NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Tuesday, May 13, 1997

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

97-189 - Zion NP (Utah) - Falling Fatality

P.B., 36, of Medford, New Jersey, was hiking with her husband
on the approach trail to Observation Point at the upper end of Zion Canyon on
the afternoon of May 9th when she fell 500 feet to her death.  Her husband
was apparently hiking ahead of her and did not see her fall; there were no
other witnesses.  The accident is being jointly investigated by rangers and
county deputies.  The body was recovered by Zion's technical rescue team,
which is comprised of employees and a cadre of four volunteers.  This is the
third accidental falling fatality in the park this year.  None were reported
in 1996.  [Denny Davies, PIO, ZION, 5/9]

97-190 - Petrified Forest NP (Arizona) - Assault on Ranger

On the afternoon of May 11th, ranger Debbie Kruger stopped a maroon sedan in
the Blue Mesa area of the park.  Kruger had earlier seen the vehicle's four
occupants - three adults and a juvenile - collecting pieces of petrified wood
in an area which was posted as closed, but for safety reasons had waited for
the foursome to return to their vehicle before contacting them.  During the
contact and search for the stolen petrified wood, Kruger found a film
container containing marijuana in the right front pocket of a 24-year-old
male.  The man, who had already been found with petrified wood in his
possession, pushed her against the car and attempted to wrestle the canister
away from her.  Kruger regained control of the man, placed him in a cuffing
position on the ground, then cuffed and arrested him for assaulting a federal
officer.  He was also cited for possession of a controlled substance,
removing and possessing protected resources, and interfering with agency
functions.  The suspect's mother and his roommate at Northern Arizona
University were also cited for illegal possession of petrified wood.  [Pat
Quinn, CR, PEFO, 5/12]

97-191 - Mount Rainier NP (Washington) - Body Found

Park volunteers setting up a compass course for seasonal ranger training on
May 10th discovered what are believed to be the remains of S.K., a
concession employee who disappeared from her quarters at Longmire last
October.  An extensive search last fall failed to reveal any clues of her
whereabouts, and the subsequent investigation was equally fruitless.  The
park has received excellent support from an FBI evidence recovery team and
from a local search dog team that was also in the area at the time,
conducting follow-up searches as a training exercise.  Positive
identification from dental records is pending.  The cause of death has not
been determined and all possibilities remain open.  Evidence collected will
be analyzed by the FBI laboratory.  [Randy Brooks, DR, Mather District, MORA,
5/12]

97-192 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (Pennsylvania/New Jersey) - Suicide

Ranger Troy Mueller came upon a pickup truck during a final sweep of the
Milford Beach area of the park at 11:30 p.m on Sunday, May 12th.  A check of
the vehicle led to the discovery of the body of T.S. of Matamoras,
Pennsylvania, who had apparently died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to
his head.  A shotgun and semi-automatic handgun were found next to his body,
along with a brief note.  T.S., who was in his late 30s, was an employee of
Pike county and is survived by his wife and three daughters.  A joint
investigation is being conducted by park staff and Pennsylvania state
troopers.  [Barry Sullivan, Acting CR, DEWA, 5/12]

97-193 - Padre Island NS (Texas) - Drug Seizure

While investigating the taking of an endangered sea turtle 40 miles south of
the park visitor center on May 7th, the park's environmental protection
specialist and an agent from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were
contacted by a visitor who said he had something that they would want, then
gave them about 63 pounds of packaged marijuana (street value about $63,000). 
The visitor told them that he'd found the single bale of marijuana in the
surf.  The bale was covered with barnacles and contained 14 separately
wrapped packages, each weighing about four and a half pounds.  The incident
is under investigation.  The sea turtle incident was determined to be
unfounded.  [Mark Foust, ACR, PAIS, 5/12]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level I

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                    Sun      Mon    %   Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident   IMT    5/11     5/12  Con  Con

SD   Wind Cave NP            Lookout Point     -   1,300    1,350  100  CND 

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

NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FIVE DAY TREND) 

                    NPS    BIA      BLM     FWS    States   USFS     Total

Wednesday, 5/7       2      2         2       1       21      7        34
Thursday, 5/8        1      2         2       3       50     16        74
Friday, 5/9          1      2         2       3       50     16        74
Saturday, 5/10       2      1         1       0        0     17        21
Sunday, 5/11         1      2         0       0       32     29        64
Monday, 5/12         0      9        11       1      179     37       237

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Wednesday, 5/7       4         12           2             1             0
Thursday, 5/8        2         10           2             0             0
Friday, 5/9          3         25           4             1             0
Saturday, 5/10      26          7           4             0             0
Sunday, 5/11        17         27           5             1            53
Monday, 5/12        15         43           8             1            14

CURRENT SITUATION

Initial attack activity increased throughout the west yesterday.  NICC
processed orders for airtankers, helicopter and crews in support of
firefighting efforts.  Several units in southern California continue to
report high to very high fire indices.

NATIONAL OUTLOOK

No fire weather warnings or watches posted.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Reports, 5/12-13]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No submissions.

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

No submissions.

                                *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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