- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 2, 1995
- Date: Wed, 2 Aug 1995
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, August 2, 1995
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
95-469 - South Florida/Gulf Coast Parks - Follow-up on Hurricane Erin
Hurricane Erin, now downgraded to a tropical storm, came ashore just after 1
a.m. this morning just south of Vero Beach, a point more or less midway (from a
park perspective) between Everglades on the south and Cape Canaveral on the
north. Present movement is to the west-northwest at about 17 m.p.h. Tides as
high as three feet above normal are possible along Florida's west coast later
today. Projections indicate that the storm will strike the Gulf Coast between
Mobile and New Orleans if it stays on its current track. The following reports
have been received from affected parks since mid-afternoon yesterday:
* Canaveral - The hurricane plan was activated yesterday, and the park
closed at 2:30 p.m. Tie-down operations and photo-documentation of
existing conditions were completed. Although a direct hit was not
anticipated, the expected storm surge of eight feet would be sufficient
to erode dunes, damage boardwalks, and have a serious impact on the
approximately 3,800 turtle nests on the beach. Incident commander Bill
DeHart reports this morning that power and telephones are out, but that
the park apparently had not received any significant damage, except to
the turtle nests. Winds at the time were at 50 knots, with gusts to 70
knots. About two inches of rain had fallen.
* DeSoto - The park closed at 2:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon and will remain
closed until further notice.
* Everglades - The park received little if any damage. Very little rain
fell, and winds did not exceed 35 m.p.h. The park will open tomorrow at
8 a.m. The staff will spend most of today undoing yesterday's
preparations for the hurricane, and will transition out of incident
command later in the day.
* Gulf Islands - The hurricane plan was activated yesterday.
* Jean Lafitte - The park began securing facilities and equipment yesterday
and is now closed. All non-essential employees have been placed on
administrative leave, thereby affording them ample time to prepare their
personal property and evacuate the area if necessary. The park will be
reopened after the hurricane passes or is not longer a threat to the
area. Steve Hickman is incident commander.
[Steve Smith, SEFO; Steve Hickman, JELA; Mike Riley, Acting CR, DESO; Bill
DeHart, CANA; Ben Morgan, EVER; FEMA National Emergency Coordination Center
advisory]
95-479 - North Cascades (Washington) - Employee Injury; Rescue
Shortly after 5 p.m. on July 31st, off-duty park employee L.A. and SCA
volunteer J.V. were ascending the north face of Colonial Peak when L.A.
slipped and fell 50 feet, lodging between a cliff and steep glacier ice and
suffering a severe lower leg fracture. L.A. reported her accident by park
radio. Rangers, supported by rental and Navy helicopters, were able to reach,
stabilize and evacuate L.A. and J.V. as darkness and clouds cloaked the peak.
L.A. is currently in stable condition at Skagit Valley Hospital. [Pete
Cowan, CR, NOCA]
95-480 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Boating Fatalities; Rescue
On July 29th, D.S., 16, H.S., 57, and H.S's son, P.S., all
from Mt. Hope, West Virginia, were fishing in the New River near Prince when
their aluminum boat was pulled into McCreery Rapid and capsized. Rangers in
the area heard the calls for help and had a nearby rescue cataraft in the water
before the 911 call was received. P.S. was picked up from the shore by
the rescue boat. Fishermen pulled H.S. to the shore, but were unable
to reach D.S. Although they began CPR on H.S. at the beach,
he did not survive. The body of the 16-year-old was found the following
morning. None of the occupants was wearing a life jacket, even though none
were able to swim. The park's staff was assisted by 35 rescuers and divers
from local fire departments and ambulance services and by a local helicopter
and crew. [Dennis Weiland, Grandview SDR, NERI]
95-481 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Rescue
R.K., 24, of Cleveland, Ohio, fell about 20 feet while attempting to free
climb the 5.8 Zag route in the Bridge Buttress climbing area on the afternoon
of July 30th. He was wearing a backpack with climbing gear at the time, and
landed on the ground on his back. Rangers evacuated R.K. overland to a
waiting ambulance. He was treated at a local hospital for four cracked spinal
processes, placed in a splint, and released later in the day. The backpack
apparently helped to cushion his fall, making the injury less severe. [Rick
Brown, Acting CR, NERI]
95-482 - Shenandoah (Virginia) - Car Fire; Fatality
Shortly after 10 p.m. on July 26th, the park's communications center received a
report of a vehicle on fire a short distance from Skyline Drive on the
Slaughter fire road near the Lewis Mountain developed area. Upon arrival,
ranger Bobby Fleming found a single vehicle fully engulfed in flames, some
reaching as high as a dozen feet and spreading to surrounding woods. A local
fire department responded and knocked down the blaze within 15 minutes.
