- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, July 7, 1995
- Date: Fri, 7 Jul 1995
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, July 7, 1995
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
95-382 - Independence (Pennsylvania) - Fourth of July Weekend Events
Visitation to the park was high over the Fourth of July weekend; about 9,000
people a day visited the Liberty Bell pavilion, and about 3,800 per day visited
Independence Hall. On July 3rd, a rally was held outside the Liberty Bell
pavilion in support of an African-American journalist sentenced to death for a
first degree murder. The rally lasted about ten hours; maximum attendance was
about 300 people. July 4th began with presentation of the Liberty Medal and
associated $100,000 prize to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Mrs.
Sadako Ogata, at a ceremony in Independence Hall which was attended by about
2,000 people. In the afternoon, about 2,000 visitors attended an event which
included a fife and drum concert and the "ringing" of the Liberty Bell by two
young descendants of William Ellery, a signer of the Declaration of
Independence. There were no major law enforcement or first aid emergencies
during the four-day weekend. [PAO, INDE]
95-383 - Yosemite (California) - Fourth of July Weekend Events
Over the Fourth of July weekend, rangers in the Wawona District responded to a
variety of incidents, including:
* Two accidents on Highway 41, both of which involved motorcycles and
significant injuries, mitigated by the fact that both motorcyclists were
wearing helmets.
* The rescue of a hiker with a fractured ankle on the Chilnualna Falls
trail and of another visitor with a possible fractured ankle from the
park's backcountry.
* Advanced life support and transport for an employee of a private business
who suffered angina and chest pains.
* Advanced life support and transport for a visitor to a private camp who
suffered an acute asthma attack.
* Capture and relocation of a black bear who broke into several homes,
including the district ranger's (the bear subsequently returned, again
broke into homes, and was captured and euthanized).
* The rescue of three people from the high and fast flowing (due to winter
runoff) South Fork of the Merced River after they became stranded while
tubing without proper equipment.
[Mary Coelho, YOSE]
95-384 - Lake Mead (Nevada) - Homicide
An altercation broke out between two groups at an area known as 33 Hole in Las
Vegas Bay around 2 a.m. on July 6th. The fight began with rock throwing, but
ended with the stabbing of two 20-year-old men. Friends of the victims drove
them to a local hospital, where one of them died. The remaining victim is in
critical condition. [Andre Fujiwara, LAME]
95-385 - Blue Ridge (North Carolina/Virginia) - MVA; Vehicle Theft
During the early morning hours of July 5th, rangers responded to a reported
vehicle accident and found a heavily damaged but unoccupied 1994 Chevrolet
pickup truck at the scene. Evidence revealed that there were at least two
occupants, that the driver had probably sustained chest injuries, and that the
passenger's head struck the dash upon impact. Alcohol, a small quantity of
drugs, and marijuana distribution equipment were recovered from the vehicle.
Rangers subsequently learned that the vehicle had been stolen from Galax,
Virginia. The investigation continues. [CRO, BLRI]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
*** No significant fires reported today ***
3) FIRES YESTERDAY -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 1 1 29 1 83 62 177
Acres Burned 0 0 220 1 297 7,425 7,943
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 19 43 12 0 16
Non-federal 0 3 2 0 2
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1995 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires - U.S. 45,850 40,183
Acres Burned - U.S. 788,453 932,823
Number of Fires - Canada 5,419 -
Hectares Burned - Canada 3,959,557 -
6) SITUATION - Initial attack increased throughout the northern half of the
western United States yesterday due to lightning. Another 80,000 acres burned
in Canada. Canada's serious fire problems began during the last weekend in
May. Although snow had melted off by then, unusually dry conditions slowed
down the usual "green up" of vegetation, particularly in the western provinces.
These conditions persist. As of Wednesday, the distribution of fires and
acreage to date by province was as follows:
British Columbia 891 19,248
Yukon Territory 118 181,598
Alberta 586 336,922
Northwest Territory 105 1,155,742
Saskatchewan 533 1,335,717
Manitoba 518 450,702
Ontario 1,381 384,169
Quebec 647 85,566
Newfoundland 52 214
New Brunswick 223 207
Nova Scotia 304 382
Prince Edward Island 13 26
PC 30 5,037
Total 5,401 3,935,530
The total hectares burned works out to about 9,500,000 acres, or more than
twice the total burned in the United States in 1994. Canada had a total of
3,506 fires by the same date in 1994 for a total of 582,481 hectares.
Extreme fire behavior was reported in Northwest Territories, and high to
extreme conditions elsewhere in the West. In addition to virtually total
mobilization of resources in Canada, NIFC has so far sent 14 Type I crews to
assist; all but one of these have since returned home.
7) OUTLOOK - A fire weather watch has been posted for the eastern half of
Arizona for dry lightning. Forecasted thunderstorms there and elsewhere
increase the likelihood of accelerated initial attack.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/7]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) Campground Reservation System - Mistix, the company that manages the NPS
campsite reservation system (DESTINET), is implementing changes that will make
it easier for the public to make reservations. Mistix has increased telephone
lines and operators in order to handle a four-fold increase in requests for
reservations since last year. Separate services for Yosemite, which receives a
high volume of telephone requests, and other services, such as cave tours at
Mammoth Cave, have been added. Mistix has also added an automated message to
the system to assure customers that the telephone number is correct and
working, but that all lines are busy. The company will soon add Internet
access as a way to manage campground information requests. It will provide
information on reservation services for NPS facilities and will include a
mail/fax order form. Approximately 4,900 campsites are on the reservation
system representing 13 major national park areas. Family/individual camping
reservations may be made through DESTINET up to eight weeks in advance (twelve
weeks in advance for group camping) by calling 1-800-365-2267 (CAMP) for sites
at Acadia, Assateague, Cape Hatteras, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky
Mountains, Joshua Tree, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Shenandoah,
Whiskeytown and Yellowstone. For campground reservations at Yosemite, call 1-
800-436-7275. In addition, reservations for tours at Mammoth Cave may be made
by calling 1-800-967-2283. Reservations for spelunking tours at Jewel Cave may
be made by calling the park itself at 605-673-2288. Reservations are not
available for general cave tours. Reservation services are presently available
Monday though Friday from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m.
- 4 p.m., Pacific time. The reservation times change from October 1 - February
28 to 7 a.m. - 4 p.m., Pacific time, every day of the week. Certain park
campsites are only reservable during specified times of the year. [Public
Affairs, WASO]
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