- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, October 2, 1995
- Date: Mon, 2 Oct 1995
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Monday, October 2, 1995
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
95-620 - Virgin Islands - Follow-up on Hurricane Marilyn
Telephone service has been reestablished at Virgin Island park headquarters at
Red Hook on St. Thomas. Over the weekend, five tons of supplies - including
five generators, medical supplies and repair parts - were shipped to St. John
on six flights. A major cargo flight with drinking water and other supplies is
scheduled for St. Croix for today. NPS assistance centers remain open on St.
Thomas and St. John. Crews are working on roofs, and more carpenters and
laborers are arriving daily from San Juan. The visitor center at Cruz Bay on
St. John has reopened, as has the underwater trail at Buck Island Reef. Other
visitor use facilities on St. Croix remain closed, including Buck Island
itself, the beaches, the pier, and the fort at Christiansted. Members of the
Southeast Field Area assessment team are scheduled to arrive today to look at
structural damage. [Kent Cave, IO, IMT]
95-653 - Jean Lafitte (Louisiana) - Tropical Storm Opal
Tropical storm Opal is currently off the east coast of Mexico, but expected to
turn to the northwest today. Maximum sustained winds are at 65 mph, but some
strengthening is expected over the next couple of days. Tropical storm force
winds extend out 205 miles from the center. Landfall is not expected for at
least 72 hours, but voluntary evacuations have begun along the Louisiana coast.
Facilities and equipment at Jean Lafitte were secured over the weekend, and the
park was to be completely closed yesterday. All non-essential personnel have
been placed on administrative leave to provide ample time to prepare their
personal property and evacuate the area if necessary. The park will reopen
once the storm passes or no longer poses a threat to the park. All
communications should be directed to the park. If no response is obtained,
they should then be directed to the park through Natchez Trace at 1-800-300-
7275. [Steve Hickman, IC, IMT, JELA; FEMA Advisory]
95-654 - San Juan (Puerto Rico) - Death of Employee
Jesus Almodovar, a masonry worker who'd been employed by the park since 1985,
died at his home on September 27th. He was in the process of applying for a
disability retirement, and had not worked in the park for some time. No
further details are available. [Mark Hardgrove, Acting Superintendent, SAJU]
95-655 - Arches/Canyonlands (Utah) - Assist; Rescue
On September 29th, rangers from the two parks assisted the Grand County
sheriff's office with the rescue of M.M., 32, a rock climber who had
been struck by lightning on Castleton Tower. They quickly reached her,
provided advanced life support, and evacuated her from the area. M.M.
suffered burns on 20% of her body. [Steve Swanke, CANY]
95-656 - Big South Fork (Tennessee/Kentucky) - Assist; Marijuana Eradication
Since late April, rangers have been participating in three multi-agency
marijuana eradication programs - Operations Early Harvest, No Grow and
Cumberland Gap. The three operations led to the eradication of approximately
18,000 marijuana plants from 200 plots. Eight people were arrested, and
additional indictments are expected. [Tim Grooms, LES, BISO]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
2) SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT/FIRE SUMMARY
Fri Mon % Est
State Area Fire/Incident IMT 9/29 10/2 Con Con
TX McFaddin NWR MCR North -- 3,000 3,000 100 CND
VI St. Thomas/St. John " " IMT NPS team - repair, support
AK Anchorage River flooding T1 Damage assessment, relief
Soldotna " " T2 Damage assessment, relief
Seward " " T2 Damage assessment, relief
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 0 1 0 38 7 46
Acres Burned 0 0 0 0 37 3 40
4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 3 4 2 0 254
Non-federal 0 0 0 0 211
5) SITUATION - Moderate fire activity was reported in California; minor
activity was reported elsewhere.
6) OUTLOOK - Fire weather watches and red flag warnings have been posted for
gusty winds and low relative humidities for parks of California and Arizona.
Increased activity is possible in both states.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 10/2]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
OBSERVATIONS
The following was sent along by Tom Danton, chief of interpretation at Saguaro:
"In Nature's ennobling and boundless scenes, the hateful boundary lines and the
forts and flags and prejudices of nations are forgotten. Nature is universal.
The supreme triumph of parks is humanity....Sometime it may be that an immortal
pine will be the flag of a united and peaceful world."
Enos Mills, "Your National
Parks", 1916
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.