Fleming subsequently discovered a badly burned body in the driver's seat of the
vehicle. Investigation into the identity of the victim and the mode and method
of death continues. [Time Alley, CI, SHEN]
95-483 - National Mall (D.C.) - Special Event
The new Korean War Veterans Memorial, located just south of the Reflecting Pool
adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial, was officially dedicated on the afternoon of
July 27th. Attending were President Clinton, South Korean President Kim Young
Sam, and Vice President Gore. Over 50,000 veterans, families and friends
attended the ceremonies. The heat index for the day was over 100 degrees, and
over 500 people had to be treated for heat-related illnesses. Several people
were taken to local hospitals for cardiac problems exacerbated by the heat.
EMS inside the security area was provided primarily by NPS EMTs; additional
support was provided by a variety of city and contract medical services.
Because of the volume of medical cases, event organizers also called in support
from a Bethesda Naval Hospital medical response team. [Anthony Mangelli, PR,
NAMA]
[More pending incident reports tomorrow...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Area Fire IMT 8/1 8/2 Con Con
AZ Coronado NF Shovel T2 1,225 1,275 80 CN 8/5
Green -- 190 190 100 CND
Coconino NF Bear Jaw T2 800 800 90 CN 8/4
Prescott NF * Salt -- - 500 10 CN 8/2
Ariz. Strip Dis. Dutchman -- 500 1,200 100 CND
Jacobs Well -- 250 1,230 100 CND
* Buggy -- - 600 100 CND
* Red Pocket -- - 600 100 CND
State Wilder Point -- 1,200 1,200 0 NEC
* Empire -- - 375 100 CND
* Bozarth -- - 2,200 100 CND
Safford Dis. Farrell Mountain -- 225 225 100 CND
Phoenix Dis. New Water -- 1,300 1,500 100 CND
Truxton Canyon
Agency * Meriwhitica -- - 100 80 CN 8/1
NM Gila NF HB T2 4,530 7,360 50 CN 8/2
UT S.L. City Dis. Stansbury Island -- 4,840 4,840 99 NEC
Moab Dis. Triangle T1 3,500 5,100 15 CN 8/4
Cedar City Dis. Cedar Pocket -- 12,911 12,911 100 CND
CO Grand Junc. Dis. Mitchell T2 1,500 627 100 CND
Craig Dis. Dinosaur -- 500 500 100 CND
ID Boise Dis. Twin Butte -- 29,300 29,300 100 CND
* Blue Gulch -- - 10,000 20 CN 8/2
NV Elko Dis. Pilot -- 500 500 25 CN 8/3
CA Mojave NP Tuttle -- 300 300 NR
Joshua Tree NP * Covington T2 - 4,000 10 NEC
Kern County Lopez -- 2,300 1,985 100 CND
* Chain -- - 600 100 CND
Klamath NF * Pony T2 - 200 0 NEC
MT Crow Agency West Pryor -- 700 700 98 CN 8/2
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 1 15 7 0 78 55 156
Acres Burned 4,000 98 360 0 740 3,505 8,703
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 154 167 56 7 208
Non-federal 23 30 2 0 65
5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -
CY 1995 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires - U.S. 55,300 48,802
Acres Burned - U.S. 1,243,453 1,762,381
Number of Fires - Canada 6,350 -
Acres Burned - Canada 13,456,824 -
6) FIRE NARRATIVES -
* Covington Fire, Joshua Tree NP - The fire jumped containment lines yesterday
afternoon and grew by 500 acres. The fire burned out of the park onto state
lands yesterday afternoon and was put under unified command with California
Department of Forestry last night. Cooney's Type II overhead team is on site.
