- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, June 3, 1997
- Date: Tues, 3 Jun 1997
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, June 3, 1997
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
*** NOTICE ***
Reports from the field indicate that editions of the Morning Report
disseminated since last week have not always arrived at their destinations.
Some parks, particularly in the Southwest, have not received reports since
last Tuesday; other parks did not receive yesterday's report. We are
attempting to identify the problems. Hub and LAN operators should advise if
they have not received the Morning Report on any or all of these dates.
INCIDENTS
97-237 - San Juan NHS (PR) - Homicide
On the morning of Monday, June 2nd, R. "E.I." R., 39, was gunned
down below the north wall in the La Perla section of the park, which is well
known for drug trafficking. R.R. was seen running out of an alley from La
Perla toward the park. As he reached the north wall near Santo Thomas
bastion, he was shot 34 times with an AK-47 by an unknown assailant and
collapsed at the wall's base. The shooting was witnessed by two of the 13
maintenance division staff who were working on a stucco project there. The
crews have been relocated until the NPS can assure that the area is safe to
work in. This killing may have been in retaliation for a murder which
occurred off park property early on Sunday morning. The FBI, NPS and
commonwealth are investigating. [Mark Hardgrove, Deputy Superintendent,
SAJU, 6/3]
97-238 - Whiskeytown NRA (CA) - Boating Accident with Fatality
Rangers received a report of a serious boating accident near the Whiskey
Creek bridge early on the afternoon of June 1st. Rangers found R.U.,
40, conscious and in the water; he was complaining of difficulty in
breathing, but exhibited no external signs of injury. R.U. was prepared for
evacuation, with necessary precautions taken for a possible C-spine injury.
He was then transported by boat to a landing zone, where he was picked up and
flown to Mercy Medical Center. R.U. died there that evening while
undergoing surgery. According to witnesses, R.U. and his friend, R.Y.,
were traveling side by side about 20 feet apart and at a high rate
of speed on their personal watercraft when R.U. suddenly veered into
R.Y.'s path. R.Y. had no time to avoid a collision and ran over R.U.
with his PWC. Alcohol was not a factor. The case is being investigated by
the park's criminal investigator. [CRO, WHIS, 6/2]
97-239 - Biscayne NP (FL) - Poaching Arrests
On May 27th, ranger David Pharo contacted five men on a 27-foot commercial
sponge-fishing vessel transiting through the Convoy Point channel to check on
compliance with federal, state and local regulations. A check of the cooler
on board the vessel revealed three illegal and wrung lobster tails. While
escorting the vessel back to the park headquarter's dock for further
investigation, one of the men dumped 47 lobster tail parts into Biscayne Bay.
Resource management ranger Karen Battle recovered them after a quick search
with snorkel gear. An extensive search of the vessel was conducted at the
park dock, and a compartment was discovered in the bow underneath mattresses
and bedding. Inside the compartment was a burlap bag containing 60 fresh,
complete, illegally harvested lobsters; 57 of them were under the legal size
limit. There is currently a closed season on lobster harvesting in the state
of Florida. The men - M.C., 51, J.G., 44, J.M., 43,
A.M., 36, and E.V., 55, all of Miami - were charged with
violations of the Lacey Act and six other petty offenses. They were released
on individual $10,000 bonds and were ordered to stay out of Biscayne NP and
Everglades NP. On May 29th, two of the five men violated that order. [Wayne
Elliott, CR, BISC, 6/2]
97-240 - Saugus Iron Works NHS (MA) - Illegal Taking of Eels
On April 24th, the park advised U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents and
state environmental police of the possible illegal taking of "elvers" -
undersized American eels - from the Saugus River within park boundaries.
Rangers Timothy Donovan and Dave Ballum from Boston NHP, special agent Chris
Dowd from FWS, and an environmental police officer began surveillance of the
area the next evening. Just after midnight, they saw two men - W.O.,
35, and D.D., 46 - enter the park with dip nets and buckets.
The men began dip-netting and entering the contents into the buckets. They
were stopped as the attempted to leave the area at 3:45 a.m. Two buckets
full of elvers were found next to W.O.'s pickup truck, and three large
aerated tanks containing elvers were found in the truck's bed. The two men
were arrested and charged with taking and possessing undersized American
eels, taking without a permit, and trespassing. Both W.O. and D.D. are
from Maine and have long criminal histories. W.O.'s truck was seized.
