- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, September 7, 1994
- Date: Wed, 7 Sep 1994
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, September 7, 1994
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
94-455 - Canyon de Chelly (Arizona) - Follow-up on Assault on Ranger
On September 1st, the three men who assaulted ranger Willie Yazzie in August
were each indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of assaulting a
federal officer with a dangerous weapon. The maximum penalty for this
charge is ten years, and it is likely that two of the three, both of whom
have extensive records, will receive close to that maximum sentence if
convicted. The trial date will be set within the next few weeks. In a
related incident, the mother and father of two of the defendants were
arrested last week by Navajo police for physically assaulting and verbally
threatening two of the individuals who came to Yazzie's aid during the
assault. They were arrested for disorderly conduct, held overnight, then
released. The FBI is looking into this incident as a possible case of
obstruction of justice. [Sal Lauro, RLES, RAD/SWRO, 9/2]
94-521 - Badlands (South Dakota) - Death of Employee
Stanley R. Robins, 52, district ranger for the park's Cedar Pass District
since 1990, died of cancer on the morning of September 6th. In his 23-year
NPS career, Stan also served as assistant district ranger at Cape Cod
('87-'90), district ranger at Acadia ('77-'87), law enforcement specialist
at Gateway ('76-'77), area ranger at Lake Mead ('75-'76), and in various
positions at Everglades ('71-'75). Stan was best known at Badlands for his
work to protect paleontological resources and for maintaining good working
relationships with Oglala Sioux tribal rangers. Stan enjoyed canoeing,
fishing, birdwatching, and taking long walks with his beloved dogs, Benson
and Shyla. Stan is survived by his wife, Dottie, son Seth, and stepsons
Miles and James Teach. Condolences may be sent to Dottie Robins at HCR 54,
Box 106, Interior, SD 57750. A memorial fund has been established to
continue Stan's efforts toward fossil protection on public lands. The
family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be sent to:
Stanley R. Robins Fossil Protection Fund, First Western Bank, P.O. Box 402,
Wall, SD 57790. [Joe Zarki, PIO, BADL, 9/6]
94-522 - Biscayne (Florida) - Employee Arrested
Park employee J.P., 49, was arrested on the morning of September 1st on
multiple charges of lewd and lascivious acts with five male minors,
displaying obscene materials to minors, and supplying alcoholic beverages to
minors. The juveniles ranged in age from 12 to 16 at the time of the
offenses, which reportedly occurred between the spring of 1992 and this past
January. The incidents allegedly took place at J.P.'s apartment in Miami.
J.P. was also active with Boy Scouts, and worked with two different troops.
[News release, Metro-Dade Police, 9/2/94]
94-523 - John Muir (California) - Train Accident
A 30-car Santa Fe freight train partially derailed adjacent to the park's
boundary around 3 p.m. on September 2nd. Eight cars left the track; of
these, two are definitely on park property and a third may also be within
John Muir's boundaries. The latter car contained barium sulfate, a
hazardous material, and there has been some spillage. Hazmat crews and
local police and fire responded and have begun cleanup activities. No
evacuation was ordered. There were no injuries. The park will maintain
contact with local officials during the clean-up operation. [Phyllis Shaw,
Superintendent, JOMU, 9/6]
94-524 - Dry Tortugas (Florida) - Refugees
On the morning of September 3rd, 22 Cubans - five male children, nine adult
males and eight adult females - arrived at the main dock at Garden Key in
front of Fort Jefferson in a 20-foot covered fishing boat. They had left
Puerto Del Rio, Cuba, around 4:30 a.m. the previous morning. All were in
good health, but a little dehydrated and hungry. The refugees were kept at
Garden Key while arrangements were made to have them picked up. Two Border
Patrol agents arrived on an Everglades boat that afternoon and departed a
short time later with all 22 riding on the boat's rear deck. No incidents
occurred during transit. On September 5th, seven Cubans - a female and six
males, all adults - landed in the park at Loggerhead Key. The group had
left from Santa Lucia on August 26th and had been without food for four days
and water for three days. Park staff fed them baby food, as per Coast Guard
medical procedures for handling refugees. Border Patrol agents again
traveled to the park on an Everglades boat. Two of the older men said that
they wanted to return to Cuba, but INS decided to take them into custody
with the rest of the group, and the entire group was taken to Key West. All
29 Cubans will be transported to an INS detention facility in Port Isabel,
Texas, because they made landfall on U.S. soil. The park is west of the
edge of the Coast Guard blockade, so any boat traffic through there will be
unimpeded. The Coast Guard is patrolling the area of the Gulf Stream that
carries unpowered and more unseaworthy crafts and their more numerous
occupants. [Phil Selleck, EVER, 9/6]
94-525 - Voyageurs (Minnesota) - Drowning
Around 10:30 p.m. on September 1st, R.L., 59, of Duluth, Minnesota,
was attempting to cross from his small open fishing boat to a houseboat
while the latter was underway. R.L. made it up onto the rear deck of the
houseboat, but either slipped or lost his balance and fell off into the
lake. He may have then been struck by his small boat, which was being towed
behind the houseboat. R.L. disappeared and is presumed drowned. A joint
park-county search for him was being conducted at the time of the report.
