- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Thursday, September 8, 1994
- Date: Thurs, 8 Sep 1994
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Thursday, September 8, 1994
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
94-518 - George Washington Parkway (Virginia) - Follow-up on Employee Injury
Corky Mayo, the chief of interpretation for the NPS, is recovering in the
hospital from the serious accident he had on the parkway last Thursday.
Corky suffered three broken ribs, a broken left hip, and damage to his
diaphragm and spleen. He will be in the hospital until September 10th or
thereabouts, then recovering at home for about three months. Those wishing
to send him messages can send them to 801 North Pitt Street #1507,
Alexandria, Virginia 22314. [Debra Kelly, WASO, 9/7]
94-529 - Cape Lookout (South Carolina) - Illegal Dumping
Debris which accumulated on the park's beaches in late August was
subsequently traced to at least three Navy ships - the Inchon, Gunston Hall,
and Trenton. The commanding officers of Norfolk Naval Station and
Amphibious Squadron Two out of Little Creek were contacted on August 30th,
and they sent an assessment team and 30 crew members from the three vessels
to the park the following day. They collected 70 bags of trash, loaded it
aboard a landing craft from Little Creek, and took the refuse back to
Norfolk. Although most of the trash collected was not of Navy origin, they
took it anyway. There was no medical waste in the debris, which consisted
mostly of MRE packages, plastic bottles, light bulbs and metal food cans.
[Chief of Park Operations, CALO, 9/6]
94-530 - Acadia (Maine) - Multiple Rescues
Over a recent five-day period, rangers responded to three difficult search
and rescue incidents, including two which occurred simultaneously. The
double rescue occurred in the late afternoon on Saturday, September 3rd,
when a 46-year-old woman fell on the Cannon Brook trail and suffered
multiple lower leg fractures; the subsequent two-hour-long rescue required
the efforts of eleven people. While this incident was occurring, a 23-year-
old male fell about 20 feet at Otter Cliffs and suffered a severe head
injury. A total of 16 rangers and other SAR volunteers executed a semi-
technical litter belay rescue and evacuated the victim. Then, over the
holiday weekend, a 23-person rescue team was required to evacuate a 58-year-
old man who fell nearly 50 feet while hiking the Beech Cliffs trail and
fractured several vertebra. A lengthy semi-technical rescue and carry-out
was required. All three victims are reported to be in stable condition. (Rob
Yates, DR, ACAD, 9/6)
94-531 - Glacier Bay (Alaska) - License Fraud
On the evening of August 14th, ranger Rick Perkins contacted concession
employee J.R., 18, while the latter was fishing on the Bartlett
River. J.R. could not produce a license and told Perkins that he'd left
it at his residence. When he failed to meet Perkins the next day, Perkins
checked the record of license sales at the front desk of Glacier Bay Lodge,
a park concession. The records appeared to have been altered to show a
backdated license sale to J.R.. A front desk employee of the Lodge,
S.B., 22, admitted to altering the records when questioned by
rangers, and J.R. admitted to asking S.B. to backdate the license sale.
Both individuals plead guilty to all charges filed against them in
federal district court. J.R. was fined a total of $1,350 and given a
year's probation for the three charges of fishing without a license,
interfering with agency functions, and solicitation with intent to cause
another to engage in a crime. S.B. was fined a total of $2,000 and given
16 months probation for tampering with public records. [Chuck Young, DR,
GLBA, 9/2]
94-532 - Presidio (California) - Structural Fire
On August 31st, park and San Francisco fire department units responded to a
fire in a residence in the Army housing area which has not yet been turned
over to the park. A fire in the laundry room was extinguished; a four-year-
old died in the fire, but a two-year-old was rescued and subsequently
treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was jointly investigated by the
park, city and Army. Preliminary investigation indicates that it may have
been started by the child who died in the fire. Estimated damage and
property loss has been placed at $13,000. [Kathy Clark, RAD/WRO, 9/6]
94-533 - Arches (Utah) - MVA with Fatality
R.P., 38, of Moab, Utah, was killed in a motorcycle accident in
the park on the evening of September 4th. Earlier in the evening, a visitor
had contacted R.P. and his girlfriend at the Delicate Arch view point and
told them that she was afraid because her husband had threatened her and
their child. R.P. then drove to Devils Garden campground, reported the
incident to a ranger, and was returning to the view point with the ranger
behind him when he lost control of his motorcycle, slid into the westbound
traffic lane, and was struck by an oncoming vehicle. An airlife helicopter
and ambulance were summoned and CPR and first aid were administered to
R.P. until the ambulance arrived. R.P. was later pronounced dead at
Allen Memorial Hospital. While finishing the accident investigation,
rangers were contacted by the woman who'd made the initial report about
threats from her husband. She said that her husband had not returned and
that she was concerned for his safety. She would not admit there was a
problem, however, nor that she had earlier requested assistance. A hasty
search was initiated but disbanded when a Grand County deputy located the
husband in Moab. (Karen McKinlay-Jones, ARCH, 9/6)
94-534 - Sequoia-Kings Canyon (California) - MVA with Fatality
On the afternoon of September 3rd, G.J.F. of Monterey Park was
killed in a one vehicle rollover in the Mineral King area of the park. G.J.F.
was one of four occupants of a sedan which was leaving the area when its
brakes apparently failed just above the Lookout Point entrance station and
it went off the side of the road. The entrance station fee collector, who
witnessed the accident, was able to reach the vehicle, which was about 250
feet down the slope beside the road. G.J.F. was found to be in full cardiac
arrest; although CPR was begun immediately, she did not survive her
injuries. It appears that she was not wearing her seatbelt, was ejected,
and was injured when the vehicle rolled over her. Two other occupants of
the vehicle remain hospitalized, one in serious condition with a basal skull
fracture. The cause of the accident is under investigation. [Debbie Bird,
CR, SEKI, 9/6]
94-535 - Arches (Utah) - Employee Death
Park campground host George Boardman, 76, died of natural causes on
September 5th. He was flown to Saint Mary's on September 3rd and operated
on for appendicitis. It was thought that he would be released within seven
to ten days, but his condition deteriorated and he died on the 5th. Doctors
have requested an autopsy, as they are unsure of the actual cause of death.
