN 8/6
Hatchery
Comp. - T1 17,200 20,890 NEC
Round Mountain
Comp. - T1 3,300 3,400 CN 8/4
Okanogan NF Okanogan Comp. -
T1 and two T2 7,444 8,460 NEC
Colville NF * Copper Butte - T1 - 1,200 NEC
BIA Yakima Agency Klickitat
Comp. - T1 4,100 4,100 CN 8/4
Lakebeds - T2 4,400 5,400 CN 8/3
OR USFS Malheur NF * Cabin - 150 CND
State - Potlach 400 400 CN 8/1
UT BLM Cedar City Dis. Cave Canyon 700 700 NEC
Richfield Dis. Antelope Mt. 8,600 8,600 CN 8/2
MT State - Henry Peak - T2 7,950 7,950 CN 8/3
Elk River
Comp. - T2 110 120 CN 8/4
Black Mt. - T2 120 120 CND
USFS Lolo NF Ninemile
Comp. - T2 950 935 CN 8/15
Ambrose Saddle 150 60 NEC
ID USFS Boise NF Idaho City Comp. -
T1 and T2 3,400 3,720 NEC
BLM Burley Dis. Elevator - T2 31,360 31,360 CND
WY USFS Bridger-Tet. NF Dutch Joe - T2 330 330 CN 8/1
CA USFS Klamath NF Dillon Comp. - T1 12,482 14,214 NEC
State - * Powerhouse - 200 CN 8/1
* Aliso - 3,129 CND
NV BLM Carson City Dis. Stillwater 155 155 CND
Winemucca Dis. Moore - T2 16,000 21,000 CN 8/2
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 - Two miles of line were lost along the north
edge yesterday. The fire has entered an area that burned in 1970 where the
vegetation is lighter shrub and grasses. All evacuations and road closures
are still in effect.
* Okanogan Complex, Okanogan NF - The complex is currently threatening the
town of Stehekin. Crews made significant progress putting in firelines and
hoselays in the south and west portions of War Creek and Thunder Mountain.
* Copper Butte, Colville NF - The fire is extremely active and too dangerous
for suppression activities. It could grow to 5,000 acres over the next
couple of days.
* Idaho Complex, Idaho State - This complex consists of about 60 fires, the
largest about four acres. About a third are unstaffed at present.
* Moore, Winnemucca District - Erratic winds and downdrafts from
thunderstorms caused the fire to make a thousand acre run yesterday. Much
of the line that was built in the morning was lost.
4) FIRES YESTERDAY -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 2 17 38 2 104 227 390
Acres Burned - 117 5,235 4,230 2,398 9,429 21,409
5) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 415 200 67 22 2,311
Non-federal 138 607 17 7 909
6) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 49,378 46,813
Acres Burned 2,024,563 1,633,876
7) SITUATION - Initial attack activity increased in the Northwest and
northern Rockies yesterday due to dry lightning. Large fires continued to
advance because of winds associated with thunderstorms. Resources continue
to be in short supply. The two Army battalions being trained at Fort Hood,
Texas, will be deployed on the Idaho City Complex tomorrow. Four C-47
helicopters from Fort Lewis will deploy to the Rat Creek fire in the
Hatchery Complex today.
8) OUTLOOK - Red flag warnings have been posted in western Oregon for strong
westerly winds and low humidities and in eastern Washington for dry
thunderstorms; red flag watches have been posted in western Washington for
isolated thunderstorms and in central Oregon for dry thunderstorms. High
pressure over the West will continue to dominate the weather pattern for the
next several days. Circulation around the high will bring surges of
moisture northward into the western states from Mexico. This moisture will
combine with weak disturbances to produce clouds and thunderstorms across
much of the West. Thunderstorms will be mostly wet in southern Idaho and
Nevada. Strong, gusty winds will occur in the vicinity of thunderstorms.
