- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 17, 1994
- Date: Wed, 17 Aug 1994
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, August 17, 1994
Broadcast: By 0930 ET
INCIDENTS
94-465 - Lake Clark (Alaska) - Two Aircraft Accidents; Multiple Fatalities
Early on the evening of August 11th, rangers and state troopers responded to
a report of an aircraft crash in the Fishtrap Lake area of the park. The
rangers found a downed de Havilland Beaver an hour later, landed at a nearby
lake, and hiked a mile to the scene of the accident. The plane had burned;
the Alaskan pilot and two hunters from Colorado were killed. Rangers
returned to the scene the following day and assisted state troopers with the
body recoveries. An investigation of the accident by the park, state and
NTSB is underway. Two days later, a ranger/pilot engaged in a search for an
overdue aircraft found the missing plane partially submerged in Big River,
just outside the park's east boundary. The pilot contacted the Alaska
Rescue Coordination Center and requested an emergency response, then
continued orbiting the scene, relaying further information. After landing
at a nearby lake, the ranger was transported to the scene by a local
helicopter service. One survivor was treated at the scene and later taken
flown to a hospital in Anchorage; the pilot and two other passengers in the
Cherokee Six died in the crash. An NTSB investigation into this accident is
also underway. [Joe Fowler, CR, LACL, 8/16]
94-466 - Rocky Mountain (Colorado) - Rescue
On the afternoon of August 15th, the park received a report that L.G.
of Seattle, Washington, had fallen 20 feet and been injured while
climbing The Book on Lumpy Ridge. The park's technical rescue team, led by
ranger Andy Brown, made a 570-foot technical lowering, followed by an 1800-
foot scree evacuation that didn't conclude until after 11 p.m. Members of
Larimer County SAR and instructors from the Colorado Mountain School
assisted in the effort. L.G. was transported to the Estes Park Medical
Center by ambulance, were she was treated for a T12 compression fracture.
[David Holmes, ROMO, 8/16]
94-467 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Rescue
Late on the evening of August 14th, rangers received a report of two
canoeists stranded on a rock in the middle of the New River downstream from
Terry, West Virginia. The third member of the party, T.L., reported
that the canoe in which he and his family were travelling had overturned at
the head of a rapid, and that the three had managed to swim to a nearby rock
within the rapid. T.L. then swam the remainder of the rapid in
darkness, reached shore, and summoned help. Rangers from both districts
responded in the ensuing rain and fog, reached the mother and daughter -
Jerry and Amy T.L. - and employed duckies and a motorized cataraft to
bring them safely to shore. There were no injuries. Because of the rapids
in this section of the river, the cataraft could not be removed from the
river at night; a ranger stayed with the boat for security until early the
following morning, when it was maneuvered downstream and retrieved at a
private take-out. [Frank Sellers, Acting SDR, Grandview Subdistrict, NERI,
8/16]
94-468 - Grand Teton (Wyoming) - Multiple Rescues
C.S., 33, fell about 100 feet while ascending the Owen Couloir on
the Grand Teton on the morning of October 10th. Due to the critical nature
of the injuries sustained in the fall, C.S. was shorthauled by the
park's contract helicopter to the Lower Saddle at 11,600 feet, then flown to
a hospital in Jackson. He was later transferred to Eastern Idaho Regional
Medical Center, where he remains in serious but stable condition with a
closed head injury and multiple fractures to his lower back. Immediately
after this mission, rangers evacuated a 15-year-old Boy Scout from Idaho who
sustained multiple injuries in a slide down Schoolroom Glacier. The
accident occurred late on August 9th when the scout lost control while
"boot-skiing" on snow; he then slid about 200 feet before hitting rocks at
the base of the glacier. [Colin Campbell, Acting CR, GRTE, 8/16]
94-469 - Cumberland Gap (Tennessee/Kentucky/Virginia) - Death of VIP
Volunteer Herbert Whitaker, 65, died suddenly on August 13th after being
stung by a yellow jacket in the Wilderness Road campground. Rangers
responded within seconds of receiving the call from a park resident, but
Whitaker was already in full cardiac arrest. Several bystanders, including
family members who had gathered for a family reunion, had initiated CPR and
continued it until a local EMS unit arrived. Whitaker was transported to a
local hospital, where he died a short while later. He was highly allergic
to bee stings, and also had a heart condition. Whitaker worked at the park
last summer as an interpreter, and returned this year as a volunteer.
