- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, July 28, 1995
- Date: Fri, 28 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 28, 1995
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
95-455 - North Cascades (Washington) - Follow-up on Search in Progress
A multi-agency search was begun on July 21st when L.L., 43, and J.A.,
47, failed to return as scheduled from an overnight climb of peaks
north of Mount Shuksan. The search involved rangers, sheriff's deputies,
mountain rescue teams from Washington and B.C., rental helicopters, a Navy
rescue helicopter, and a television news helicopter. The search effort was
hindered by low clouds and extremely rugged terrain. They were found uninjured
but stranded on the upper flank of Icy Peak on July 25th and were winched
aboard the Navy helicopter. The incident concluded several hours before a
major storm system blanketed the area with fog and rain. [Pete Cowan, CR,
NOCA]
95-465 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Bomb Threat
The Fred Harvey company, a concessioner on the South Rim, received a telephoned
bomb threat at 12:20 a.m. on July 26th. The unidentified caller said that a
bomb had been planted in Victor Hall, an employee dormitory, that the call was
a warning, and that the caller did not want to see any employee injured. The
building was searched, but no suspicious articles were found. The same person
called the company again some time later, but provided no new information.
Both calls came from outside the park. Possible suspects include 15 Fred
Harvey employees recently terminated by the company following their prosecution
on a variety of narcotics charges. [Mark Law, GRCA]
95-466 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
A Salt Lake City family camped in a remote area of the park radioed a distress
call that they might be suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning on the morning
of July 25th. A Halls Crossing boat patrol ranger was less than a mile away at
the time and was accordingly able to respond quickly. The family had been
sleeping in their cabin cruiser with the air conditioner running, and it had
circulated exhaust fumes from the inboard gasoline generator into the cabin.
The F.'s three-year-old daughter was unconscious when the ranger
arrived, but was revived through aggressive oxygen therapy. Her parents
initially displayed only mild symptoms, but their conditions soon deteriorated
to semi-consciousness. The family was taken by helicopter to the hospital in
Page; the parents later had to be flown to a hyperbaric chamber in Salt Lake
City for further treatment. [Tomie Lee, CR, GLCA]
95-467 - Capitol Reef (Utah) - MVA with Serious Injury
On the afternoon of July 24th, rangers responded to a motor vehicle accident on
Highway 24 in the park. A sedan driven by S.R., 51, collided with
a pickup truck carrying a large camper shell, causing the shell to come loose
and crush S.R.'s vehicle. S.R., who weighs over 300 pounds, was pinned
inside the his car. After a complex and difficult extrication, he was flown to
a hospital in Grand Junction, where he was treated for internal bleeding and
fractures of his skull, clavicle and ribs. The occupants of the pickup and
passengers in S.R.'s vehicle escaped unhurt. Over 30 emergency response
personnel assisted in S.R.'s extrication, care and evacuation. [Rick
Nolan, CR, CARE]
95-468 - Fire Island (New York) - Assist on Structural Fire
Ranger Paul Gaspar was on patrol on the west end of the beach around midnight
on July 24th when he picked up a report of a house fire over the county radio
net. Gaspar drove to the house, which was within the park's administrative
boundary, and found that the two-story structure was fully engulfed in flame.
