- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 31, 1994
- Date: Wed, 31 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 31, 1994
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
94-510 - Great Smokies (Tennessee/North Carolina) - MVA with Fatality
On the night of August 22nd, P.S., a 22-year-old nursing student
from Royal Oak, Michigan, expired from injuries received in a motor vehicle
accident which had occurred four days previously on the Gatlinburg Spur.
Her 58-year-old father, who had been on a heart transplant waiting list for
four years, received her heart in an operation later that day. The donor
match was described as extraordinary, and he is reported to be doing well.
The driver of the vehicle involved in the accident has been charged with
driving under the influence; other charges are to be discussed with the
United States attorney. [Jason Houck, CR, GRSM, 8/26]
94-511 - Lake Mead (Arizona/Nevada) - Homicide
A visitor who was walking his dog along East Lake Mead Boulevard on August
27th came upon the remains of a woman in her mid- to late twenties.
According to the coroner, the victim had been murdered. Park and city
criminal investigators are investigating her death, the park's 37th fatality
this year. [Terri Greene, LAME, 8/28]
94-512 - Horseshoe Bend (Alabama) - Prisoners Captured
On August 22nd, a state prison guard advised staff at the park visitor
center that three men from his work release detail had escaped into the
woods near the park's north boundary. The work crew was picking up trash at
the time of the incident. All three escapees were wearing white prison
uniforms. The chief ranger responded and a perimeter was established around
the area. The three men reappeared on the highway about an hour and a half
later and surrendered. [HOBE, 8/26]
94-513 - Minute Man (Massachusetts) - Marijuana Eradication
Rangers, assisted by a Massachusetts National Guard helicopter, discovered
two marijuana two marijuana patches with 18 plants on the park's boundary in
early August. One site was surrounded by a fence and had teeth-bearing foot
traps hidden among vegetation at each outside corner. Park personnel helped
Lincoln and Lexington police officers locate each site on the ground. On
August 24th, another site was discovered and eradicated. This one contained
15 plants with an estimated street value of between $5,000 and $8,000. [Dan
Dattilio, CR, MIMA, 8/29]
94-514 - Boston (Massachusetts) - Special Event
Between August 18th and the 21st, the park hosted the second annual Boston
Seaport Festival, which included eleven tall ships from around the world,
musical entertainment, seamanship educational programs, and activities for
children. About 55,000 people attended over a three day period. There were
only three minor emergency or law enforcement incidents during the festival.
[Jon Dick, CR, BOST, 8/26]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - V
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 8/26 8/31 Status
WA USFS Wenatchee NF Hatchery
Comp. - T1 43,316 43,463 CN 8/31
OR USFS Okanogan NF Okanogan Comp. - T1 3,770
Malheur NF * Little Malheur
Comp. - T2 - 10,100 CN 9/2
* Jordon Springs - T2 - 4,200 CN 9/3
Wallowa-
Whitman NF * Freezeout - T1 - 4,000 NEC
* Twin Lakes - T1 - 8,340 NEC
* Thomason Comp. - T2 - 4,203 NEC
Umatilla NF * Sharp - T2 - 170 NEC
Ochoco NF * Potato Flat - T2 - 150 CN 8/31
State - * Baldy - ST - 585 NEC
* Green Basin - 303 CN 8/30
MT NPS Glacier NP North Fork Comp. 2,100+ 4,551 NEC
USFS Bitterroot NF Bitter-Nez - T2 3,000
Ann - T2 1,010 2,890 CN 9/2
Kootenai NF Yaak - Red Dragon
Comp. - T1 11,118 12,280 CN 9/2
Koocanusa
Comp. - T1 9,828 10,685 CN 9/10
Cabinet Comp. - T2 3,000 3,500 NEC
Trout Creek
Comp. - T2 975 1,050 CN 9/12
High One 560 1,347 CND
Libby Comp. - T1 10,881 12,495 NEC
Flathead NF Little Wolf - T1 14,885 15,320 CN 8/31
ID USFS Boise NF Idaho City
Comp. - T1 61,260 92,180 CN 9/7
Thunderbolt - T1 9,688 12,800 CN 9/12
Star Gulch - T1 28,000 30,570 CN 9/3
Payette NF Blackwell Comp. -
T1 42,920 46,730 NEC
Corral Creek - T1 61,700 76,990 NEC
Chicken Comp. - T1 29,000 45,500 NEC
Clearwater NF Powell Comp. - T2 11,509 12,675 NEC
Bear Camp - T2 500 510 CN 8/31
Challis NF Pioneer Creek - T2 7,482 8,148 NEC
Nez Perce NF * Coolwater Comp. - 630 NEC
UT State - * Gun Range - 500 NEC
WY NPS Grand Teton NP * Row - T1 - 2,300 CN 9/7
CO BLM Craig District * Framus - 500 CN 9/2
AZ USFS Tonto NF * Bronco - 300 CN 8/30
State - * Holy Joe - 125 CND
CA USFS Mendocino NF * Sugarfoot - 2,788 CND
Sierra NF Big Creek 1,800 5,250 CND
NV BLM Winemucca Dis. * Porphyry - 6,115 CND
NOTES:
- Fires - Asterisk indicates newly reported fire (on this report). T1 and
T2 indicate assigned Type I and Type II Teams; ST indicates state team.
- 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 1 3 13 0 62 51 130
Acres Burned 18 82 4,992 0 923 627 6,572
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 522 472 146 9 4,134
Non-federal 147 296 22 4 2,136
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 57,562 55,264
Acres Burned 3,118,337 2,182,450
6) OVERALL SITUATION - Initial attack activity decreased in most areas
yesterday, but fires remained active in the Great Basin, Northwest and
Rockies. Favorable weather conditions on several fires in the northern
Rockies allowed firefighters to make good progress.
