- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, September 13, 1994
- Date: Tues, 13 Sep 1994
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, September 13, 1994
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
93-358 - Kennesaw Mountain (Georgia) - Follow-up on Burglary
M.S., 29, was sentenced in county superior court in August to
five years' incarceration and five years' active probation as part of a
negotiated settlement stemming from M.S.'s June, 1993, burglary of the
park's visitor center. He was also permanently barred from entering onto
park lands. M.S. removed $400 from the park's donation during the break-
in, then lacerated his leg while leaving the building through the glass
front door that he'd broken in order to gain admission. Rangers followed a
trail of blood and money and found M.S. in the woods about 50 yards from
the building. He was arrested, then brought to a hospital for treatment of
his injuries. [Richard Hanks, CR, KEMO, 9/12]
94-544 - Grand Teton (Wyoming) - Fatality
The body of R.C.P., 23, of Soda Springs, Idaho, was found in
his bunk at the American Alpine Club's Climber's Ranch on the afternoon of
September 6th. R.C.P. had been drinking heavily during the late afternoon
and evening of September 5th; preliminary indications are that his blood
alcohol exceeded .30 at the time of his death - a very high level.
Toxicological tests and an autopsy will be conducted and may help determine
the cause of death. [Colin Campbell, Acting CR, GRTE, 9/12]
94-545 - Big Cypress (Florida) - Resource Violations
Over the past weekend, rangers made several arrests for commercial
harvesting of park resources. On September 10th, four individuals who were
harvesting tree snails were apprehended; in their possession were 28 tree
snails, nets and marijuana. Later that day, four people with over 2,000
pounds of palmetto nuts were arrested. The nuts had been harvested from the
Deep Lake Unit of the park. [Bill Carroll, CR, BICY, 9/12]
94-546 - Blue Ridge (North Carolina/Virginia) - MVA with Fatality
J.M. and T.M. were both very seriously injured in a two vehicle
accident which occurred at milepost 430.1 on the parkway on September 11th.
T.M. was subsequently pronounced dead at a local hospital; her husband,
J.M. was treated for a broken shoulder and lacerations. According to the
preliminary investigation report, J.M. was heading north on the parkway
on his motorcycle when he crossed the centerline and collided with a
southbound Ford Bronco. Both drivers attempted to avoid the collision, but
were unsuccessful. No one in the Bronco was injured. [CRO, BLRI, 9/12]
94-547 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Suicide
On the evening of September 3rd, J.U., 18, of Beckley, committed
suicide by jumping off the New River Gorge bridge into the New River, a fall
of almost 900 feet. Witnesses reported the incident, and a search was begun
for his body. It was eventually found by a fisherman about a mile down
river on the evening of September 6th. J.U. had been very despondent
lately and had threatened suicide on numerous occasions over the last month.
According to his aunt, he was using drugs and alcohol heavily and was very
depressed. [Rick Brown, DR, Canyon District, NERI, 9/9]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - IV
The national preparedness level has dropped from Level V to Level IV.
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Area Fire IMT 9/12 9/13 Cont Cont
OR Wallowa-
Whitman NF Twin Lakes T1 19,440 19,460 90 9/13
MT Glacier NP North Fork Cx -- 5,353 5,353 60 NEC
Gallatin NF Black Butte T2 12,100 12,100 100 CND
Smith Creek T2 1,500 1,500 35 9/14
Lewiston Dis. South Snowy T2 870 846 100 CND
* Windy Point T2 - 4,217 50 NEC
Miles City Dis. Morehead Cx -- 4,477 4,477 95 9/13
* Red Knob -- - 1,500 90 9/13
N. Cheyenne
Agency Baby Dean T1 54,560 68,800 100 CND
ID Boise NF Idaho City Cx T1 142,600 142,960 39 NEC
Thunderbolt T2 20,000 20,000 50 9/20
Payette NF Corral Creek -
Blackwell Cx T1 148,110 148,350 50 NEC
Chicken Cx T1 88,345 90,235 10 NEC
Clearwater NF Powell Cx T2 14,322
Challis NF Pioneer Creek T2 9,032 9,032 100 CND
Caribou NF Tin Cup Cx -- 1,450 1,665 70 9/19
UT Uinta NF Trojan II T2 2,560 2,950 50 9/14
Wasatch-
Cache NF * Big Canyon -- - 200 50 9/13
State * Echo -- - 1,250 80 9/13
State * Heiner -- - 1,800 95 9/13
WY Yellowstone NP Robinson -- 977 1,000 10 NEC
Bridger-
Teton NF East Miner T2 107 107 100 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 2 7 5 0 46 30 90
Acres Burned 77 19 1,507 1,211 162 123 3,099
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 282 186 89 7 1,877
Non-federal 30 96 27 0 1,026
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 59,687 56,061
Acres Burned 3,437,161 2,203,387
6) OVERALL SITUATION - Fire activity increased yesterday on some Idaho
fires, but containment targets were met on several fires in Montana.
7) NPS SITUATION - Great Basin and Zion reported extreme fire dangers on
Monday; Dinosaur, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Hawaii Volcanoes, and Joshua
Tree all reported very high fire dangers.
* Glacier - High humidities are accounting for negligible acreage increases
on the Starvation Creek and Adair 2 wildfires, currently listed at 3,000 and
1,600 acres respectively. Additional burnout operations continue on the
Howling prescribed natural fire (750 acres) to strengthen the GP7 road as a
containment boundary.
* Grand Teton - Mop up and patrol actions are expected to continue on the
Row fire (3,370 acres) until significant weather events occur.
* Yellowstone - Both the Tern (4,463 acres) and Raven (2,230 acres) fires
are being managed under confinement strategy. Both fires are still active
but have moderated. The Robinson fire (about 1,000 acres) did not grow
significantly on Monday and is about ten percent contained. Aerial
resources (retardant and helicopters) are being heavily relied upon in
the suppression effort. Five new lightning ignitions that occurred over the
weekend were aggressively attacked with smokejumpers; each was contained to
less than an acre.
8) OUTLOOK - A red flag warning has been posted for low humidity and strong,
gusty winds in Utah and western Wyoming; a red flag watch has been declared
for low humidity and strong, gusty winds in northwest Arizona. Fire
activity will continue, and may increase in areas where red flag conditions
exist.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/13; Dean Berg, NPS Branch of
Fire and Aviation Management, 9/12]
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