Gaspar advised the county of the nature of the fire, then set about accounting
for the house's nine occupants, some of whom were highly intoxicated, and
getting their names and statements. He also acted as incident commander until
relieved by other supervisors, and assisted the arson squad with its
investigation. The source of the fire appears to have been faulty wiring
running to an ancient refrigerator on the building's second floor. Several of
the occupants said that they'd heard smoke detectors despite their acute
intoxication, and had therefore been able to evacuate the structure. [Jay
Lippert, DR, FIIS]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Area Fire IMT 7/26 7/28 Con Con
CA Riverside RU * Stanley ST - 4,000 0 NEC
* Richey -- - 800 10 NEC
San Bernadino NF * Crowder -- - 1,000 100 CND
UT Richfield Dis. * Cove Fort -- - 2,264 75 CN 7/29
S.L. City Dis. * Stansbury Island -- - 3,430 82 CN 7/28
CO Craig Dis. * Spring -- - 505 75 CN 7/28
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 3 11 16 0 76 23 129
Acres Burned 0 48 2,003 0 2,207 1,233 5,491
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 28 69 21 10 17
Non-federal 4 6 0 0 1
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1995 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires - U.S. 52,525 45,440
Acres Burned - U.S. 982,399 1,584,820
Number of Fires - Canada 6,236 -
Acres Burned - Canada 12,969,624 -
6) SITUATION - Initial attack and escaped fires increased yesterday in the
Great Basin, Southwest and southern California. Many areas in the Southwest,
Rocky Mountains, Great Basin and southern California are reporting very high to
extreme fire indices. Mobilization of resources through NICC has increased
significantly.
7) OUTLOOK - A fire weather watch for dry lightning is in effect for central
and northeast Arizona. Initial attack is expected to continue. The potential
for escaped fires is increasing throughout the West.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/28]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) Information Request - Joshua Tree is looking into various types of
backcountry self-registration and information boards to determine which will
work best there. If you have any comments or suggestions about types of boards
that have worked or not worked for you, please send your comments to Tom Gavin
at the park. [CRO, JOTR]
2) FY 96 Budget - The full House passed the Service's FY 96 appropriations bill
on Tuesday, July 18th. Highlights follow:
* Overall: The overall FY 96 budget of $1,261,076,000 is 11% less than the
FY 95 enacted amount of $1,412,103,000 and 15% less than the FY 96
request of $1,490,122,000.
* ONPS: The House bill increases ONPS by about 1% above the enacted amount
for FY 95 -
FY 96 request $1,157,738,000
FY 96 House allowance $1,088,249,000
FY 95 enacted $1,077,900,000
There's no 2.4% across the board increase, nor any specific park
increases. Mojave's base of $600,000 was transferred to BLM for them to
operate; the park was allocated $1.
* National Recreation and Preservation: The House bill reflects the FY 95
enacted amount, less funds attributed to downsizing -
FY 96 request $ 39,305,000
FY 96 House allowance $ 35,725,000
FY 95 enacted $ 42,941,000
* Land Acquisition and State Assistance: The program has been seriously
cut, with major impact on NPS land acquisition goals -
FY 96 request $ 82,696,000
FY 96 House allowance $ 14,300,000
FY 95 enacted $ 87,768,000
There are no line items or state grants.
* Construction:
FY 96 request $ 179,883,000
FY 96 House allowance $ 114,868,000
FY 95 enacted $ 184,587,000
The $25 million requested for the housing initiative was axed. Funds
requested for planning were nearly halved.
* UPAR: Eliminated.
* Violent Crime Reduction Programs: Eliminated.
* Historic Preservation Fund: There's a minimal reduction in grants in aid.
The National Trust has been reduced by 50%.
The Senate appropriations subcommittee marked up the bill on Wednesday, but
details are not yet available. [Dave Harrington, Budget/WASO]
MEMORANDA
No memoranda.
OBSERVATIONS
Today's quote, another in the series specifically on parks, concerns
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and is from Dave Mihalic,
superintendent of the latter:
"There is no area in America more replete with beauty of the highest order than
that comprised within these two national parks. Tremendous mountains with
carved cirques in which the snows and glaciers of countless ages are
encompassed, innumerable lakes, each a gem of its kind, canyons of that
character described by Robert Service when he speaks of 'canyons plumb full of
hush'; these are the describable features of this region. But it has about it
something indescribable. Perhaps the imminent presence which broods over it
and which is universally felt may best be described as peace."
Committee on Public Lands and
Surveys, March 23, 1932
[Do you have a favorite quote about the NPS? If so, send it along for possible
inclusion in a future Morning Report. If you'd like a WP5.1 copy of quotes
that have appeared to date, send a note to this address]
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
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