- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, July 8, 1996
- Date: Mon, 8 Jul 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Monday, July 8, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-340 - Caribbean Parks - Hurricane Bertha
Preparations are underway in several NPS areas for the imminent arrival of
Hurricane Bertha:
o Virgin Islands - Park areas on all three islands have been closed since
noon yesterday, and staff have been very active in preparing facilities
for the hurricane.
o San Juan - The park's staff began implementing San Juan's hurricane
preparation plan yesterday. All actions were completed by the end of
the day, thereby permitting employees time to secure their homes. The
park will probably be closed today; employees have been asked to call
in at 7 a.m. for further instructions. Winds are expected to pick up
by mid-morning and hit with full force by noon. The storm surge is
predicted to be from nine to twelve feet above normal.
[Francis Peltier, VIIS; Mark Hardgrove, SAJU]
96-341 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Drowning; Life Saved
The park received a report of a possible drowning at the Coves at 6:08 p.m.
on July 4th. The parents of K.B., 10, of Crown Point, New
Mexico, found her shoes on the shore at a point where the slick rock slopes
steeply into the water. She had been left at the water's edge by her family,
but told not to enter the water. A land and water search was begun, and park
divers found her at 6:48 p.m. Because of her age, the temperature of the
water at which she was recovered, and her core temperature, aggressive
efforts were made to revive her at the scene, en route to the hospital, and
at the hospital. These proved to be of no avail, however, and she was
pronounced dead at 8:26 p.m. While K.B. was being removed from the water,
rangers received a report that a riderless jet ski had been seen circling in
Warm Creek. One of the patrol boats at the Coves was sent to investigate.
Ranger David VanInwagen found J.K., 27, in the lake without a life
jacket and in serious distress. He pulled J.K. from the lake just as he was
going under and brought him to shore. [Tomie Lee, CR, GLCA]
96-342 - Badlands (South Dakota) - Rescue
Two boys, ages 13 and 15, were scrambling on park buttes around 4 p.m. on
July 1st when they each reached points where they could neither advance nor
retreat. One was on a pinnacle about 600 feet above level ground; the other
was in a chute 150 feet below him. The park was notified at 7:30 p.m., and a
team of five rangers responded. They were unable to reach the boys from the
ground due to an extremely crumbly strata of sedimentary rock, so one ranger
stayed at the scene to keep the two in view while the remaining four hiked
about two miles to approach the butte from the opposite side. This tactic
put them above the youths, but not on the same pinnacle. Equalizing anchor
systems were set in place, and one ranger rappeled down and worked his way
across to the first boy. After securing him to the belay line and moving him
to a place of safety, the ranger rappeled down to the second boy and rescued
him from the chute. Due to darkness, the rangers decided to secure their
equipment and spend the night in a small drainage chute. Both boys were
suffering from dehydration, which necessitated the immediate lowering of
water and supplies to the ranger and his two charges. All three were tied
off to the rappel line for safety. Morning brought the light needed to
select a safe route for a 150-foot descent, and the boys were belayed down to
waiting rangers and parents. [Scott Lopez, BADL]
96-343 - Vicksburg (Mississippi) - Special Event
On June 29th, Tennessee became the 27th state to erect a monument at the
park. Rangers from Vicksburg, Natchez Trace and Natchez NHP provided traffic
and parking control for the approximately 300 people who attended the event.
The heat index was over 100 degrees. Plans to erect a statue to Tennesseeans
who helped defend Vicksburg have been in the works since 1903. The last
state to erect a monument at the park was the state of Georgia in 1962. No
incidents occurred during the ceremony. [Greg Zeman, Chief of Ops, VICK]
96-344 - Independence (Pennsylvania) - Special Events
On July 4th, the city of Philadelphia held its annual ceremony at
Independence Hall and presented the Liberty Medal and its $100,000 prize to
former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres. King Hussein of Jordan was the
co-recipient, but was unable to attend. About 5,000 people attended the
ceremony, which was televised live. The Sons of the Revolution conducted an
afternoon ceremony which included a 45-minute band concert, speeches and the
"ringing" of the Liberty Bell. Many permits were issued for First Amendment
activities, including two rallies, and another ten for the distribution of
printed materials. The unseasonably cool weather limited heat-related first
aid calls. There were no law enforcement problems. [Lee Dickinson, Special
Events Coordinator, INDE]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III
LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire IMT 7/3 7/8 Con Con
UT State * Sorenson Cx T1 - 30,646 10 7/13
Fishlake NF * Eight Mile T2 - 4,000 60 7/9
ID SoCent ID District * Richfields -- - 120,000 75 7/8
Salmon/Challis NF * Jack Creek -- - 200 100 CND
Salt Lake District * Pole Canyon -- - 300 100 CND
CA Toiyabe NF * Marine T2 - 1,000 0 7/9
Ventura County * Andolando -- - 400 100 CND
NV Ely District * Sunnyside -- - 1,050 100 CND
CO Craig District * Calamity -- - 240 25 7/9
* Fossil -- - 360 10 7/9
WY Wind River Agency * Canyon -- - 350 75 7/8
Worland District * Sand Draw -- - 910 100 CND
AZ AZ Strip District * Shoe Buckle -- - 1,000 100 CND
AK Statewide 33 limited
suppression fires -- 356,651 380,359 -- --
AZ Mescalero Agency * Chino Well Flood T1 - - - -
Heading Notes
Unit -- Agency = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA state resource
or ranger unit; RD = state ranger district; District = BLM
district; NWR = USFWS wildlife refuge
Fire -- * = newly reported fire (on this report); Cx = complex; LSS =
limited suppression strategy; CSS = containment suppression
strategy
IMT -- T1 = Type 1; T2 = Type II; ST = State Team
% Con -- Percent of fire contained
Est Con -- Estimated containment date; NEC = no estimated date of
containment; CND = fully contained; NR = no report
FIRES AND ACRES BURNED
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 2 54 15 1 64 121 257
Acres Burned 127 351 11,473 9 127 4,439 21,662
COMMITTED RESOURCES
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 105 179 53 14 299
Non-federal 18 25 4 0 62
INCIDENT HIGHLIGHTS
Mescalero Agency - The National Park Service's Type I incident management
team (Jim Northup, IC) has been assigned to Chino Well flood recovery
operations. The floods occurred on June 28th when heavy rains fell over two
recovering burned areas, totalling about 11,000 acres, and caused flash
floods which breached two dams, damaged roadways and homes, and led to the
evacuation of about 15 residences and the town of Mescalero. Efforts are
currently underway to complete abatement projects, conduct a comprehensive
damage assessment, and plan recovery efforts. As of yesterday, there were
141 people assigned to the incident - 107 from BIA, 19 from the NPS, the rest
from other agencies. The forecast yesterday called for an increased chance
of thunderstorms and additional flash flooding.