* Pony, Klamath NF - The fire is located next to last year's Dillon Complex.
Steep slopes and poor access are making suppression efforts difficult. A Type
II team has been ordered.
* Triangle, Moab District - Residents who were evacuated have been allowed to
return to their homes. Birch's Type I overhead team is managing the fire.
7) SITUATION - Fire activity remained constant in most areas of the west on
Tuesday. Thunderstorms were concentrated mainly in the Southwest, causing new
starts and intensifying existing fires. New large fires were reported in
California and the Southwest. Very high to extreme indices persist in the
Southwest, Rockies, Great Basin and California. Resources are being mobilized
through NICC at a moderate pace.
8) OUTLOOK - A fire weather watch has been posted in Wyoming for this afternoon
and early evening for high temperatures and lightning. Initial attack and
large fires will persist due to thunderstorms.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/2]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
MEETINGS/TRAINING CALENDAR
Calendar appears in the morning report every other Monday. If you know of a
conference, meeting or training session with Servicewide interest and
implications, please forward the listing to WASO Ranger Activities. Entries
are listed no earlier than FOUR months before the event, EXCEPT in instances in
which registration dates close much earlier. Asterisks indicate new entries;
brackets at end of entry indicate source of information:
8/6-10 -- 46th Annual American Institute of Biological Sciences Meeting of
Scientific Societies, Town and Country Hotel, San Diego, CA.
Contact: AIBS Meetings Office, 800-992-2427 (phone) or 202-628-1509
(fax). [Steve Cinnamon, MWRO]
8/8-10 -- "Repellents in Wildlife Management", symposium, Sheraton Hotel,
Denver Tech Center, Denver, CO. Early registration fee is $125;
$150 after June 30th. Contact: Office of Conference Services,
Colorado State University, 970-491-7501. [Steve Cinnamon, MWRO]
8/10-11 -- Global Positioning Systems and Data Recorders, Athens, GA.
Contact: Richard Field, 706-542-3063 (phone). [Steve Cinnamon,
MWRO]
8/14-16* -- African-American Heritage Tourism in the Delta Region, Baton Rouge,
LA. NPS-sponsored conference to identify African-American heritage
areas in the lower Mississippi delta and to focus on methods to
enhance heritage tourism and preservation. Contact: 504-589-3882
extension 110. [Kate Richardson, JELA]
8/28-9/1 -- Western International Forest Disease Work Conference, Whitefish,
MT. Contact: Jane Taylor, 406-329-3463 (phone). [Steve Cinnamon,
MWRO]
8/29-9/3 -- Meeting, Society of American Archivists, Washington, DC. Contact:
SAA, 312-922-0140 (phone). [Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
9/6-8* -- Upper Mississippi River Wildlife Diversity Symposium, East Dubuque,
IA. Registration before August 10th is $40; after August 10th it
is $50. Contact: Glen Kruse, Division of Natural Heritage, 524
South Second Street, Springfield, IL 62701-1787. [Steve Cinnamon,
MWRO]
9/12-14* -- Blasting and Explosives Seminar, Pittsburgh, PA. Course on
blasting and explosives safety, presented by Explosives Educational
Services, Inc. Contact: Carol Lippincott at 1-800-283-2331 or 817-
573-1630. [Jim Lee, RAD/WASO]
9/12-17 -- "Excellence in Wildlife Stewardship through Science and Education",
Second Annual Conference, Wildlife Society, Portland, OR. Nineteen
on-going symposia, 21 sessions featuring contributed papers and
posters, trade show. Child care available. Early registration fee
for members is $125, $170 for non-members; fees increased by $35
after August 14th. Contact: Wildlife Society, 5410 Grosvenor Lane,
Bethesda, MD 20814-2197; fax: 301-530-2471. [Steve Cinnamon, MWRO]
9/18-20 -- Seventh International Disaster Recovery Symposium and Exhibition,
Atlanta, GA. Contact: 314-894-0276. [Diane Vogt O'Connor,
CSD/WASO]
9/18-22 -- Teaching with Historic Places, Mather EDC, Harpers Ferry, WV.
