- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, July 29, 1996
- Date: Mon, 29 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 29, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-370 - Glacier Bay (Alaska) - Follow-up on Assault
Rangers and a special emergency reaction team of four Alaska state troopers
arrested P.G.D., 34, in Dundas Bay without incident around 5
p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday, July 27th. P.G.D. is suspected of being
the gunman who threatened a charter boat operator on the shore of the bay
near the mouth of the Dundas River on Monday, July 15th. P.G.D. was
transported by helicopter and plane to Juneau, where he is being held on a
felony warrant for assault in the third degree. The closures of marine
waters and air space have been lifted, but the Seclusion River and shoreline
closures will remain in effect until further notice. Rangers have secured
the site of the arrest and investigators from the NPS, FBI and state will
thoroughly search the area for evidence and make sure that it's safe before
lifting the remaining closures. Approximately 30 to 35 people were involved
in the investigation, planning and preparation stages of the incident, which
was managed by the field area's all risk incident management team. [Kris
Fister, IMT, GLBA]
96-418 - Sequoia-Kings Canyon (California) - Search for Seasonal Ranger
On Friday, July 26th, the park began a search operation in an attempt to
locate seasonal backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson, who was last heard from
on July 21st. Morgenson has been a seasonal backcountry ranger at the park
for more than 20 years, and is considered skilled and competent. The last
radio contact with him was on July 20th. Rangers found a note at his
backcountry cabin in which he indicated that he was going on a three to four
trail patrol. [Mike O'Neal, LES, PGSO]
96-419 - Walnut Canyon (Arizona) - Explosives
Park personnel discovered a partial stick of dynamite behind the exterior
siding and within the framing of the park's visitor center on the afternoon
of July 23rd. The workers were renovating a portion of the building, which
was constructed in the 60s. The explosives were secured by park staff and
Coconino County deputies and later detonated by the Flagstaff police
department's bomb squad. It's believed that the dynamite was left from the
construction work conducted in the 60s, as it entailed blasting and leveling
of the bedrock before pouring the foundation. Members of the bomb squad said
that it had posed no danger to either the public or employees. The park
employed a bomb detection dog from the Maricopa County sheriff's office to
check the building walls yesterday. It reacted slightly to one area of the
visitor center. An explosives expert will supervise the remaining work on
the building. [Kim Watson, CR, FLAG]
[Additional reports pending...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III
The preparedness level has gone up one step. Preparedness Level III goes
into effect when the following conditions are met: Two or more geographic
areas experiencing incidents requiring a major commitment of national
resources. High number of fires becoming Class D and larger. Additional
resources are being ordered and mobilized through NICC. Type 1 teams are
committed in two or more areas, or 300 crews are committed nationally.
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 7/26 7/29 Con Con
OR Wallowa-Whitman NF * Elkhorn T2 - 370 0 NEC
Deschutes NF * Jefferson T1 - 3,648 60 7/31
Lakeview District * Squirrel -- - 180 100 CND
Rogue River NF * Heppsie -- - 42 100 CND
UT Moab District East Carbon T2 800 1,334 90 7/29
Salt Lake District * Onaqui Cx T2 - 3,165 98 7/29
Fishlake NF * Hens Peak -- - 170 30 7/31
ID S. Central ID District Davis Mountain -- 2,200 23,000 100 CND
CA Seq.-Kings Canyon NP * Castle -- - 1,000 0 NEC
Plumas NF Madalanna T2 3,000 5,000 100 CND
Bakersfield District * Marine -- - 610 100 CND
MT Helena NF Lower Coxcy T2 150 452 100 CND
Rocky Boy Agency * Lower Road -- - 160 100 CND
AZ AZ Strip District Magotsu T2 NR 8,616 100 CND
AK Statewide 30 fires -- 435,555 472,348 -- NSS
GA NPS - Atlanta Area Olympics 96 T2 - - - -
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
FIRE/INCIDENT NARRATIVES
Olympics 96 Incident, Atlanta Area Parks - The bomb explosion on Saturday
morning and subsequent bomb threats have prompted the IMT and park personnel
at the three park units and SEFA to step-up security measures at these sites.
Employees were also asked to remain vigilant. A suspicious package was
reported at Ebenezer Baptist Church (part of Martin Luther King) on the
afternoon of July 27th; rangers evacuated and secured the building and a
technical response team was ordered. They determined that the package did
not contain a bomb. Surveillance was subsequently increased throughout the
park. Other activities:
o Law enforcement rangers provided traffic and crowd control during the
women's marathon on Sunday, which passed through Martin Luther King.
They also moved a male bystander off the road who attempted to run with
the participants, bumping into several of them while doing so.
o The prime minister of Finland visited Martin Luther King on Friday; the
prime minister of Namibia and the king, queen and princess of Sweden
all visited on Sunday. Rangers provided security for all visits.
o Visitation continues to grow at Kennesaw Mountain, but remains below
expectations at Chattahoochee River. Visitation to the visitor center
at Kennesaw Mountain topped 3,000 over the weekend. Over 700 took the
bus shuttle up the mountain. Interpretation was enhanced by an
encampment and living history demonstration by the 10th Texas
Confederate Infantry.