Whether putting up the flag at the visitor center each day, or taking
visitors on a tour of the Hensley Settlement, he always had a smile and
cheerful greeting for each person he met throughout the day. He will be
greatly missed. [Elizabeth Dinger, CUGA, 8/16]
94-470 - Grand Teton (Wyoming) - Bear Mauling
Early on the morning of August 13th, M.D., 36, of Park City, Utah,
was attacked and mauled by a bear about a quarter mile west of the Two Ocean
trailhead. M.D., who was jogging at the time, was on a planned 18-mile run
as part of his training for a marathon. M.D. began his run at Jackson Lake
Lodge and was heading eastward when he apparently surprised a bear who was
feeding on berries next to the trail in a heavily forested area. M.D.
suffered bites and puncture wounds to his face, a severe laceration to his
right thigh, and bites on his back. M.D. fought the bear for about a minute
and a half, then elected to play dead. The bear broke off the attack
shortly thereafter. The incident is being investigated by rangers with the
assistance of the park's biologist. Preliminary indications are that the
attack was done by a grizzly who may have had cubs with her. [Colin
Campbell, Acting CR, GRTE, 8/16]
94-471 - Shenandoah (Virginia) - Reptile Poaching
On the evening of August 14th, ranger Ken Johnson received a tip from an
observant park visitor regarding a possible snake poacher. With the
information provided, which included a description of the suspect's vehicle,
the vehicle was found, the occupants detained and the vehicle searched. A
large rubber storage container with a live timber rattlesnake was found in
the vehicle. The driver, L.H., of Charleston, South Carolina,
confessed to taking the animal from the roadside along Skyline Drive.
According to information provided by the passenger Christopher Lock, also of
Charleston, L.H. is an avid snake enthusiast and snake collector.
Evidence seized, including a camera, will be analyzed, and a joint
investigation with Virginia and South Carolina wildlife law enforcement
authorities is underway. L.H. was issued mandatory appearance
citations and released. The rattlesnake, approximately three feet long and
bearing six to seven rattles, was released and was last seen heading deep
into the woods away from Skyline Drive. (Bob Martin, Resource Protection
Group Supervisor, SHEN, 8/16)
94-472 - Rocky Mountain Regional Office (Colorado) - Theft/Assault
Just before noon on August 15th, a man entered the regional office's Office
of Planning, Design and Maintenance, took a woman's wallet and placed it in
his pocket. S.E., who works in the office, confronted the
man, who pushed her against a wall and began running through the regional
office's first floor hallway. Several employees were alerted by S.E.'s
screams and chased the man through the regional office parking lot, across a
street and into a housing development, where he was subsequently spotted
hiding behind some shrubs. Apprehending him were Jim Reilly, regional
ranger activities specialist, Brian Reilly, regional law enforcement
specialist, and Ernie Kuncl, criminal investigator. They held the suspect
until Lakewood officers arrived at the scene. S.E., who is seven
months pregnant, was not seriously injured, and the wallet was recovered.
