NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, July 17, 1998

INCIDENTS

98-401 - Glacier NP (MT) - Follow-up on Falling Fatality

The victim of the falling accident near Red Gap Pass on Wednesday has been
identified as 27-year-old B.D.-N. of Seattle, Washington. 
According to reports from his companions, the group had hiked across a bridge
on the trail when B.D.-N. stopped, took off his pack, and walked below the
bridge to get some water.  He slipped on wet rocks and fell about 150 feet. 
When the rest of the party reached him, he was unconscious but appeared to be
breathing.  They later performed CPR on him, but were not successful.  The
park has put out a reminder to visitors to be particularly careful around
streams and waterfalls.  Since the park's establishment in 1910, Glacier has
tallied 24 fatalities from people falling, but only ten deaths from
encounters with grizzly bears.  [Amy Vanderbilt, PIO, GLAC, 7/16]

98-403 - Capitol Reef NP (UT) - Flash Flood

An intense thunderstorm on July 11th again caused road closures and flash
flooding in the park - just a day after serious floods struck Grand Wash,
Capitol Gorge, and other canyons along the park's Scenic Drive.  This time
Sulphur Creek, which normally has only a trickle of water at this time of
year, flowed to a depth of about eight feet, while water in Grand Wash ran
only a foot deep.  Four visitors hiking the popular route along Sulphur Creek
ran out of the canyon as they saw the storm approaching; no other visitors
were in the canyon when the flood reached it.  About 20 visitors swimming
near a waterfall on the Fremont River initially disregarded rangers' warnings
that the headwall of a flash flood was racing towards them, as it was sunny
and 90 degrees at the time.  They were eventually persuaded to move, though,
so no injuries occurred at that location.  Goosenecks Road was closed for
four hours because of intense lightning; Scenic Drive, which was still closed
and drying from the previous day's flood, sustained some additional damage. 
Rangers monitored the level of the Fremont River in the event that an
evacuation of Fruita campground would be required.  Problems with the park
radio system again plagued rescue efforts, as clear communication with
dispatch proved impossible from locations as close as only a few miles away. 
Ranger Jimmy Barna was IC.  [Tom Cox, CR, CARE, 7/16]

98-404 - Grand Canyon (AZ) - Multiple Rescues

On July 10th, park SAR personnel had to respond to and manage several life-
threatening incidents throughout the park:

o     A 51-year-old man with an altered level of consciousness was reported
      below Indian Garden on the Bright Angel trail.  Two park medics were
      flown there by the park's helicopter to check on the possibility of
      heat stroke.  A litter team was inserted and the patient was flown to
      the park clinic for treatment.
o     Just as the above mission was being completed, the park received a
      report of a 25-year-old woman who had fallen 30 feet from the North
      Kaibab trail at a location known as "The Box" while stepping back to
      take a photo.  Phantom Ranch rangers ran four miles to the scene with
      EMS equipment and were joined by other personnel who were flown to the
      site.  A portable radio repeater was inserted by helicopter.  Monsoonal
      rains complicated the response.  The woman was stabilized, transported
      by wheeled litter to the helispot, then flown to the South Rim.  Her
      injuries included a fractured wrist, tibia and lumbar vertebrae.
o     During the North Kaibab incident, a ground-air radio transmission came
      in from the Colorado River near Quartermaster Canyon reporting severe
      anaphylaxis in a 46-year-old woman.  Due to the distance, response
      time, and other on-going incidents, the park asked the Arizona
      Department of Public Safety's air rescue unit to respond.  A helicopter
      was dispatched from Kingman.  The woman, who was in severe distress,
      was evacuated to a hospital in Kingman.
o     While these incidents were underway, a report was received of a 20-
      year-old male with severe heat exhaustion at Bright Angel campground at
      Phantom Ranch.  He was treated by park medics and flown by helicopter
      to the park clinic.
o     Park dispatch received a satellite telephone call from Hatch River
      Expeditions on the Colorado River at 9 p.m. reporting that a 25-year-
      old woman was bleeding heavily, was suffering from an altered level of
      consciousness, and had a systolic blood pressure of 50.  An NPS
      paramedic interviewed the river guide to obtain detailed information. 
      The ability to communicate via satellite telephone was critical in a
      decision to initiate a night, inner canyon rescue operation.  Due to
      monsoonal activity, the park sought assistance from the 66th Air Rescue
      Squadron at Nellis AFB, but they were unable to respond due to lack of
      personnel.  The state DPS air rescue unit again responded, this time
      from Flagstaff.  The crew employed night vision goggles during the
      operation.  The woman was treated and taken to the Flagstaff Medical
      Center, where she underwent surgery for a fibroid tumor.