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (THREE DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Wednesday, 7/24 3 16 45 0 110 50 224
Thursday, 7/25 8 17 46 2 59 78 210
Sunday, 7/28 4 5 17 0 48 53 127
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (THREE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Wednesday, 7/24 108 212 43 9 288
Thursday, 7/25 114 213 48 17 426
Sunday, 7/28 205 253 66 2 738
CURRENT SITUATION
Initial attack continued in most areas yesterday. Substantial progress was
made on many large fires; containment objectives were met on several of them.
Resource mobilization through NICC decreased.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for dry lightning in northeast
Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana. Fires are anticipated in
those areas.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/26; Nancy Gray and Cheri
Anderson, IOs, Olympics 96 Incident, 7/26-28]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No submissions.
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
Software - Boston is in the planning stages of computerizing its dispatch
center and is seeking programs that will run on windows and allow them to
enter radio and other communications information directly into an operations
log which can be printed out at the end of the day. If you can help, please
contact Tim Donovan at NP-BOST-CNY.
MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS CALENDAR
Two calendars alternate in the Morning Report on Mondays - this one, which
contains meetings, conferences and events, and a second, which contains
workshops and training courses. 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.
8/4-7 -- 28th Annual Meeting, Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation,
Sioux City, IA. Contact: Robert Gatten, 910-334-5391, or Joy
Vogt, 605-945-3452. [Sheila Lee, T&GD/WASO]
8/13-16 -- "The Delta: Connecting Points of View for Sustainable Natural
Resources," Cook Convention Center, Memphis, TN. Contact:
National Association of Conservation Districts, 202-547-NACD.
[Frank Panek, WRD/WASO]
8/13 -- "Wildlife Management in the U.S. National Park System: The Self-
Regulation Theory Revisited," discussion session to be held at
the annual meeting, Ecological Society of America, Rhode Island
Convention Center, Providence, RI. Contact: Mary K. Foley, 617-
223-5024; Ronald Hiebert, 402-221-4856; or Dan Huff, 303-969-2651
(all are on cc:Mail by name).
8/14-18 -- Oregon-California Trails Association Annual Convention, Elko, NV.
Contact: Helen Sundall, 402-397-9794. [Sheila Lee, T&GD/WASO]
8/24-26 -- Meeting, African American Museum Association, Tampa, FL.
Contact: 513-376-4611 (phone), 513-376-2007 (fax). [Diane Vogt
O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
8/25-29 -- Annual Meeting, American Fisheries Society, Dearborn, MI.
Contact: Frank Panek, 703-358-1856. [Sheila Lee, T&GD/WASO]
8/27-9/1 -- Annual Meeting, Society of American Archivists, San Diego, CA.
Contact: SAA at 312-922-0140 (phone), 312-347-1452 (fax),
info@saa.mhs.compuserve.com (Internet), or http://volvo/gslis
/utexas/edu/~us-saa/. [Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
9/8-12 -- Pacific Marketing and Revenue Sources Management School, San
Diego, CA. Cost: $435. Contact: Joan Chaplick, PGBSSO, at 415-
744-3972 or the National Recreation and Park Association at 800-
796-6772. [Joan Chaplick, PGBSSO]
9/11-14 -- Annual Meeting, American Association for State and Local History,
Nashville, TN. Contact: 615-255-2971 (phone) or 615-255-2979
(fax). [Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
9/18-21 -- "Strategies for Battlefield Preservation and Partnerships," Third
National Battlefield Preservation Conference, Chattanooga, TN.
Co-sponsored by the American Battlefield Protection Program and
Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP. Contact: Hampton Tucker via
cc:Mail or at 202-343-3580. [Tanya Gossett, ABPP/WASO]
9/22-26 -- "GIS and Water Resources," 32nd Annual Conference and Symposium,
American Water Resources Association, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Contact: Cheryl Hallam, USGS, 703-648-5755. [Sheila Lee,
T&GD/WASO]
10/1 -- CALL FOR PAPERS: "Making Protection Work: Parks and Reserves in a
Crowded, Changing World," Ninth Conference on Research and
Resource Management in Parks and on Public Lands, Albuquerque,
NM. Conference to be held, March 17-21, 1997; abstracts due by
October 1st. Abstracts are welcome on any topic related to
research, resource management, interpretation and public
education in parks and protected areas, from any field in
cultural and natural resources. Contact: George Wright Society,
PO Box 65, Hancock, MI 49930-0065, or at
http://www.portup.com/~gws/gws97.html, or via Internet at
gws@mail.portup.com. [David Harmon, GWS]
10/2-6* -- 1996 Annual Convention, The Association for the Study of Afro-
American Life and History, Charleston, SC. Co-hosted by Avery
Research Center. Contact: Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney or Ms. Cherisse
Jones, 803-727-2009 (phone), 803-727-2017 (fax). [Mike Allen,
CHPI}
10/16-20 -- National Preservation Conference, Chicago, IL. Contact: Michelle
Becker-Jones, 202-673-4039. [Sheila Lee, T&GD/WASO]
10/19-21 -- Annual Meeting, American Society of Landscape Architects, Los
Angeles, CA. Contact: ASLA, 202-686-2752. [Sheila Lee,
T&GD/WASO]
11/9* -- "Mamie D. Eisenhower: Her Impact and Influence on Her Time,"
Dwight D. Eisenhower Seminar, Gettysburg, PA. Sponsored by
Eisenhower NHS and Gettysburg College. Contact: John Joyce,
EISE, 717-338-9114 (phone) or 717-338-0821 (fax). [John Joyce,
EISE]
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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