- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, April 12, 1995
- Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, April 12, 1995
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
95-145 - Point Reyes (California) - Death of Employee
Alexsi Casul, 38, a maintenance worker at Point Reyes since 1989, died at his
home in the park early on the morning of April 7th. During those years, Alexsi
provided support services for hundreds of thousands of visitors at the park's
popular lighthouse area, and was highly regarded by both co-workers and members
of the local community. Alexsi was a single parent with sole custody of two
teenage girls, ages 13 and 16. A memorial fund has been established at the
Bank of Petaluma, 11400 State Route 1, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956. Deposits
should be made out to the Alexsi Casul Memorial Fund. For more information,
contact Ann Nelson at 415-663-8522. [Don Neubacher, Superintendent, PORE,
4/11]
95-146 - Olympic (Washington) - Search in Progress
A local Neah Bay family was having a picnic on the Makah Reservation on the
boundary of the park's Shi Shi beach area on April 9th when two brothers from
the group, ages ten and five, went off exploring and became separated. When
the older boy could not find his brother, he returned and reported him missing.
Adults from the group and area residents searched the area from 1 p.m until 9
p.m. before notifying the county sheriff's office. A multi-agency search was
begun which has so far involved 13 rangers, an NBS biologist, two VIPs, and a
ranger search dog from the park. As of yesterday, no sign of the boy had been
found. The weather continues to be cool and rainy. [Larry Nickey, Emergency
Operations, OLYM, 4/11]
95-147 - Mount Rainier (Washington) - Search and Rescue
When M.J., 64, of Seattle failed to return from a snowshoeing trip
from Paradise to Camp Muir on April 10th, rangers were advised and initiated a
search in conjunction with members of the Washington Mountain Rescue Council.
M.J. was found in good condition the following morning. [Bill Larson, MORA,
4/11]
95-148 - Gulf Islands (Mississippi/Florida) - MVA with Fatality
As park dispatcher Buddy Woods was leaving the park shortly after midnight on
April 7th, he was passed by two vehicles heading toward the park at a high rate
of speed. Woods radioed this information to ranger Robert Harris, who had set
up stationary radar at the Fort Pickens entrance station. Harris clocked the
vehicles at 85 mph; before he could react, one of the vehicles, a Ford Bronco,
went out of control and began flipping over. One passenger, 17-year-old H.R.,
was ejected and killed. The driver, G.S., 41, and his
16-year-old daughter were air lifted by life flight to a hospital in Pensacola.
The daughter was released; the father was admitted in fair condition. Alcohol
is a probable contributing factor. [CRO, GUIS, 4/11]
95-149 - Golden Gate (California) - Attempted Robbery
On March 28th, park maintenance workers advised dispatch that a visitor had
told them that two juveniles with brass knuckles had attempted to rob him on
the beach below Fort Scott in the Presidio. Rangers and Park Police officers
began a search and soon located the pair at a bus stop adjacent to Golden Gate
Bridge. A search of the two suspects and their backpacks led to the discovery
of two sets of brass knuckles, three large camping knives, a camcorder, and a
significant amount of foreign and domestic cash. Interviews indicated that the
twosome had obtained the camcorder and cash during a spree of four larcenies
and a car clout. Both have extensive criminal histories; one is on parole,
which is being revoked. [Kathy Clark, WRO, 4/6]
95-150 - Curecanti (Colorado) - Suicide
On the morning of April 10th, rangers came upon a vehicle parked in a day use
picnic area covered with four inches of snow that showed no evidence of recent
vehicle or foot travel. Investigation revealed that the owner, D.G.,
39, of Gunnison, Colorado, had been missing since the previous evening.
Approximately 35 searchers from the park, county sheriff's office and local SAR
teams began looking for Gunnison and found his body about a quarter mile from
the vehicle late that afternoon. Preliminary investigation indicates that
D.G. committed suicide. [CRO, CURE, 4/11]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Area Fire 4/10 4/11 Status
VA Virginia NF * Castle Complex - T1 1,300 4,990 CN 4/12
KY Daniel Boone NF * Red Bird Complex - T2 3,016 3,166 CN 4/12
FL Everglades NP E-112 6,000 6,000 CND
AR Buffalo NSR * Stringtown 1,000 - NR
AZ State * Early 800 800 CN 4/10
NM State * Hondo 500 220 CND
Mescalero Agency * Encino 120 120 CND
NOTES:
- Fires - Asterisk indicates newly reported fire (on this report). T1 and T2
indicate assigned Type I and Type II Teams.
- Status - The following abbreviations are employed:
NR - No report received MS - Modified suppression strategy
CL - Controlled MN - Being monitored
CS - Containment strategy NEC - No estimate of containment
CND - Contained CN (date) - Expected date of containment
3) FIRES YESTERDAY (BY AGENCY) -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 3 - - - 458 23 484
Acreage 200 7 - - 3,815 3,235 7,257
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 55 13 6 - 226
Non-federal 3 22 2 6 37
5) CURRENT SITUATION - Initial attack and large fire activity moderated in
throughout the South due to widespread wet weather.
6) OUTLOOK - Moderation of fire activity in the South is expected to
continue.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 4/11]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) Environmental Assessments - The Environmental Quality Division in WASO is
seeking a few good environmental assessments in order to develop an
information base that can be used by other parks to address issues and make
decisions about resources in their own EAs. If you have one that you think
is particularly good or could be of interest to other parks, please send it
to Jacob Hoogland, Chief, Environmental Quality Division, WASO 774, forward
it via cc:Mail, or call 202-208-5214.
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