Considering the forecast, new fire activity is inevitable. Resources
continue to be in extremely short supply. Effective management of existing
resources is critical.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/2]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Shenandoah (Virginia) - Peregrine Chicks
Visitors to the Skyland area of the park on July 24th observed two peregrine
flacons displaying aggressive behavior toward several people near a cliff
site. The sighting was reported to the Byrd Visitor Center and was relayed
to the park's biologist, who visited the site and found an aery with two
peregrine falcon chicks. On July 26th, a representative from the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service climbed to the aery and banded the chicks, one a male
and the other a female. The chicks were in excellent condition and are
expected to fledge in coming weeks. The site will be monitored to prevent
further human interference and to monitor falcon activity and progress. The
pair of adults that produced these young are thought to be the pair that
initially nested in a remote area of the park earlier in the spring. This
successful reproduction is the first in Shenandoah since the mid-1950s and
the first in the mountains of Virginia since 1964.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) Update on Operation Opportunity - Operation Opportunity, now in its sixth
week of operations, has placed a total of 81 central office personnel, 39 of
whom will fill buyout vacancies in park units (the figures include buyout
placements made by WASO Personnel prior to the beginning of the operation).
These buyout placements have brought 39 FTEs and $1.9 million in funding to
the field. Over 800 central office personnel have entered the system and
are receiving the weekly vacancy lists. [Hugh Manar, IO, OpOp]
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
8/2 -- Senate Energy and Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Public
Lands, National Parks and Forests (Bumpers): Hearing on S. 1222,
to revise the boundaries of the Blackstone River Valley National
Heritage Corridor; S. 1342, to establish the Essex Heritage
District Commission; S. 1726; East St. Louis Jefferson National
Expansion Memorial Architectural Design Competition Act; S.
1818, to establish the Ohio and Erie Canal National Heritage
Corridor as an affiliated area; S. 1871, to establish the New
Bedford Whaling National Historical Park; S. 2064, to expand the
boundary of the Weir Farm National Historic Site; S. 2234, to
amend the Mississippi River Corridor Study Commission Act of
1989.
8/3 -- Senate Energy and Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Public
Lands, National Parks and Forests (Bumpers): Markup of S. 112,
Hudson River Artists NHP; H.R. 3708, to reform the operation,
maintenance and development of Steamtown NHS; H.R. 3498, to
establish Great Falls Historic District Commission.
8/4 -- Senate Energy and Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Public
Lands, National Parks and Forests (Bumpers): Hearing on S. 1999,
to provide for the acquisition of certain lands formerly
occupied by the Franklin D. Roosevelt family; S. 2001, to
improve the administration of Women's Rights NHP; S. 2078, to
amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Old
Spanish Trail and the northern branch of the Old Spanish Trail
for potential inclusion into the National Trails System; H.R.
1716, to amend the act establishing Rocky Mountain NP to provide
for protection of certain lands in the park and along North St.
Vrain Creek.
-- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Hearing on H.R. 1826, to establish
Saguaro National Park and to authorize expansion of the
boundaries of the Tucson Mountain District; S. 316, to establish
Saguaro National Park; H.R. 4697, to modify the boundaries of
Walnut Canyon NM; H.R. 4574 and H.R. 4746, to provide for the
exchange of lands within Gates of the Arctic NP&P.
8/9 -- Senate Environment and Public Works' Subcommittee on Clean
Water, Fisheries and Wildlife (Graham): POSTPONED - Hearing on
endangered species conservation on public lands.
Recent Actions
House -- Representative Synar has introduced H.R. 2821, to establish the
Honey Springs National Battlefield and Washita Battlefield
National Historic Site in Oklahoma: Representative Schiff has
introduced H.R. 4826, to amend the Wilderness Act to permit the
landing of aircraft within wilderness areas for purposes of
search and rescue under certain circumstances; and
Representative Andrews has introduced H.R. 4823, to amend the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage the preservation of
Civil War battlefields for public purposes. The House Committee
on Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands has approved the following bills (as amended)
for full committee action: H.R. 1562, Chacoan Outliers
Protection Act of 1993; H.R. 4533, to promote entrepreneurial
management of the NPS; and H.R. 1703, to expand the boundaries
of Piscataway Park.
Senate -- Senator Murkowski has introduced S. 2203, to provide for the
exchange of lands within Gates of the Arctic NP&P. The Senate
has passed H.R. 4602, making appropriations for the Department
of Interior and related agencies for FY 95; two amendments were
adopted - one by Senators Moseley-Braun and Dole to provide
funds to restore and preserve historic buildings at historically
black colleges and universities, the other by Senator Wallop to
require a study of units of the National Park System and
National Wildlife Refuge System for deauthorization.
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