His wife, Jean, and he were working on their second season as campground
hosts here at Arches. She will return to Tucson after tying up her affairs
in the area. (Karen McKinlay-Jones, ARCH,9/6)
*** More pending incident reports tomorrow ***
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - V
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Area Fire IMT 9/7 9/8 Cont Cont
OR Wallowa-
Whitman NF Freezeout T1 14,326 14,326 100 CND
Twin Lakes T1 16,240 17,300 75 9/10
MT Glacier NP North Fork Cx -- 5,041 5,151 60 NEC
Kootenai NF Yaak/Red Dragon Cx T2 12,109 12,109 93 9/10
Cabinet Cx T1 3,498 3,500 98 NEC
Trout Creek Cx T1 1,300 1,300 90 NEC
Libby Cx T1 12,990 12,990 99 NEC
Crow Agency * Dry Head -- - 1,000 0 NEC
ID Boise NF Idaho City Cx T1 110,900 111,000 50 NEC
Thunderbolt T2 15,026 16,500 50 9/12
Payette NF Blackwell Cx T1 49,655 49,800 45 NEC
Corral Creek T1 87,940 88,575 50 NEC
Chicken Cx T1 59,200 68,000 5 NEC
Cuddy Cx T1 420 420 100 CND
Clearwater NF Powell Cx T2 14,305 14,305 22 NEC
Challis NF Pioneer Creek T2 9,032 9,032 88 9/8
Targhee NF Lake T2 1,576 1,918 35 9/10
Caribou NF * Tin Cup Cx -- - 1,450 60 9/21
UT SLC Dis. Reilly Canyon T2 2,385 3,083 60 9/9
Richfield Dis. Armstrong -- 500 500 100 CND
NV Elko Dis. Rocky Point -- 700 700 100 CND
AZ State Liberty -- 2,000 2,000 100 CND
CA Shasta/Trin. * Fern ST - 200 0 NEC
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 0 5 6 1 51 37 100
Acres Burned 0 1,161 301 601 896 360 3,319
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 293 251 107 10 2,022
Non-federal 84 124 35 4 1,066
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 58,850 55,567
Acres Burned 3,351,817 2,238,274
6) OVERALL SITUATION - There was significant fire activity on large fires in
Idaho yesterday, and initial attack continued in western areas.
Demobilization is continuing from the Northwest and northern Rockies as
fires approach containment.
7) NPS SITUATION - Zion, Lava Beds and Sequoia-Kings Canyon reported extreme
fire dangers on Wednesday; Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Big Bend,
Rocky Mountain and Cumberland Island all reported very high fire dangers.
* Glacier - A new fire (0.1 acre) has been detected on Snyder Ridge east of
Lake MacDonald and suppression actions are underway utilizing initial attack
resources. The current size of the Howling prescribed natural fire is 640
acres; burnout efforts are continuing in the southeast portion of the
Sullivan Meadow area. No changes have been reported in the status of the
Starvation Creek (3,000 acres) and Adair II (1,400 acres) fires.
Containment on the Starvation Creek fire is still reportedly 60%.
* Grand Teton - Mop-up continues on the Row fire, which was declared
controlled on Saturday at 2,250 acres. Most of this activity is
concentrated in the aspen stands adjacent to Shadow Mountain residences.
Demobilization of resources will continue through this week.
8) OUTLOOK - Red flag warnings have been posted for very low humidity, high
temperatures and increasing winds in central Montana, and for moderate
southerly winds and low humidity in sections of Oregon east of the Cascades.
Near red flag conditions will occur in Wyoming and southern Idaho due to low
humidity and increasing southwesterly winds. Increased activity is expected
on large fires.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/8; Dean Berg, NPS Branch of
Fire and Aviation Management, 9/7]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
MEMORANDA
No memoranda.
COMING EVENTS CALENDAR
The Coming Events calendar appears in the morning report every other
Thursday. If you know of a significant event of Servicewide interest,
please forward the listing to WASO Ranger Activities. Entries are listed no
earlier than FOUR months before the event. Asterisks indicate new entries;
brackets at end of entry indicate source of information:
9/10-11 -- 181st Anniversary of Battle of Lake Erie, Perry's Victory, Put-
in-Bay, OH. The event will include a historic military camp,
reenactor and musket firing demonstrations, a memorial ceremony
to honor those who fell in the battle and to reenforce the
lessons of international peace, and a concert by the Toledo
Symphony. Contact: PEVI, 419-285-2184. [Marty O'Toole, PEVI]
10/15 -- "Forge and Furnace: An Exhibition of the Arts and Industries of
Metal Working", Saugus Iron Works, Saugus, MA. Exhibit of the
unique and diverse uses of metal in today's world. Co-sponsored
by New England Blacksmith Association and area schools.
Contact: Phil Lupsiewicz, SAIR, 617-233-0050. [Reed Johnson]
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation
and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.