The two men had about five pounds of baby eels with a black market value of
$2,000 in their possession. [Frank Studinski, CR, SAIR, 5/27]
97-241 - Mojave NP (CA) - Assist; MVA with Three Fatalities
On May 26th, the Hole in the Wall interagency fire center in the park
received a mutual aid request from San Bernadino County to respond to a
multi-casualty accident on I-40 at Essex Road. Park and BLM firefighters
from the center responded and found a passenger van which had rolled several
times, ejecting all nine occupants - five adults and four children. None had
been wearing seatbelts. Two children, aged four and seven, and a 25-year-old
male died from their injuries; the remaining six passengers sustained
injuries ranging from minor to severe. The apparent cause of the accident
was a tire blowout at high speed, which caused the driver to lose control and
the vehicle to roll over inside the center median. State officers are
investigating. [Marcia Schramm, LAME, 5/27]
97-242 - Tallgrass Prairie NP (KS) - Special Event
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, located near Strong City, Kansas, was
dedicated on May 31st. The day's events included a special lunch for 92
dignitaries, a bus tour, formal dedication ceremonies, and a community
barbecue. VIPs included present and past U.S. senators and representatives
and Kansas state governors. The Type II Midwest-Intermountain all-risk
management team (Bill Holda, IC) coordinated the event, which attracted over
800 visitors. There were no major incidents. Media interest was high.
[Rose Hoots, JEFF, 6/2]
97-243 - Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP (VA) - Special Event
On May 24th, over 15,000 luminaria were placed in the national cemetery at
Fredericksburg in honor of the more than 15,000 Union soldiers buried there.
The event was part of the park's Memorial Day observance and was coordinated
through local Boy Scout and Girl Scout councils. It's estimated that about
1,500 people visited the cemetery between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. [Mike Johnson,
CR, FRSP, 5/26]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Sun Mon % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 6/1 6/2 Con Con
CA Inyo NF Tower II - 529 NR NR NR
AZ State Kuykendall - 250 410 100 6/1
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
Thursday, 5/29 0 2 2 0 35 12 51
Friday, 5/30 0 1 6 0 43 7 57
Saturday, 5/31 0 1 1 0 33 11 46
Sunday, 6/1 0 12 1 0 41 13 67
Monday, 6/2 0 14 0 0 71 15 100
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Thursday, 5/29 9 20 9 1 0
Friday, 5/30 6 24 9 1 9
Saturday, 5/31 5 18 6 1 2
Sunday, 6/1 3 7 4 0 2
Monday, 6/2 4 3 3 0 2
CURRENT SITUATION
There was no significant fire activity anywhere yesterday. Fire indices are
rising and initial attack activity is increasing in the East.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/3]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Immunizations - WASO Public Health has prepared the following in response to
numerous questions received from the field on immunizations for park
employees:
o As a standard operating procedure, inquiries regarding vaccinations for
tetanus and hepatitis A and B and for tuberculosis testing are normally
handled on a case-by-case basis through regional Public Health Service
(PHS) consultants. The PHS consultant can properly assess the
employee's individual risk of contracting a particular disease and make
appropriate recommendations.
o Maintenance employees should have a current tetanus booster. A tetanus
booster is effective for ten years. The cost of this shot should be
the responsibility of the park.
o Chapter 36 of NPS-50 (DO-50) adequately outlines the risk assessment
for hepatitis B and describes the employee exposure determination, PPE,
biohazard waste management, and all other related issues. This
document is acceptable for management guidance on these matters.
o A list of employees other than EMS personnel who should have hepatitis
B vaccinations appears in tables A and B in chapter 36 of NPS-50.
Listed are job classifications in which all or some employees have
occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious
materials which may result in exposure to bloodborne pathogens.
There's also a listing (page 8) of employees not covered in table A and
coverage of seasonal or emergency hire employees.
o Hepatitis A vaccine is not recommended for EMS personnel, sewage plant
workers, or personnel in other occupations where the risk of infection
is low. The vaccine is recommended only for persons who travel to
geographic areas where hepatitis A is common, for people working with
hepatitis A infected animals, or for those otherwise at high risk of
exposure to hepatitis A.
o Tuberculosis tests should not be performed as part of baseline medical
evaluations. They should be conducted on a case-by-case basis.
Further questions should be directed to John Hanley at NP-WASO-ITC-MIB or
Dick Powell at NP-DENVER.
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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