NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, August 14, 1998

INCIDENTS

98-497 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Employee Arrested

An off-duty park employee was arrested by local police at his home in Fresno,
California, on Friday, July 31st.  Park paralegal specialist S.C.
was charged with kidnapping and several counts of child molestation by Fresno
police.  S.C. remains in custody and has been suspended from duty
indefinitely.  [Robert Andrew, CR, YOSE, 8/13]

98-498 - Rocky Mountain NP (CO) - Multiple Rescues

Park staff responded to a series of significant rescues during the five-day
period from Thursday, August 6th, to Monday, August 10th:

o     F.V., 19, became separated from his party near the summit of
      12,800-foot Mount Ida on Thursday.  F.V. had no food or warm clothing
      and only a little water with him.  A helicopter, ground teams and
      county SAR dogs attempted to find him that day, but without success. 
      Although disoriented and unfamiliar with the park, F.V. managed to
      stumble out to a park road and was picked up by a visitor late that
      evening.  Bob Love was IC.
o     Visitors reported a semi-conscious man lying on the Flattop Mountain
      trail about two miles above Bear Lake at 7 p.m. on Saturday.  Rangers
      and Estes Park Medical Center paramedics responded and found R.B.,
      48, in a semi-comatose state due to ingestion of excessive
      amounts of alcohol and prescription drugs in what was determined to
      have been a suicide attempt.  He was stabilized, carried out, and
      committed to a hospital for observation.  Patty McGlynn-Shafer was IC.
o     R.S., 27, fell 60 feet while climbing the Checkerboard
      formation on Lumpy Ridge on Sunday afternoon and sustained rib and leg
      injuries.  Rangers lowered him to a scree slope, then littered him to
      an ambulance.  A medical exam confirmed that he had a broken fibula and
      tibia and bruised ribs.  Patty McGlynn-Shafer was again IC.
o     While the above evacuation was underway, six visitors were struck
      indirectly by lightning at the Gore Range overlook at 11,300 feet on
      Trail Ridge Road during a violent thunderstorm.  The lightning struck
      nearby and radiated through the ground, knocking several people over
      and leaving one 54-year-old woman unconscious.  She was resuscitated by
      other visitors, stabilized by ranger staff, and evacuated by helicopter
      to a hospital in Denver.  Two other visitors were taken by ambulance to
      the Estes Park Medical Center and released that evening.  The remaining
      three visitors declined treatment.  Kurt Oliver was IC.
o     On Monday, the park was notified that 45-year-old A.T. was
      overdue from a day hike from the Bear Lake area to an unknown
      destination.  Investigation narrowed the initial search area to the
      Spearhead formation above Black Lake.  On August 11th, a cell phone
      call was received from another visitor, seeking assistance for A.T.,
      who was, indeed, above Black Lake, and had sustained a fractured ankle. 
      He was evacuated by the helicopter employed in the Killip search
      (below).  Doug Ridley was IC.
o     A second search was begun on Monday when K.K., 48, was reported m
      missing by his hiking partners, who had last seen him two days
      previously while hiking in a rugged area without trails below Mount Ida
      Ridge.  Violent afternoon thunderstorms with lightning hampered search
      efforts, which involved up to 50 people.  K.K., an experienced
      outdoorsman, was found on Wednesday.  He had hiked above the tree line
      and laid out numerous items of clothing to attract the attention of
      helicopter observers.  Rick Guerreri was IC.

[Joe Evans, CR, ROMO, 8/13]

98-499 - Whiskeytown NRA (CA) - BUI/DUI; Boat and Vehicle Pursuit

H.L. of Redding, California, was seen operating a boat in excess of
the speed limit in a no wake area near Oak Bottom marina on August 8th. 
H.L. refused to comply with signals and verbal directives to stop.  A high-
speed pursuit ensued which covered a large portion of the lake.  H.L. then
returned to Oak Bottom, abandoned his boat, ran from a ranger who was on
shore, jumped into a pickup issued to him by his employer, and drove away at
high speed with an empty boat trailer in tow.  The second ranger pursued
H.L. and was joined by her supervisor and the park investigator.  H.L.
continued into Redding, where a sheriff's deputy employed a tack strip to
flatten the pickup's two front tires.  H.L. continued for another 300 yards
before stopping, then was taken into custody.  Investigation revealed a high
blood alcohol level and possible drug influence.  H.L. refused to answer
questions about why he ran from rangers.  He remains in jail, with bail set
at $25,000.  [Alan Foster, WHIS, 8/10]