[Bruce McKeeman, CR, VOYA, 9/2]
94-526 - Grand Teton (Wyoming) - Drowning
E.L., 22, of Logan, Utah, drowned while swimming in Jackson Lake
near the Colter Bay picnic area around 8 p.m. on August 31st. E.L.
was swimming fully clothed, including high top tennis shoes, when he began
to struggle approximately 100 feet from shore. A friend who was swimming
with him attempted to assist, but was unable to calm or control E.L..
Rangers were notified at approximately 8:15 p.m. A significant response was
initiated. Because of critical time frames, North District ranger Don
Coelho conducted a solo scuba dive and recovered E.L. minutes later in
approximately 15 feet of water. Resuscitation efforts for a cold water
drowning were begun immediately, and E.L. was transported to St.
John's Hospital in Jackson, Wyoming. Despite all efforts, he subsequently
died. [Cindy DuBois, GRTE, 9/2]
94-527 - Mount Rainier (Washington) - Aircraft Accident
Rangers, assisted by MAST helicopters from Fort Lewis, rescued four men
whose single-engine Cessna 172 aircraft crashed in the Seymour Peak area on
the afternoon of September 5th. The crash, which occurred around 3 p.m.,
was reported by cellular phone by a visitor who'd witnessed the crash. The
four occupants were taken by helicopter to a hospital in Yakima just before
dark. The pilot refused treatment; two of the passengers were treated and
released, and the third was transferred to a hospital in Seattle. Further
details will be provided following investigation by the FAA and NTSB.
Statements from the pilot indicate that he was flying up a draw too slowly
to gain sufficient altitude to clear the end of the draw. Since it was also
too narrow to turn around, he set the Cessna down in the trees. [Bill
Larson, MORA, 9/7]
94-528 - El Malpais (New Mexico) - Special Event
On August 27th, the park hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for a multi-
agency center that will be constructed adjacent to Interstate 40 over the
next two years. Representatives from the five partner agencies that will be
involved in staffing the center provided uniformed staff for the ceremony,
which included speeches by Senator Pete Domenici and Congressman Joe Skeen.
