- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, July 10, 1996
- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, July 10, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-330 - Denali (Alaska) - Follow-up on Search
A search was begun on June 27th for J.H., 28, of Madison, Wisconsin,
and C.D., 27, of Seattle, Washington, when the pair failed to return
from a climb of Mount Hunter, a 14,573-foot peak near Mount McKinley. On
July 1st, a body and pack were discovered melting out from under fresh snow
on the mountain. Although indications were that the remains were C.D.'s,
the victim's identity could not be confirmed due to the body's hazardous
location in a gully where snow and ice falls were continuing. Another pack
was also observed near the base of the couloir, but no sign of J.H. was
found. On July 7th, air observations indicated that the body believed to be
C.D.'s had melted out enough to fall on a debris cone below the gully. A
second body, believed to be J.H.'s, was seen melting out near the point where
the first body had been spotted. After a careful evaluation of hazards,
mountaineering ranger Daryl Miller was short-hauled to the site on July 8th
and recovered the body believed to be C.D.'s. Due to deteriorating weather,
the helicopter had to land at the Kahiltna base camp and spend the night.
Recovery of the second body is still not yet possible due to its location.
[Ken Kehrer, CR, DENA]
96-340 - Caribbean/Florida Parks - Follow-up on Hurricane Bertha
Preparations for Hurricane Bertha continue along the Eastern seaboard:
o Everglades - Although the hurricane is not expected to make landfall in
south Florida, the park is continuing to take precautionary measures.
Employees were directed to shut down operations yesterday, but will be
returning to work as normal today. No evacuations have been scheduled,
and all park facilities remain open.
o Biscayne - Most park preparations were completed by noon yesterday.
Employees were released to complete preparations at home, but were to
return to work this morning unless the storm turned to the west. A
meeting will be held this morning to determine whether the park will
remain closed or if preparations for reopening will begin.
o Dry Tortugas - Preliminary actions have been taken, including storage
of loose equipment and topping off of boat tanks. Those visitors who
remain in the park (most have departed) are being posted on
developments. Should the storm change course and threaten the area,
all employees will be brought to the fort.
o Canaveral - The park moved from Condition III to Condition II of its
hurricane plan yesterday. The park was accordingly closed, effective
this morning. Assessments of the projected hurricane route and
prevailing surf conditions along park beaches will be made early today;
a decision will then be made on whether or not to open the park and at
what time.
o Castillo de San Marcos/Fort Matanzas - The park's hurricane plan is
being implemented. Equipment is being packed and moved.
o Fort Fredericka - The park has a truck on standby to move files,
equipment, some artifacts and other items to the mainland, if
necessary. Park staff will begin boarding windows and closing up if
today's 10 a.m. advisory indicates an increased probability of landfall
along the Georgia coast.
o Fort Pulaski - The park's hurricane plan is being implemented. Kent
Cave is IC.
o Cape Hatteras/Wright Brothers/Fort Raleigh - Since Hurricane Bertha may
come close to these three parks in the Cape Hatteras Group,
preparations are underway for a probable arrival in the near future.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for Ocracoke Island, effective
at 8 a.m. this morning. The visitor center on the island will remain
open as a point of visitor contact until the island is secure.
Hatteras Island will begin mandatory evacuations at 10 a.m. The
Hatteras Island and Bodie Island visitor centers will close at that
time. Whalebone Junction at the north end of the park will remain open
as a point of visitor contact until the island is secure. Fort Raleigh
and Wright Brothers will remain open until the Dare County emergency
operations center issues a mandatory evacuation for the northern
beaches, which is expected to occur bentween 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. this
afternoon. Gale force winds are projected to begin around 2 p.m.
tomorrow, and hurricane force winds around 4 a.m. on Friday. Park
employees will not be evacuated until tomorrow.
[Chuck Dale, CASA/FOMA; Bill DeHart, CR/IC, CANA; Roberta D'Amico, PIO, EVER;
Gary Bremen, PIO, BISC; Wayne Landrum, Chief of Ops, DRTO; Mike Tennent,
Superintendent, FOFR; Kent Cave, CR/IC, FOPU; Bob Woody, CI/VS, CAHA; Steve
Smith, SEFDO]
96-348 - Olympic (Washington) - Illegal Commercial Harvesting
While on road patrol in the Staircase area of the park on the morning of July
2nd, ranger Ron Wattnem saw three men carrying bags of moss from Deer Island
to a nearby pickup truck. The men, all Mexican nationals, were found to have
29 bags of moss totalling 539 pounds in their possession. At current prices,
the moss would bring about $160 from a local wholesaler. It will take
between three and ten years for the moss to grow back. The truck was
impounded, and citations totalling $900 were issued to the three for illegal
commercial harvesting and possession of plant materials. [CRO, OLYM]
96-349 - Cowpens (South Carolina) - Car Clout Arrest
On July 8th, ranger Graham Wood's personal vehicle was broken into and two
duffle bags were taken from the front seat. Wood was able to identify and
locate the black Ford pickup used by the car clouter, subsequently identified
as S.S., and directed sheriff's deputies to the trailer where Seals
was staying. Deputies discovered that S.S., who was on probation from a
prior breaking and entering conviction, had broken into the vacant mobile
home and was in the process of preparing to remove it from the property. He
was arrested and charged with two counts of breaking and entering and one
count of attempted robbery; the duffle bags were recovered. [CR, COWP]
96-350 - Yosemite (California) - Falling Fatality
A.F., a Spanish national, fell to his death in Tenya Canyon on
July 5th. According to his brother, the two had been hiking from Tenya Lake
to Yosemite Valley when they became lost and ended up in the canyon.