Utah State - The Sorenson Complex consists of five large fires burning on
state, Forest Service and BLM lands. Significant runs occurred yesterday due
to fuel types and extreme fire behavior. A Type I team (Monahan) has been
assigned.
CURRENT SITUATION
Initial attack and large fires continued in the Great Basin, Southwest and
Rockies yesterday. Initial attack was particularly heavy in the Southwest.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for dry lightning in south central Utah.
Fire activity may increase in several Western areas today due to warm
temperatures and dry lightning.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/8; Greg Stiles, NPS IMT, 7/7]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Submission pending.
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
No submissions.
TRAINING AND WORKSHOP CALENDAR
Two calendars alternate in the Morning Report on Mondays - this one, which
contains training courses and workshops, and a second, which contains
meetings, conferences and events. If you know of a conference, meeting,
workshop or training session with Servicewide interest and implications,
please send the information along. 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. Brevity is appreciated.
7/14-19 -- Advanced Wilderness Management Training for Line Officers and
Staff, Trappers Lake, White River NF, near Meeker, CO. REPLY DUE
BY MAY 31st. The workshop is designed to strengthen the
understanding of wilderness values and concepts, and will enhance
line and staff knowledge of current resources and management
issues affecting wilderness. Three days and two nights will be
spent in the Flat Tops wilderness. Contact: Tim Devine at 970-
586-1244, or Greg Kroll at 406-626-5208. [Wes Henry, RAD/WASO]
7/30-8/11 -- Ninth Annual Meeting of Western Archives Institute, Fuller
Seminary, Pasadena, CA. A "how-to" overview of archival
management. Contact: 916-773-3000 (phone) or 916-773-8249 (fax).
[Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
8/17* -- "Protecting the Pollinators: Techniques for Land Managers,"
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ. Pre-registration is
due by August 1st. Cost: $25. Contact: Arizona-Sonora Desert
Museum at 520-883-3007 (phone), 520-883-2500 (fax),
fpollen@azstarnet.com (Internet), or http://www.oldwestnet.
com/asdm/fp/. [Gerald McCrea, NP-SWRO]
8/19-21 -- Basic Environmental Crimes Investigations. Sponsored by the
Southern Environmental Enforcement Network. Tuition: $250.
Contact: Lana Burwell, 334-242-7369. [Einar Olsen, NCFDO]
8/19-22 -- Tenth International Stream Habitat Improvement Workshop, Oregon
State University, Corvallis, OR. Contact: OSU, 541-737-2329.
[Frank Panek, WRD/WASO]
9/11 -- "Environmental Monitoring Workshop," Conservation Center for Art
and Historic Artifacts, Richmond, VA. Fee: $50. Contact: CCAHA,
215-545-0613 (phone), 215-735-9313 (fax). [Diane Vogt O'Connor,
CSD/WASO]
9/11-13 -- "School for Scanning: Working in the Digital World," North East
Document Conservation Center, Andover, MA. NPS workshop on
digital jargon, production processes, preservation and equipment,
and other issues. A limited number of free seats are reserved
for NPS staff on a first-come, first-served basis. Otherwise,
the fee is $150. Contact: Gail Pfeifle, NEDCC, 508-470-1010
(phone), 508-475-6021 (fax), nedcc@world.std.com (e-mail).
[Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
9/15-20* -- Managerial Grid: Phase I and Instructor Preparation Seminars,
Cape Cod, MA. Phase I is a prerequisite for attending the IP
seminar. Sponsored by ANPR. Cost: $500 for members, $550 for
non-members. Deadline for applications is August 16th; they
should be sent to ANPR, PO Box 307, Gansevoort, NY 12831.
Contact: Ann Baugh, 520-638-2691, or Bill Wade, 540-999-3400.
[Bill Wade, SHEN]
10/--* -- The Northeast Document Conservation Center is offering five
coordinated workshops to provide systematic training in
preservation management for small to mid-sized museums, archives
and libraries between October, 1996, and March, 1997. Cost: $450
for all five workshops. Applications must be submitted by
September 4th. Contact: NEDCC, 100 Brickstone Square, Andover,
MA 01810; 508-470-1010 (phone); 508-475-6021 (fax);
nedcc@world.std.com (Internet). [Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
office and/or field area cc:Mail hub coordinators. Please address requests
for the Morning Report to your servicing hub coordinator.
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
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