- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, August 23, 1994
- Date: Tues, 23 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 23, 1994
Broadcast: By 0930 ET
*** NOTICE ***
Transmission of the Morning Report was delayed today by the need to shutdown
the transmitting LAN for a virus check. For other, unrelated reasons, there
will be no Morning Report on Wednesday, August 24th. Reports will resume on
Thursday.
INCIDENTS
94-486 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Colorado) - Rescue
Around 6 a.m. on August 14th, Dr. M.C., 30, of Lexington,
Kentucky, was hiking by himself down Cruise Gully, a technical climbing
route on the North Rim, when he lost his balance and fell about 12 feet,
suffering a broken left ankle and injury to his right knee. M.C. had no
climbing gear with him. Fortunately, he was found by two climbers, who
carried him part way up the gully, then went for help. Black Canyon and
Curecanti rangers, local fire, EMS and rescue units, and an air life
helicopter joined in the rescue effort. It took several hours to prepare
rigging and lift the patient several hundred feet up steep slopes and sheer
walls to the canyon rim. A severe storm with lightning and heavy rains
struck during the rescue effort. M.C. was taken to St. Mary's Hospital,
where he underwent surgery to repair his ankle. About 45 people cooperated
in the rescue, which involved a major effort in less than ideal weather
conditions. [Dave Roberts, BLCA, 8/21]
94-487 - Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Significant Assist to Agency
Early on the morning of August 21st, the Park County sheriff's office asked
for assistance from Yellowstone's special operations team in a confrontation
with an armed, barricaded suspect in Cooke City, Montana. L.W., 46,
the owner of a bar and motel in Cooke City, apparently had a clash with a
patron, went home to his second-floor apartment, and fired a number of shots
out the window of the apartment. L.W., who has a history of violence and
excessive alcohol use and was known to be heavily armed with assault-type
weapons, refused a deputy's order to come out, so the park team was
summoned. Five members of the special operations team responded and
established a perimeter and observation posts around the apartment. About
five hours later, L.W. walked out of his apartment into the street, where
he was apprehended by team members and turned over to the sheriff's office.
He is being held in protective custody for psychological evaluation. The
sheriff's office obtained a search warrant for the apartment, which was
being executed at the time of this report. [Mike Murray, ACR, YELL, 8/21]
94-488 - Buffalo (Arkansas) - Drug and Stolen Vehicle Arrest
Ranger Tracy Whitaker stopped a vehicle for unsafe operation in the Tyler
Bend campground on August 18th. During routine checks on the vehicle and
the driver's license, Whitaker found that both the tag and vehicle were
stolen. Seventeen ounces of marijuana were found in the vehicle during the
subsequent search. The driver, a 17-year-old male, was found to be wanted
by police in Monticello, Arkansas, in conjunction with the theft of four
vehicles earlier in the month, and was turned over to authorities from that
community. Park charges are pending. [Carl Hinrichs, BUFF, 8/19]
94-489 - Blue Ridge (Virginia/North Carolina) - Suicide
On August 21st, a 24-year-old man from Roanoke, Virginia, was traveling
northbound on the parkway when his 1993 Hyundai left the roadway and struck
a large tree. While still sitting in his vehicle, the driver fatally shot
himself with an automatic shotgun. The incident is still under
investigation. [CRO, BLRI, 8/22]
94-490 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Drowning
Rangers at Hite received a report of a drowning in the White Canyon area
around 5 p.m. on August 19th. Three-year-old D.R. of Salt Lake
City had been missing about 45 minutes and was found face down in a foot of
water under a rock ledge by her family before park personnel arrived at the
scene. EMT-trained visitors performed continuous CPR while the medical
response was mobilized. A medevac helicopter had to be pulled off a