[Brian Reilly, RLES, RAD/RMRO, 8/15]
94-473 - Statue of Liberty (New York) - Multiple Drug Arrests
During the one-week period from August 8th to August 13th, rangers Jeff
Hancock and Peter Tortorell arrested nine persons in six separate incidents
for possession of controlled substances on Liberty Island. All together,
the rangers seized 58 grams of marijuana, one gram of cocaine, two tabs of
LSD, three tabs of a designer drug called "ecstacy", one gram of an
unidentified powder, two BB pistols, two edged weapons, a canister of OC
spray, and numerous articles of drug paraphernalia. [Scott Pfeninger, CR,
STLI, 8/15]
94-474 - Natchez Trace (Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee) - MVA with Fatality
On the evening of August 14th, a vehicle driven by D.E.L., 41, of
Natchez, Mississippi, was southbound on the parkway when it left the roadway
at milepost 86 and struck a tree. D.E.L. was transported to Methodist
Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was pronounced dead. He
was the only occupant of the vehicle. The cause of the accident is under
investigation. [Gordon Wissinger, CR, NATR, 8/16]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - V
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 8/16 8/17 Status
WA USFS Wenatchee NF Tyee Comp. - T1 124,780 125,620 CN 8/22
Hatchery
Comp. - T1 42,385 43,148 NEC
OR USFS Wall.-Whit. NF Snake River
Comp. - T2 5,802 6,574 CN 8/19
Boundary - T2 3,300 3,300 CN 8/20
Okanogan NF Methow Comp. - T2 16,634 16,634 CN 8/19
Okanogan Comp. - T1 4,631 4,631 CN 9/30
MT NPS Glacier NP Starvation
Creek - T2 200 200 NEC
State - Wolf Mountain II
Comp. - T2 3,200 310 NEC
USFS Bitterroot NF Bitter-Nez - T2 615 1,390 CN 8/20
Kootenai NF 17 Mile - T1 1,200 NR NR
* Yaak - Red Dragon
Comp. - T1 - 1,350 NEC
* West Koocanusa
Comp. - T1 - NR NR
* Cabinet Comp. - T2 - NR NR
Flathead NF Little Wolf - T2 150 6,000 NEC
* McDonald - T2 - 8,000 CN 8/18
ID USFS Boise NF Idaho City
Comp. - T1 21,700 28,600 CN 8/28
Thunderbolt - T2 960 1,470 NEC
Payette NF Blackwell Comp. -
T1 28,200 31,340 NEC
Corral Creek - T2 48,600 49,200 NEC
Clearwater NF Sam Group - T2 465 465 CND
Freezeout 5,550 5,650 CN 9/15
* Fisher Peak - 100 NEC
Idaho Pan. NF St Joe Fires - T2 640 700 NEC
Priest Lake
Comp. - T2 681 681 CN 8/29
Targhee NF Mesa 125 125 CND
Challis NF Pioneer Creek - T2 750 4,480 NEC
Caribou NF * Tin Cup - T2 - 150 NEC
UT USFS Was.-Cache NF E. Deweyville 400 NR NR
CA NPS Yosemite NP Horizon 2,860 2,860 CND
USFS Klamath NF Dillon Comp. - T2 20,162 20,362 CN 8/18
San Bern. NF Deep Creek Comp. 1,800 1,800 CND
Tahoe NF * Cottonwood - T1 - 2,500 NEC
Angeles NF * Heaton - T2 - 1,200 NEC
State - 41 41,300 45,400 CN 8/22
Fish - 635 CN 8/17
AZ BLM Phoenix Dis. * Warm - 7,000 CND
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) FIRES YESTERDAY -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 6 13 15 0 94 212 340
Acres Burned 893 46 728 0 1,681 5,670 9,018
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 437 354 101 16 2,818
Non-federal 173 379 40 5 1,320
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 54,507 50,920
Acres Burned 2,497,619 1,936,454
6) OVERALL SITUATION - Fire activity increased yesterday in the northern
Rockies, eastern Great Basin and California. Type I teams were mobilized to
the eastern Great Basin and California, and Type II teams were sent to those
areas and the northern Rockies.
7) NPS SITUATION - No report today.
8) OUTLOOK - Fire activity is expected to continue in the northern Rockies,
eastern Great Basin and California, with heavy resource mobilization to
those areas.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/17]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
MEMORANDA
No memoranda.
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation
and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
Telephone: 202-208-4874
Telefax: 202-208-6756
cc:Mail: WASO Ranger Activities
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