- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, June 12, 1995
- Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Monday, June 12, 1995
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
95-237 - Jefferson National Expansion (Missouri) - Follow-up on Flooding
The Mississippi River crested at 11 feet above flood stage on park grounds on
June 1st and has since been dropping at a rate of almost a foot a day. On June
6th, rangers who had been detailed to the area from other parks were released.
Damage estimates at this time are between $200,000 and $250,0000, but a final
figure will not be available until flood waters have fully receded and cleanup
has been completed. [Deryl Stone, CR, JEFF, 6/8]
95-284 - Big Bend (Texas) - Search and Rescue
On May 29th, M.C. and Ju.C., their son, Je.C., 14, and a 14-year-old
friend of the family hiked into the park backcountry along the Marufa Vega
trail, a 12-mile loop leading into Boquillas Canyon, one of the more remote and
rugged areas of the park. After several hours of hiking, members of the group
became separated and lost, but eventually reunited along the Rio Grande, six
miles from the trailhead. Temperatures were in the 100s, and the group was out
of water. After spending a night near the river, they met two other parties
that offered assistance - one to lead them out, the other to filter water for
them - but they refused both offers and instead attempted to leave the
backcountry by retracing their route. They again became lost, so returned to
the river to hike up the river corridor towards a small Mexican village about
eight miles upstream. Meanwhile, rangers, apprised of the C.'s situation by
one of the parties that had contacted them, began a search for them with a
Border Patrol helicopter. They found the party along the river late in the
afternoon, still six miles from their destination. Members of the group were
sunburned, dehydrated and hypothermic from wading in the river. All members of
the party had consumed untreated river water in order to survive. The party
was flown out to the trailhead. Ju.C. was hospitalized for several days
with intestinal problems which came from drinking the river water. [Gus
Martinez, DR, East District, BIBE, 6/9]
95-285 - Glacier (Montana) - Concession Employee Injured by Bear
A.M., 19, a concession employee working at the Rising Sun Motor Inn,
sustained relatively minor injuries around 1:20 a.m. on the morning of
Saturday, June 10th, when she encountered a bear of unknown species on the
beach near the Rising Sun picnic area. A.M. and coworker Brandon Sigety
were the last of a group of employees to leave the informal campfire area,
which is frequently used by concession employees for approved campfire
gatherings. The employees had had no campfire that night, though, so A.M.
and Sigety were sitting in the dark and talking when they heard a noise. Their
flashlights revealed a dark object; as it moved toward them, they realized it
was a bear. The bear showed no aggressive behavior, instead approaching
slowly, sniffing as it walked. The two stood up, talking to the bear in a calm
manner as they did so. When the bear was from six to ten feet away, they both
dropped into fetal positions, protecting their heads and stomachs - a technique
they'd learned from park rangers at a safety orientation on Thursday evening.
The bear picked A.M. up several inches off the ground and dragged her about
15 feet. At that point, Sigety stood up, made loud and aggressive noises, and
shined his flashlight in the bear's face. The bear dropped A.M., and walked
off into the woods without further incident. A.M. suffered single puncture
wounds on the underside of her right arm and around her shoulder. They
reported the incident to the campground ranger. A park medic treated A.M.,
who was subsequently taken to a local hospital. Investigation revealed that
there had been no food or beverages at the beach, and that A.M. was probably
protected from additional injury by the several layers of clothes she was
wearing. The picnic area and campground have been closed until further notice.
[Amy Vanderbilt, PIO, GLAC, 6/10]
95-286 - Lincoln Home (Illinois) - Assist; Prostitution Arrests
On June 3rd, rangers joined state and Springfield officers in a cooperative
undercover operation that resulted in the arrest of nine individuals - eight
women and one man - on prostitution charges in an area within a four-block
radius of the park. Five other men, including a 16-year-old boy, were
arrested for soliciting a prostitute. Several of the prostitutes were observed
at times within park boundaries, but none of the arrests took place on site.
[Dan Banta, LIHO, 6/8]
95-287 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Assist; Drug Raid
On May 23rd, rangers participated in an interagency drug raid which involved
serving arrest warrants on 38 individuals on 78 counts of drug trafficking and
firearms violations in Fayette and Raleigh counties. Ten rangers joined 80
other federal, state and local officers in the raids. The indictments leading
to the warrants were the culmination of an 18-month-long investigation of drug-
related violence in the two counties. Rangers were actively involved in the
investigation; one served quite successfully as an undercover agent. The
charges included possession of drugs and firearms, interstate travel to
facilitate the distribution of drugs, and the use of minors in the distribution
of crack cocaine. The raids were conducted without incident. [Rick Brown,
Acting CR, NERI, 6/2]
95-288 - Lake Meredith (Texas) - Assist: Tornado Damage and Injuries
Nine park employees provided assistance to the nearby community of Pampa after
a large tornado struck the town on the afternoon of June 8th. The Texas
Department of Public Safety requested their assistance to help search and
provide security for the damaged 15-block section of the community. Two of the
seven people injured in the storm received serious injuries. The tornado was
one of the many twisters spawned by a storm cell that passed through northeast
Texas and northwest Oklahoma. [CR, LAMR, 6/9]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level I
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Area Fire IMT 6/7 6/12 Con Con
AZ State * Geronimo T2 - 2,233 100 CND
HEADING NOTES:
Fire * = newly reported fire (on this report). Cx = complex.
IMT T1 = Type 1; T2 = Type II; ST1 = state Type 1; ST2 = state Type 2.
% 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 9 0 0 26 14 49
Acres Burned 0 12 685 0 215 12 924
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 14 14 7 1 119
Non-federal 3 0 1 0 12
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1995 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 39,953 34,553
Acres Burned 567,066 547,660
6) SITUATION - Fire activity remains low in the United States, but numerous
large fires continue to burn in Canada. Nine Type I crews have been mobilized
from Idaho, Oregon and Montana and sent to Alberta.
7) OUTLOOK - Initial attack fire activity is expected to increase in the
Southwest due to warmer weather and forecasted dry lightning. A fire weather
watch for dry lightning has been posted for the White Mountains and for
southeast Arizona.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/12]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
OBSERVATIONS
"We who work for historical agencies do not own the sites. We are trustees for
them. They are ours to restore and manage and interpret because earlier
generations saved them for us; so we, in turn, have an obligation to future
generations who have an equal claim to that heritage, Our trusteeship places
upon us an ethical commitment to accuracy in restoration, truth in
interpretation, and protection for the next generation. The financial support
we receive from the public in gifts, admission fees, tax exemptions and
government payments reinforces our obligations to the people. We do not meet
that obligation just by saving and restoring a historic site. Only when the
essential meaning of the site and of the people and events associated with it
is communicated to the visitor can we truly say that we have met our
responsibilities."
William Alderson and
Shirley Payne Low,
"Interpretation of
Historic Sites,", 1976
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
Telephone: 202-208-4874
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