Training course in which participants will use an established model
to develop lesson plans employing historic places in their parks.
Completed lesson plans can be used both on- and off-site. There is
no fee; travel and per diem are by benefitting account. The
application deadline is August 4th. Contact: Marilyn Harper,
National Register of Historic Places, WASO, 202-343-9546 or via
cc:Mail by name. [Marilyn Harper, IRD/WASO]
9/26-28* -- Blasting Application Seminar, Las Vegas, NV. Course on basic
surface blasting applications, presented by Explosives Educational
Services, Inc. Contact: Carol Lippincott at 1-800-283-2331 or 817-
573-1630. [Jim Lee, RAD/WASO]
9/27-30 -- Second Biennial Rocky Mountain Anthropological Conference,
Steamboat Springs, CO. Contact: Dr. Calvin Jennings, Department of
Anthropology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80512-
1787. [Ken Cannon, MWAC]
10/11-14 -- Workshop for Historians and Interpreters/Western History
Association Conference, Executive Tower Inn, Denver, CO. The
workshop on the first day will focus on interpretive and historical
concerns of NPS areas; the conference will address specific issues
that challenge a reorganized National Park Service in the immediate
and long-term future. $35 registration fee for conference.
Contact (no later than August 15th): Dr. Art Gomez, Santa Fe SSO,
via cc:Mail. [Laura Feller, WASO]
10/8-14 -- GIS and Remote Sensing, Front Royal, VA. Contact: Rose Meier,
Conservation and Research Center, Smithsonian Institution, Front
Royal, VA 22630; 703-635-6500 (phone); nzpcrc01@sivm.si.edu
(Internet). [Steve Cinnamon, MWRO]
10/12-13 -- First Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Review, Charlottesville, VA. Contact:
Scott Salom, 703-231-4029 (phone). [Steve Cinnamon, MWRO]
10/16-18* -- Seventh Annual Federal Preservation Forum Meeting, Denver, CO. The
forum promotes constructive dialogue among participants in federal
historic preservation programs. Members share information at the
annual meeting on ways to improve federal programs. Topics will
include the future of the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, the DOD legacy, Native American issues, resources
training for non-preservation managers, and case history problems
and successes. Contact: Rhoda Lewis, USFWS, 303-236-8145 (phone);
Rhoda_LewisAmail.fws.gove (Internet). [Anne Vawser, MWAC]
10/16-20 -- "Managing Parks Sustainably: Seminar on Environmental Issues",
Xerox Center, Leesburg, VA. Presented by WASO Environmental
Quality Division in conjunction with the Environmental Law
Institute. The seminar will address ways to incorporate
sustainability into aspects of park management ranging from visitor
impacts and facilities location and design to resource management
and ecosystem considerations, and will explore legal tools and
opportunities for moving toward sustainable decision-making for
park and adjacent resources. Limited to 40 people. Contact: Jacob
Hoogland, EQD/WASO, 202-208-5214. [Jake Hoogland, EQD/WASO]
10/18-22 -- 53rd Plains Anthropological Conference, Laramie, WY. Contact: Sue
Powell, PO Box 3972, University Station, Laramie, WY 82071-3972;
307-476-2124 (phone); PLNCONF@UWYO.EDU (Internet). [Ken Cannon,
MWAC]
10/19-22 -- "Reflections on Relationships on Oral History Research", Oral
History Association, Milwaukee, WI. Contact: Tim Erickson, 414-
229-6980 (phone), 414-229-6766 (fax). [Diane Vogt O'Connor,
CSD/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
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