- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, September 14, 1994
- Date: Wed, 14 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 14, 1994
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
94-519 - Gates of the Arctic/Denali (Alaska) - Follow-up on Flooding
Gates of the Arctic and Denali have both pitched in to help victims of the
recent flooding in the Koyukuk River drainage. Gates of the Arctic is
making several apartment units available for families displaced by the
flooding in the nearby villages of Allakaket and Alatna. It appears that
neither of those villages will be habitable this winter, and that cleanup
and repairs will have to wait until next summer. The village of Wiseman was
also damaged by the flooding, with a bridge and most of its roads washed
out. Gates of the Arctic ranger Jon Peterson assisted village residents
during the flood, and afterwards worked with them to find a source of
equipment to make repairs. Denali contributed a loader, two dump trucks and
two operators to help the village with the road and bridge repairs. [Glenn
Sherrill, CR, GAAR, 9/9]
94-548 - Canaveral (Florida) - Refugees
Refugee rafts that have been abandoned by Cubans fleeing their native
country continue to wash ashore on the park's beaches. As of September
12th, over 45 rafts of varying shapes and sizes had drifted in from the Gulf
Stream, all without occupants. Some have been painted with "O.K." by the
Coast Guard; the fate of the occupants of unmarked rafts is unknown. The
rafts range in type from inner tubes and canvas tied to wooden frames to
catamarans with styrofoam-sandwich-pontoons, bamboo masts and elaborate
rudder systems. Food, water, miscellaneous clothing and identification
papers are all that remain aboard as evidence of the occupants' crossings.
Park staff will be treating the rafts as abandoned vessels and will attempt
to remove the intact rafts and the debris of those which have broken apart.
In the meantime, park visitors are being treated to "informal exhibits"
interpreting the current exodus and impressions of freedom, liberty and
rights. [Bill DeHart, CR, CANA, 9/13])
94-549 - Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Felony Arrest; Attempted Suicide
On August 8th, rangers stopped a motorcycle being driven by D.M., 25,
after it went through a stop sign at the South Entrance. D.M. almost
immediately took off again on the motorcycle; a prolonged pursuit ensured
which involved numerous U-turns and speeds of up to 80 mph. D.M.
eventually turned toward Lake at West Thumb junction, and was blocked by a
patrol vehicle when he attempted another U-turn. The bike struck the patrol
car at slow speed, puncturing its front tire. D.M. then attempted to flee
through the woods on the motorcycle with the flat tire, which proved
difficult due to downed trees. He was finally apprehended at gun point and
identified. Rangers discovered that he was wanted by the U.S. Marshals
Service in Florida on a drug-related felony warrant and had him taken to the
park jail pending extradition. Late that same evening, D.M. attempted to
hang himself with a sheet in his jail cell. He was treated by park medics,
then taken to Lake Hospital for evaluation. He was to be released last
Friday, then taken to another facility to await pickup by the marshals.
[Mike Murray, ACR, YELL, 9/9]
94-550 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Sexual Assault
On the evening of September 2nd, Bullfrog rangers received a report of a
sexual assault in progress at the ARA trailer village store. Several
witnesses had seen Harry Sine, 46, of Alaska, sexually assault an
unconscious 18-year-old female in the front seat of her girlfriend's car.
Sine had also been seen drinking with the victim earlier during the day and
supplying the minor female with alcohol. Sine was taken into custody by
rangers, then turned over to the county sheriff. The sheriff's
department has charged Sine with forcible sexual abuse and supplying alcohol
to a minor. [LES, GLCA, 9/8]
94-551 - Golden Gate (California) - Suicide
A visitor found the body of a man lying on the floor of Sutro Baths with a
gun in his hand on the morning of September 10th. Responding rangers,
officers and firefighters found the victim dead from a gunshot wound to his
left temple. A friend of the deceased said that he was distraught over the
death of a girlfriend last week. At 4:30 a.m. that morning, the victim
signed over the title to his vehicle to his friend and asked him to leave
the areas. The coroner estimates the time of death at about 5 a.m. The
victim had a copy of his will and a picture of his girlfriend in his pocket.
[Sgt. Louis Mugg, USPP/SFFO, 9/12]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - IV
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Area Fire IMT 9/13 9/14 Cont Cont
OR Wallowa-
Whitman NF Twin Lakes T1 19,460 19,460 95 9/14
MT Glacier NP North Fork Cx -- 5,353 5,353 60 NEC
Gallatin NF Smith Creek T2 1,500 1,500 80 9/14
Lewiston Dis. Windy Point T2 4,217 4,217 60 NEC
Miles City Dis. Morehead Cx -- 4,477 7,500 100 CND
Red Knob -- 1,500 1,500 90 9/13
ID Boise NF Idaho City Cx T1 142,960 154,100 42 NEC
Thunderbolt T2 20,000 21,000 50 9/20
Payette NF Corral Creek -
Blackwell Cx T1 148,350 148,400 50 NEC
Chicken Cx T1 90,235 91,925 15 NEC
Clearwater NF Powell Cx T2 14,322
Caribou NF Tin Cup Cx -- 1,665 1,950 80 9/19
UT Uinta NF Trojan II T2 2,950 2,950 90 9/14
Wasatch-
Cache NF Big Canyon -- 200 200 100 CND
State Echo -- 1,250 1,250 80 9/13
State Heiner -- 1,800 1,800 95 9/13
WY Yellowstone NP Robinson -- 1,000 2,035 35 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 6 0 6 0 15 39 66
Acres Burned 0 0 21 0 264 11 296
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 212 153 75 6 1,472
Non-federal 28 64 20 0 853
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1994 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 59,840 56,533
Acres Burned 3,486,459 2,315,665
6) OVERALL SITUATION - Rain, cooler temperatures and higher humidities
continued to facilitate suppression efforts on many large fires. No
significant activity was reported.
7) NPS SITUATION - Dinosaur, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone and
Yosemite are reporting very high fire dangers.
* Yellowstone - The only two of seven reportedly active fires remaining in
the Yellowstone Complex are the Tern fire (4,879 acres) and the Raven fire
(3,411 acres). Both are being managed under a confinement strategy and are
burning within established confinement lines; neither is staffed. The
Yellowstone Complex is reportedly 50% contained, with a total acreage
involvement of 8,383 acres. The park has ordered a Type II IMT for the
Robinson fire; the team was scheduled to take over the fire this morning.
8) OUTLOOK - A major, cool, upper level trough has moved in over almost the
entire West. Fire activity should be minimal throughout the area.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/14; Dean Berg, NPS Branch of
Fire and Aviation Management, 9/13]
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