The park's SAR coordinator attributes the successful completion of these
complex and urgent incidents to the preparedness and efficient response of
NPS and volunteer rescue personnel.  [Ken Phillips, GRCA, 7/13]

98-405 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison NM (CO) - Rescue

On July 11th, eleven-year-old R.F. of Davie, Florida, was struck by
a football-size rock dislodged by her father while they were hiking the
Gunnison route into the Black Canyon.  The impact hurled her about a dozen
feet into a tree.  The accident occurred about three-quarters of the way down
the route and 1,500 vertical feet from the rim.  Initial assessment at the
scene by a visiting doctor and park EMS personnel indicated the strong
possibility of a broken pelvis, other fractures, and potential internal
injuries.  An evacuation involving 24 park employees from all divisions was
made which required three pitches up extremely steep talus and rock ravines. 
The entire evacuation took eight and a half hours.  R.F. was treated and
released from the Montrose hospital; as it turned out, she had suffered only
superficial wounds and bruising.  [Linda Alick, CR, CURE, 7/16]

98-406 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison NM (CO) - Search; Probable Drowning

Campground hosts spotted a boat belonging to W.K., 49, of Denver, who
was camping in the area, adrift and unoccupied in the Soap Creek arm of Blue
Mesa reservoir.  W.K.'s dog was found swimming in a circular pattern in the
same area and was near exhaustion.  Hasty searches were conducted by foot and
aircraft, but no sign of W.K. was found.  Investigators have determined that
W.K. probably dove into the lake to retrieve a snagged fishing lure and
probably drowned.  Efforts to find his body included use of a scent dog,
shoreline patrols, and five dives over a two-day period.  All were
unsuccessful.  This is the third drowning over a four-month period at
Curecanti; none of the bodies has yet been recovered.  [Linda Alick, CR,
CURE, 7/16]

                       [Additional reports pending...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Wed      Thu    %   Est
State      Unit             Fire/Incident     IMT    7/15     7/16  Con  Con

FL   State                  Suwanee Cx        T1   36,508   36,508   95  NEC 
                            Jacksonville 2    T1   16,163   16,163   90  NEC

GA   Okefenokee NWR         Honey Scrub Cx    T1    7,094    7,094    0  NEC

TX   State                  Salt Fork         --      125      160  100  CND

MT   N. Cheyenne Agency   * Garfield Peak     --        -    1,850   70  7/18

AZ   State                * Kirkland          --        -      200   NR  NR
      
                                  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
IMT         T1 = Type I; T2 = Type II; ST = State Team
% Con       Percent of fire contained; UNK = unknown
Est Con     Estimated containment date; NEC = no estimated date of
            containment; CND = fully contained; NR = no report

NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                    NPS    BIA      BLM     FWS    States   USFS     Total

Monday, 7/13         1      2        26       2      286     34       351
Tuesday, 7/14        6     11        18       0      138     25       198
Wednesday, 7/15      2      8        10       0      152     28       200
Thursday, 7/16

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Monday, 7/13        93        562         106            21         1,611 @
Tuesday, 7/14      199        357          84            12         1,488 @
Wednesday, 7/15     74        398         102            13         1,270
Thursday, 7/16

@ Resource reports were not received from many fires in the South.

CURRENT SITUATION

Firefighters continue to make significant progress on Florida fires.  New,
large fires were reported in the northern Rockies and Southwest.
Demobilization from fires in Florida is continuing.  There was little
resource mobilization through NICC yesterday.  

Very high and extreme fire indices were reported in Florida, Georgia, Texas,
New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, and Washington.

NICC has posted two FIRE WEATHER WATCHES - the first for isolated dry
lightning late today in the Hells Canyon and Salmon River breaks area of
Idaho, the second for very hot and dry conditions in portions of central and
eastern Wyoming.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/17]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

EXCHANGE

No entries.

                                *  *  *  *  *

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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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