A.F. was attempting to locate a route around a waterfall when he
apparently slipped on some wet, moss-covered granite, fell about 150 feet
into the creek gorge, and suffered massive head injuries. His body was
recovered on July 6th. [Jeff Sullivan, CI, YOSE]
96-351 - Little River Canyon (Alabama) - Rescue
On July 7th, rangers received a report that a man had fallen from Little
River Falls. Upon arrival, they found that B.B., 42, had slipped and
fallen about 20 feet, and had suffered a possible broken leg and arm. Rescue
workers employed a rope system to evacuate him to the top of the falls.
Alcohol is believed to have been a contributing factor. [Dwight Dixon, CR,
LIRI]
96-352 - Castillo de San Marcos (Florida) - Special Event
The Olympic torch passed through the park on its way to Atlanta on July 8th.
Ceremonies were held in the fort that evening. Over 4,000 visitors attended.
Park VIPs dressed in period costume representing soldiers from all periods in
the fort's history were part of the event. [C.L. Dale, CR, CASA]
96-353 - Fort Pulaski (Georgia) - Special Event
The Olympic torch arrived in Savannah by way of the fort on July 9th. The
torch was airlifted by Coast Guard helicopter from Jacksonville to Fort
Pulaski, then transferred to the schooner America for passage to Savannah.
Although the airlift leg was not publicized, it did attract some media
attention and about 200 people witnessed the landing. The park's staff
maintained safety around the landing area and provided a checkpoint for the
numerous local officials and Olympic dignitaries who embarked on the America.
[Kent Cave, CR, FOPU]
[Additional reports pending...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III
LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire IMT 7/8 7/10 Con Con
UT State Sorenson Cx T1 30,646 44,473 96 7/9
Salt Lake District * Davis Knoll Cx T1 - 36,000 60 NEC
Cedar City District * Rock Corral -- - 400 100 CND
Boise District * Deadman -- - 455 100 CND
* Sheep Creek -- - 150 100 CND
CA Toiyabe NF * Walker Cx T2 - 1,600 100 CND
NV Carson City District * Nixon -- - 3,000 75 7/10
State * Schoolhouse #2 -- - 347 40 7/10
Battle Mtn. District * McClusky -- - 350 100 CND
OR Deschutes NF * Jefferson T2 - 300 15 NEC
Burns District * Burnt Flat -- - 3,500 0 NEC
* Paul Creek -- - 200 85 7/9
Vale District * Gin Basin -- - 1,700 80 7/10
* Jackson Creek -- - 500 100 CND
CO Craig District Calamity -- 240 94 100 CND
TX State * Byrd Branch -- - 140 NR 7/10
AK Statewide 31 LSS fires -- 380,359 379,457 -- --
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; LPS = limited
protection status
FIRES AND ACRES BURNED
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 1 27 63 0 102 58 251
Acres Burned 330 203 48,476 2,192 1,126 458 52,785
COMMITTED RESOURCES
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 108 222 61 0 421
Non-federal 31 17 8 0 116
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. Additional heavy equipment arrived on site yesterday and began
working on three of the identified projects. One project was completed
yesterday. Efforts continue to finish the flood abatement projects, clear
and stabilize roads, and prepare for the breaching of a dam to mitigate an
immediate safety hazard.
CURRENT SITUATION
Initial attack continued in most areas of the West yesterday. Significant
progress was made on several large fires in the Great Basin. Resource
mobilization through NICC decreased; demobilization increased.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for dry lightning in Nevada and eastern
Montana.
Fire activity is expected to continue due to forecasted dry lightning and the
detection of holdover fires from the past few days.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/10; Greg Stiles, Chino Well
Flood Incident, 7/9]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No submissions.
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
Language Interpreters - Colonial is seeking a source of current information
about foreign language interpreters who would be available by phone -
particularly on nights and weekends - to handle emergencies involving people
who speak little or no English. If you can help, please contact Jim Burnett,
chief ranger, via cc:Mail (COLO Ranger Activities at NP-COLO).
OBSERVATIONS
Today's "Observation" was submitted by Dave Pugh at Whiskeytown:
"What a magnificent institution [the National Park Service] is, unequalled in
the world. I have talked to its young officers - those who meet visitors
seem always to be young college graduates - at dozens of places across the
United States, from the battleship graveyard at Pearl Harbor to restored Fort
Sumter, target of the first bombardment of the Civil War, in the harbour at
Charleston. I invariably experience the oddest sensation when I do: that
here are the representatives of an organization most akin to one of the
colonial services of the vanished British or French Empire. That has
something to do with their crisp khaki-drill uniforms, the faint snap of
military discipline about their manner and movements, but more with the sense
conveyed of their membership of a body with a continental mission, dedicated
to the conservation of a cultural empire's history, human and natural. They
might indeed be seen as the Federal government's district commissioners, for
they work often in the country's wildest places, and as ethnographers, forest
officers, archaeologists, geologists, cartographers, exactly as colonial
servants did in days of empire."
John Keegan, eminent English
military historian, "Fields of
Battle: The Wars for North
America," 1996
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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