climbing rescue in the Gunsight Butte area of the park; it flew to Bullfrog,
picked up park medics, and arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. In
spite of concerted rescue efforts, the child was pronounced dead at 6:30
p.m. A CISD session was held for all NPS personnel involved in the
incident, the seventh fatality in the park this season. [Tomie Lee, CR,
GLCA, 8/22]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - V
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 8/20 8/21 Status
WA USFS Wenatchee NF Tyee Comp. - T1 127,500 127,500 CN 8/24
Hatchery
Comp. - T1 43,316 43,316 NEC
OR USFS Wall.-Whit. NF Boundary - T2 11,013 11,180 CND
Okanogan NF Okanogan Comp. - T1 3,770 3,770 CN 9/30
MT NPS Glacier NP Starvation
Creek - T2 2,000 2,000 NEC
State - Wolf Mountain II
Comp. - T2 826 691 CND
USFS Bitterroot NF Bitter-Nez - T2 1,925 1,900 CN 8/24
Ann 740 915 NEC
Kootenai NF Yaak - Red Dragon
Comp. - T1 9,250 9,500 NEC
Koocanusa
Comp. - T1 8,420 9,350 NEC
Cabinet Comp. - T2 3,000 3,000 NEC
Trout Creek
Comp. - T2 510 540 NEC
Wilderness Comp. 4,000 4,600 CN 9/10
High One 455 455 CN 9/5
Flathead NF Little Wolf - T2 14,000 14,500 NEC
ID USFS Boise NF Idaho City
Comp. - T1 44,700 49,800 NEC
Thunderbolt - T2 6,912 7,711 NEC
Star Gulch - T1 16,000 22,000 NEC
Payette NF Blackwell Comp. -
T1 39,450 41,300 NEC
Corral Creek - T2 56,200 56,200 NEC
Chicken Comp. - T1 4,000 22,000 NEC
Clearwater NF Powell Comp. - T2 12,167 12,282 NEC
Idaho Pan. NF St Joe Fires - T2 850 850 NEC
Priest Lake
Comp. - T2 815 815 CN 9/5
Fisher Peak 356 356 NEC
Northwest Peak 100 100 CN 8/26
Scotchman Peak 275 275 CN 8/28
Challis NF Pioneer Creek - T2 6,250 6,794 NEC
Caribou NF Tin Cup - T2 503 963 CN 8/24
UT USFS Was.-Cache NF Beaver Mtn. - T2 617 617 CND
CA USFS Tahoe NF Cottonwood - T1 43,700 46,600 CN 8/24
San Bern. NF * Mile Post - 300 NEC
FWS Wichita Mtn NWR Central Peak 3,200 -- NEC
State - * Esperaza - 657 CN 8/23
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 4 14 16 1 36 44 114
Acres Burned 1 52 322 0 6,554 4,626 11,555
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 496 402 130 13 3,478
Non-federal 92 329 43 10 916
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 56,352 52,380
Acres Burned 2,841,435 2,008,579
6) OVERALL SITUATION - Moderate initial attack was reported yesterday. Fire
activity decreased on several large fires due to favorable weather
conditions.
7) NPS SITUATION -
* Glacier - The Starvation Creek fire has burned 2,400 acres - 2,000 in the
park and 400 in Canada. A successful burnout operation by U.S. and Canadian
crews kept the fire from reaching a Canadian tree plantation. The Adair II
fire is 500 acres and close to the Howling prescribed natural fire, which is
now 150 acres.
* Yellowstone - The Raven fire is now 500 acres, but not doing much. The
Tern fire has burned 2,000 acres and has moved into an old burn. The park
had two new fires on Sunday on the Pitch Stone plateau and sent people out
to check them yesterday morning.
* Zion - The Greatheart fire is burning in an inaccessible area. A
confinement strategy is being used on this quarter-acre fire.
[Note: The South Canyon Fire accident report was released yesterday
afternoon. Although it pertains to an incident in which BLM and Forest
Service firefighters died, its likely that parks will also receive numerous
calls and inquiries about the report. In order to make consistent and
appropriate responses, a hotline has been set up in Colorado to handle all
inquiries. The number is 303-275-5800. Copies of the report are also
available from Forest Service regional offices and BLM state offices.]
8) OUTLOOK - Activity on large fires will likely increase with the return of
high pressure to much of the West.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/23; Doug Erskine, Branch of
Fire and Aviation Management, 8/22; Jeanie Harris, RMRO, 8/22]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
MEMORANDA
No memoranda.
IN CONGRESS
No hearings are scheduled in either the House or the Senate.
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
SkyPager: Emergencies ONLY: 1-800-759-7243, PIN 2404843