On stage were officials from 20 partner organizations involved in the
center's construction. Staff from El Morro, Petroglyphs and Capulin Volcano
provided assistance in managing the event. [Ken Mabery, CR, ELMA, 8/30]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - V
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Area Fire IMT 9/6 9/7 Cont Cont
OR Wallowa-
Whitman NF Freezeout T1 14,326 14,326 80 9/7
Twin Lakes T1 15,390 16,240 60 9/10
MT Glacier NP North Fork Cx -- 5,001 5,041 60 NEC
Kootenai NF Yaak/Red Dragon Cx T2 12,200 12,109 91 9/10
Cabinet Cx T1 3,498 3,498 98 NEC
Trout Creek Cx T1 1,437 1,300 90 NEC
Libby Cx T1 12,990 12,990 99 NEC
ID Boise NF Idaho City Cx T1 105,702 110,900 50 NEC
Thunderbolt T2 15,026 15,026 80 9/12
Payette NF Blackwell Cx T1 49,655 49,655 45 NEC
Corral Creek T1 87,050 87,940 50 NEC
Chicken Cx T1 58,500 59,200 5 NEC
* Cuddy Cx T1 - 420 95 9/7
Clearwater NF Powell Cx T2 14,305 14,305 21 NEC
Challis NF Pioneer Creek T2 9,032 9,032 87 9/8
Targhee NF Lake T2 1,400 1,576 25 NEC
UT SLC Dis. Reilly Canyon T2 2,350 2,385 55 9/8
Richfield Dis.* Armstrong -- - 500 90 9/6
NV Elko Dis. * Rocky Point -- - 700 70 9/7
AZ State * Liberty -- - 2,000 25 9/7
Phoenix Dis. * Secret Cx -- - 550 100 CND
CA Shasta/Trin. Oak Run -- 500 1,218 100 CND
WY Rock Sp. Dis. * Steamboat -- - 300 100 CND
HEADING NOTES:
Fire Asterisk indicates newly reported fire (on this report). Cx =
complex.
IMT T1 = Type 1; T2 = Type II; ST = State Team.
% Con Percent of fire contained.
Est Con Estimated containment date. NEC = no estimated date of
containment; CND = fully contained; NR = no report.
3) FIRES YESTERDAY -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 1 1 21 1 73 15 112
Acres Burned 0 1 3,130 7,093 3,301 385 13,910
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 317 285 118 14 2,563
Non-federal 96 103 25 0 982
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 58,756 55,211
Acres Burned 3,332,765 2,211,553
6) OVERALL SITUATION - Fires in the eastern Great Basin and Northwest became
more active yesterday. Demobilization and reassignments are continuing
throughout the system. Initial attack continues in western areas.
7) NPS SITUATION - Lava Beds and Sequoia-Kings Canyon both reported extreme
fire dangers on Tuesday; Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Great Basin
all reported very high fire dangers.
* Glacier - The Howling prescribed natural fire has progressed south into
Sullivan Meadow. Current size is estimated at 600 acres. Secondary holding
lines have been established and burnout operations were planned for
yesterday evening to minimize the threat of fire spread across Glacier Park
Road #7. Fire activity on the Howling PNF remains the highest of all fires
in the complex. The Starvation Creek fire is currently estimated at 3,000
acres (590 acres are in Canada). The fire has not increased in size due to
moisture received. Additional contingency containment actions have been
developed to reduce threats to Canadian timber resources. The fire is 60%
contained. The Adair II fire is estimated at 1,400 acres. Most of the
spread is in the south and east portions in ground fuels, but there is some
torching. The fire continues to burn with only minimal perimeter changes.
Burning intensities have lessened significantly.
* Grand Teton - The Row fire was declared controlled on Saturday at 2,250
acres. Rehabilitation work is continuing. While temperatures are slowly
cooling down, indices remain at 93% values with no precipitation forecasted.
Initial attack activity is expected to continue in the area.
* Sequoia-Kings Canyon - Two prescribed natural fires first reported on July
19th are still showing some fire activity. The Hockett is 55 acres, with
low fire activity (smoldering) reportedly within 70% of the perimeter. The
Empire is 117.5 acres and the fire is only active on the northeast
perimeter. While temperatures are forecast to drop over the next few days,
conditions are still very dry.
* Yellowstone - The Deckard Flat fire on the Gallatin NF has burned about 50
park acres. The fire started on September 1st and has been managed
primarily by the Forest Service. It was contained at 2,100 acres on Monday.
8) OUTLOOK - A red flag watch has been posted for moderate southerly winds
and low relative humidities in Oregon east of the Cascades. Fire activity
on large fires may increase due to warmer and drier conditions. Winds may
increase fire activity in eastern Oregon. Initial attack operations should
remain about the same.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/7; Dean Berg, NPS Branch of
Fire and Aviation Management, 9/6]
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
SkyPager: Emergencies ONLY: 1-800-759-7243, PIN 2404843