- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, July 29, 1997
- Date: Tues, 29 Jul 1997
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, July 29, 1997
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
*** NOTICE ***
Flags lowered to half staff in honor of former Supreme Court justice William
Brennan should be returned to full staff tomorrow morning (Wednesday, July
30th).
INCIDENTS
97-405 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Search for Concession Employee
A search was begun on the afternoon of July 23rd for concession employee
M.L., 19, who was overdue from a July 22nd day hike to the
Specimen Ridge area. Approximately 50 park staff, two helicopters and three
dog teams were deployed in the search, which encompassed an area of almost
100,000 acres. M.L. was spotted from a helicopter near the confluence of
Calfee Creek and the Lamar River shortly before 7 p.m. on the 24th and
airlifted out of the backcountry. He was tired, hungry and sunburned, but
otherwise in good condition. [Mike Murray, ACR, YELL, 7/25]
97-406 - Lake Meredith NRA (TX) - Homicide
The body of an apparent homicide victim was found near the marina by three
visitors just before dark on July 24th. The victim, a man in his early 30s,
was unclothed and had been there for about three weeks under some brush.
County officers, FBI agents and crime unit investigators from Amarillo are
investigating along with rangers. Indications are that the killing was drug
related. [John Benjamin, Superintendent, LAMR, 7/25]
97-407 - Denali NP (AK) - Drowning
Russian mountaineers F.L. and D.O. were returning from a
climb on the morning of July 23rd when they attempted to cross the McKinley
River. While crossing the third braid of the river, the two men, both
carrying heavy packs, were swept down the river and separated. D.O. was
able to swim to the next gravel bar, but F.L. was swept downstream.
D.O. dropped his pack, ran downstream for a couple of minutes, found
F.L., and dragged him onto a gravel bar. After 30 minutes of unsuccessful
CPR, D.O. covered his partner, crossed the remaining braids in the river,
then ran and walked three miles to a trailhead, where he reported the
incident to a shuttle bus driver. Wonder Lake rangers Brian Johnson and Greg
Russell overheard the radio traffic, commandeered a nearby resource
management helicopter, and flew to the scene. They performed CPR for almost
an hour, employing employed a heart monitor, but were unable to revive him.
The McKinley River, notoriously dangerous to cross even in good weather, was
swollen at the time by recent heavy rains. [Ken Kehrer, CR, DENA, 7/24]
97-408 - Denali NP (AK) - Aircraft Accident
On the afternoon of July 23rd, the park was notified of a downed aircraft at
the 9,100-foot level of the Kahiltna Glacier. The Hudson Air Cessna 185,
piloted by Eric Dinkelwater, had just lifted off when it was forced to the
ground by a downdraft. The aircraft was a total loss, but all four occupants
walked away uninjured. The air taxi had specifically asked to land at this
location due to conditions at the 7,200-foot base camp strip. [Ken Kehrer,
CR, DENA, 7/24]
97-409 - Canyonlands NP (UT) - Attempted Suicide
On July 24th, a female passenger on a commercial river trip attempted to
commit suicide by slashing her wrists between Big Drop 2 and Big Drop 3 on
the Colorado River in Cataract Canyon. Rangers on a routine whitewater
patrol encountered the rafters as darkness was approaching. They provided
medical aid and transported the woman by boat 30 miles to a waiting
ambulance. She was then driven to the nearest medical facility, and
eventually flown to a hospital in Salt Lake City. Ranger Dave Walton was
incident commander. [Steve Swanke, CANY, 7/25]
[Additional reports pending...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Sun Mon % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 7/27 7/28 Con Con
AK Southwest Area Inowak T2 480,000 480,000 0 NEC
Chiniklik Mt. T2 3,340 3,340 20 8/3
Galena District Paimiut T2 1,200 1,200 25 8/3
Simels -- 317,350 342,000 0 NEC
CA San Bernadino NF * Bautista -- - 140 100 CND
WA Wallowa-Whitman NF Bull -- 100 400 100 CND
Yakima Agency Logy Cow Camp -- 100 200 100 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
Thursday, 7/24 0 6 11 5 41 32 95
Friday, 7/25 0 4 14 0 39 33 90
Saturday, 7/26 0 2 14 1 26 29 72
Sunday, 7/27 0 4 25 1 44 74 148
Monday, 7/28 1 3 37 0 86 105 232
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Thursday, 7/24 47 62 21 10 161
Friday, 7/25 43 46 27 7 174
Saturday, 7/26 47 95 26 8 144
Sunday, 7/27 69 130 27 13 183
Monday, 7/28 89 114 42 6 184
COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT
1997: YTD Ten Year Average: YTD
Number of fires 39,980 49,901
Acres burned 1,961,230 1,691,764
CURRENT SITUATION
Firefighters continued to make substantial progress on large fires in Alaska
yesterday. Initial attack increased substantially in northern California and
the Northwest. Southern California reported one new large fire. Containment
objectives were met on large fires in the Northwest. Numerous western areas
continue to report high to extreme fire danger.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/29]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Reports pending.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Ranger Activities Council Meeting - The executive summary of the first
meeting of the Servicewide Ranger Activities Council (RAC), which met in
Boston over three days from June 17th to the 19th, is now available for
dissemination. To obtain a copy of the summary, address a cc:Mail message to
Dennis Burnett at NP-WASO-POPS and enter the phrase RACEXSUM on the subject
line. No message needs to be included. The computer will automatically
retrieve the document and send it to you. [Tony Bonanno, SWSO]
GPRA Information - Questions and answers about GPRA are being posted on the
WASO Strategic Planning bulletin board. It's evident that key pieces of
information on GPRA have not yet reached many areas. Parks and offices can
keep current ont he GPRA process by checking this bulletin board. [Heather
Huyck, WASO]
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
pertaining to receipt of 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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