7) NPS SITUATION - Yosemite, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, and Lava Beds in
California reported extreme fire dangers on Tuesday, while Grand Teton,
Yellowstone, Cumberland Island, Agate Fossil Beds, and Lassen Volcanic all
reported very high fire dangers.
* Glacier - All wildfires and prescribed natural fires in the west portion
of the park have been consolidated into a single complex, the North Fork
Complex. This consists of the following incidents: Starvation Creek (2,993
acres), Adair II (1,200 acres), Howling (350 acres), and a new ignition, the
Anaconda fire (0.1 acre). The park received widely scattered light showers
over the last two days. Current tactical operations include direct attack
on a spot fire east of Starvation Creek by park fire crews; continued
observation and preparation for containment actions on the Adair II fire;
aerial reconnaissance of the Anaconda fire; and continued on-site monitoring
of the Howling PNF. During the evening and night of August 29th, a limited
holding action was completed by blacklining and burning portions of Sullivan
Meadows to restrict the eastward spread of the Howling PNF and protect the
inside park road. Light showers curtailed efforts to burn off the meadow
today. Approximately 20 to 30 acres of the estimated 300 acre meadow were
burned off today. As soon as weather permits, the rest of the meadow will
be burned off by fire crews. Wind shifts to N-NE forecasted for today and
tomorrow could significantly impact operations on Starvation Creek and
potentially result in removal of all personnel from the line for safety
reasons.
* Yellowstone - The Tern fire is currently 4,463 acres, and the Rave is
2,230 acres. These fires are part of the Yellowstone Complex. Three new
initial attack fires which were discovered on Monday were declared out
yesterday. Efforts yesterday focused on reinforcing the western flank of
the Tern fire.
* Grand Teton - A Type I incident management team (Shaw) has been ordered
for the Row fire, a lightning-caused wildfire. The fire started spotting
outside of containment lines at 1:00 p.m. Monday as a result of strong winds
brought on by passing thunderstorms. The fire made a run to the north and
east and has now moved into the Bridger-Teton National Forest and could burn
into parts of the 1988 Hunter burn area. Teton Science School, residences
on Shadow Mountain, and the Aspen Ridge Ranch have been evacuated. Four
historic structures were destroyed Sunday night. Approximately 2,300 acres
are now involved; the fire is burning in sage and conifer forests.
* Olympic - The park is attacking two new lightning ignited fires - School
and Sunday - that started last Sunday. The two new fires are small in size
(one acre each) and are being managed under confinement strategy due to
extremely rugged and steep terrain, and low spread potential due to geologic
features. Several other unconfirmed reports of additional new lightning
ignitions will be checked out as recon flights become available.
* Yosemite - Demobilization of suppression resources has taken place on the
50-acre Poopenaut fire, which has been declared under control. Park staff
are continuing to patrol the area.
* Sequoia-Kings Canyon - The park reports that limited fire activity
continues on three of their prescribed natural fires, which were ignited by
lightning in mid-July. The Empire has burned 117 acres; the Hockett, 52
acres; and the Rattlesnake, four acres.
* Sunset Crater - The park is currently using confinement strategy in
managing two small (0.1 acre) lightning ignitions that occurred on Sunday.
8) OUTLOOK - A red flag watch has been posted for thunderstorms for
southwest and south central Oregon. Large fires will continue to burn
actively in Idaho and eastern Oregon. There's a good possibility that there
will be additional starts from scattered thunderstorms.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/31; Dean Berg, NPS Branch of
Fire and Aviation Management, 8/30]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Badlands (South Dakota) - Black-Footed Ferret
The last major hurdle to reintroduction of black-footed ferrets into the
park has been cleared with the publication of the special rule establishing
a non-essential experimental population area in southwestern South Dakota in
the August 18th edition of the Federal Register. The NPS, Fish and Wildlife
Service and Forest Service have worked for six years to bring the Conata
Basin/Badlands site on-line, the second reintroduction area and the first to
be attempted in black-tailed prairie dog habitat. The ferret, a nocturnal
mustelid which has been on the endangered species list since 1967, has been
absent from the badlands area for about 30 years because of habitat loss and
fragmentation. Hopes are high for establishing a self-sustaining population
through a succession of annual releases in what is considered to be the best
biologically appropriate site for reintroduction currently available in the
nation. The first black-footed ferrets are scheduled to arrive from captive
breeding facilities soon after Labor Day, with release into the wild
expected in mid-September. Release sites within the Badlands Wilderness
have been prepared and attendants trained to care for and monitor North
America's most endangered mammal. [Bruce Bessken, RMS, BADL]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
MEMORANDA
"Revision of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)", signed on August
22nd by Acting Director Denis Galvin and sent to Directorate and Field
Areas. The text follows:
"We are revising our guidance concerning the National Environmental Policy
Act (NPS-12). In order to obtain a broad range of opinions from the field
areas, where the real work of NEPA gets done, please provide your advice on
how NEPA in the National Park Service can be improved. We are especially
interested in improvements to: public review and involvement; definitions on
the list of categorical exclusions; actions that generally require
preparation of Environmental Impact Statements.
"In addition, we'll be looking at other concerns that you the 'doers' or our
customers the public may have. These concerns are expected to include:
incorporation of sustainability concepts in environmental analysis;
development of regulations versus continuation with guidelines; review and
approval levels in light of potential restructuring; and incorporation of
other environmental requirements in environmental documents. Comments
should be cc:Mailed to Jacob Hoogland or faxed to 202-208-4260 by October
31, 1994."
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