- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, July 30, 1996
- Date: Tues, 30 Jul 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, July 30, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
94-171 - Padre Island (Texas) - Follow-up on Drug Seizure
On July 24th, T.Z. and R.V., who had earlier been
convicted of possession of and trafficking in over 500 pounds of marijuana in
the park in April, 1994, were sentenced in U.S. district court. T.Z. was
sentenced to 67 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $1,680;
R.V. was sentenced to 68 months and a $5,680 fine. [Mark Foust, CI,
PAIS]
96-418 - Sequoia-Kings Canyon (California) - Follow-up on Search for Ranger
A full-scale search is underway for seasonal backcountry ranger Randy
Morgenson, 54, who has not been seen or heard from since Sunday, July 21st.
About 65 people, a few search dog teams, a mountain rescue team, and four
helicopters were deployed yesterday. Morgenson was last seen by two
backpackers while on his way back to his patrol cabin at Bench Lake on the
21st. The backpackers said that there was nothing unusual about their
contact with him. Morgenson slept at the Bench Lake patrol cabin that night,
then headed out the next day on an extended patrol. The latter was
determined from a note he left on the door of the ranger station that
morning. During the "morning roundup" at 11 a.m., when every backcountry
ranger is supposed to radio in, the dispatcher heard static when Morgenson's
radio was on, indicating the possibility that he was trying to contact
dispatch but was in a bad location for transmitting. There was no voice
contact. Morgenson is a highly experienced backcountry ranger with 27 years
in the park and is very familiar with his patrol area and its difficult
terrain. Altitudes in the area range from 11,000 to 14,000 feet, and much of
the terrain is only accessible to persons with mountaineering experience.
The search effort is being led by backcountry district ranger and incident
commander Randy Coffman. Because of the altitude and rugged terrain, it's
difficult to bring in additional search personnel, particularly those from
sea level, as it would take days to acclimate them to the altitude. [Paul
Ducasse, SA, PGSO; Debbie Bird, CR, SEKI]
96-420 - Glen Canyon (Utah/Arizona) - Arrest of Concession Employee
M.L., an employee at the gas station at Bullfrog, reported a theft
of $3,700 on Saturday, July 20th. Further investigation by park rangers and
the park's criminal investigator indicated that it was M.L. who had stolen
the money, then attempted to make the theft look like a burglary. The stolen
money was found inside a tire at the gas station. M.L. confessed to the
crime and was taken into custody for booking at the Kane County jail. [CRO,
GLCA]
96-421- Shenandoah (Virginia) - Rescue
J.L., 26, of Bethesda, Maryland, was hiking with a companion on
Saturday, July 27th, when she lost her footing at the top of a cliff at Rose
River Falls, fell 65 feet, and landed on a rock ledge just above a deep
stream pool. J.L. sustained injuries to her head and to an arm and a leg.
The park's technical rescue team was dispatched to the scene and conducted a
vertical extrication. She was then carried out a distance of just over a
mile, transported by ambulance to a helicopter landing zone, and flow to the
University of Virginia hospital by helicopter. She is expected to survive
the mishap. [Clayton Jordan, SPR, SHEN]
96-422 - Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico) - Rescue
On the evening of July 27th, F.H., 38, of Andrews, Texas, was working
with a group in Lechugilla Cave when he was overcome by heat exhaustion and
dehydration and could not make the final 40-foot vertical ascent required to
exit the cave. The park's SAR team was called and employed a z-rig hauling
system to help him make the climb. F.H. was then able to hike out to the
parking area with some assistance. [Mark Maciha, SPR, CACA]
96-423 - Coulee Dam (Washington) - Marijuana Eradication
A team of rangers and county deputies pursuing an anonymous tip recently
discovered 40 marijuana plants being cultivated near the park's boundary.
The plants were eradicated because the sophisticated drip irrigation system
implied that it would require an extended surveillance operation to catch the
growers. The county's narcotics officer has appraised the market value of
the high quality plants at $40,000. [Gil Goodrich, CR, CODA]
96-424 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Drowning
J.H., 16, of Page, Arizona, was cliff jumping into the lake with four
other boys in an area between Glen Canyon Dam and Anchovy Point on July 28th.
One of the boys jumped off the cliff from a height of 50 to 60 feet and
landed on top of J.H., who was swimming below the cliff. J.H. went
under and did not resurface. Divers from the park and the Coconino County
rescue team made numerous dives, but were unable to locate him. The
underwater topography in that area is very steep, with slopes leading to a
drop-off into an inner gorge that descends to a point over 500 feet below the
surface. The park's remote operated vessel (ROV) is not operational at
present, but will be used as soon as it can be repaired. [Tomie Patrick Lee,
CR, GLCA]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 7/29 7/30 Con Con
OR Wallowa-Whitman NF Elkhorn T2 370 370 100 CND
Deschutes NF Jefferson T1 3,648 3,648 90 7/30
Ochoco NF * Little Cabin -- - 1,500 0 7/30
UT Moab District East Carbon T2 1,334 1,334 100 CND
Salt Lake District Onaqui Cx T2 3,165 3,165 100 CND
Fishlake NF Hens Peak -- 170 190 50 7/31
Boise NF * Snowbank T2 - 100 10 7/31
CA Seq.-Kings Canyon NP Castle Cx -- 1,000 1,175 0 NEC
Inyo NF * Buttermilk -- - 150 0 NEC
MT Bitterroot NF * Swet Creek -- - 1,100 0 NEC
AK Statewide 30 fires -- 472,348 472,348 -- 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 - Yesterday's actions at the three
parks included the following:
o Rangers are providing increased security throughout Martin Luther King,
including periodic bag checks at the park visitor center. Security was
increased last night because of Yolanda King's scheduled performance at
the King Center. Ebenezer Baptist church was also scheduled to hold a
concert last night. Rangers resolved a conflict between the church
congregation and an unscheduled concert group, both of whom wanted to
use the park amphitheater at the same time. They also provided
security for a candle light vigil for peace held outside the park on
Jackson Street and attended by 200 to 300 people.
o Visitation increased at Chattahoochee River over the weekend, despite
cool, rainy weather. Olympic runners continue to use park trails for
training.
o Kennesaw Mountain has increased security by spot-checking bus tours up
the mountain and inspecting the auditorium before and after each
showing of the park film. Rangers assisted with a surprise landing by
a hot air balloon, which occurred because of inclement weather.
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (THREE DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Thursday, 7/25 8 17 46 2 59 78 210
Sunday, 7/28 4 5 17 0 48 53 127
Monday, 7/29 6 8 19 0 129 49 211
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (THREE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Thursday, 7/25 114 213 48 17 426
Sunday, 7/28 205 253 66 2 738
Monday, 7/29 182 197 64 5 955
CURRENT SITUATION
Widespread precipitation throughout the West helped slow the spread of large
fires, but initial attack forces continued to fight lightning-sparked fires.
Resource mobilization was moderate.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for dry lightning in northwest Montana.
Fires may increase in Montana because of the forecast dry lightning, but will
be moderate elsewhere.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/30; Cheri Anderson, IO,
Olympics 96 Incident, 7/29]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Fire Weather/Fire Status Information - Effective July 30th, fire weather and
fire status information will be available through a satellite downlink on a
twice weekly basis. The briefings will be from 10 to 12 minutes long. Any
office or facility with the requisite equipment can tune in. The broadcasts
will occur between 11 and 11:15 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays on Galaxy VI (C-
band), transponder 11 (channel 11) - with two exceptions: On August 27th and
30th, they will be carried on transponder 4 (channel 4). [Doug Erskine, NPS
F&AM, NIFC]
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
No submissions.
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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