98-500 - Mojave NP (CA) - Assist; MVA with Fire and Injuries

The park received a mutual aid request from the county fire department for an
accident involving two semi's on I-40 near the park's Kelbaker Road at 4 a.m.
on August 9th.  A truck hauling lumber rolled over and collided with a second
semi; both were then engulfed in flames.  Rangers and park firefighters were
first on scene.  They provided immediate medical care to one person with
major injuries and three others with minor injuries and began suppressing the
fire.  A county air ambulance, emergency crews and state police arrived
shortly thereafter.  Fire suppression continued until noon.  I-40 remained
closed until 7 p.m., causing a major traffic backup and detours on roads
within the park.  Rangers assisted California Highway Patrol officers with
traffic control until the interstate could be cleared of debris and reopened. 
[Sean McGuinness, CR, MOJA, 8/11]

98-501 - Great Sand Dunes NM (CO) - Assist; Falling Fatality

On the afternoon of July 31st, rangers received a request from state police
to respond to the nearby Zapata housing subdivision, where an elderly man had
fallen from a ladder.  Rangers Kevin Moses and Ray Miller, administrative
assistant Rodney Larsen, and maintenance mechanic Paul Gonzales helped the
patient's daughter and others perform CPR on the 80-year-old victim. 
Paramedics arrived and transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced
dead due to massive head trauma.  [CRO, GRSA, 8/2]

98-502 - Cape Hatteras NS (NC) - Drowning

Rangers were notified of a drowning in progress about 30 yards south of Avon
Pier on the ocean side of Hatteras Island just before 5 p.m. on August 10th. 
Rangers John Nichols, Michelle Uhr and Steve Ryan and park lifeguard Sean
Regan responded.  S.B., 32, a resident of Avon, had disappeared
beneath the water's surface about 30 feet from shore.  S.B., a weak
swimmer, had been wading in the surf when either a wave knocked him off his
feet or he stepped over a drop-off.  Nichols was IC for the search, which
employed the park aircraft, a USCG helicopter, and a Zodiac and jet ski from
Hatteras Island Rescue; Regan joined them in the water search and county
deputies searched along the shore and pier.  Visitors on the pier spotted
S.B.'s body in the water beneath it and two of his friends retrieved him
from the water.  Uhr transported the body to Hatteras Medical Center. 
[CRO,CAHA, 8/11]

98-503 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (NJ/PA) - Larceny

Ranger Wayne Valentine stopped to check a van parked along a rural dirt
access road to a popular day use area on August 3rd.  He found M.P.,
50, of Union City, New Jersey, with a partially devoured ear of fresh corn on
his lap - and an open container of liquor nearby.  The appearance and size of
the corn was consistent with the feed corn growing in the adjacent fields,
which are under agricultural permits.  Further investigation revealed that
M.P. and his four compatriots had stolen an additional 477 ears of corn,
which were found in the vehicle.  M.P. and the others with him were cited
on multiple charges for misappropriation of property, weapons and open
container violations.  On August 8th, Valentine again contacted M.P., who
had another three bags of stolen corn and another open container of alcohol
in his possession.  This time, M.P. received a mandatory appearance
citation.  The street value of the feed corn has not yet been determined. 
[CRO, DEWA, 8/14]

                       [Additional reports pending...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Wed      Thu    %  Est
State      Unit             Fire/Incident     IMT    8/12     8/13  Con Con

WA   Wenatchee NF           North 25          T2    6,700    6,700   80 NEC

OR   Umpqua NF              Clayton Cx        T2      241      242   65 NEC

CA   Mendocino NF         * Soda              T2        -       75  UNK NEC

MT   State                * Yellowstone Cty.  --        -      380   90 8/13

ID   Salmon-Challis NF      Main Salmon Cx    --    1,506    3,575    0 10/15
                            Jackass           --      450      600    0 10/15
     Sawtooth NF            Goose Creek       --      250      275   40 8/15

NV   Elko District          Damper            --      700    1,380  100 CND 
                          * Hot Flash         --        -      875   75 8/14

UT   State                  Garn              --    1,500    1,750   60 8/14
                    
                                  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, 8/10         2     27        16       0      163     63       271
Tuesday, 8/11        0     10        15       0       71     46       142
Wednesday, 8/12      6     24        21       0       86     89       226
Thursday, 8/13       6     12        26       4       80     65       193

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Monday, 8/10       168        370         104            24           891
Tuesday, 8/11       95        332          82            17           698
Wednesday, 8/12     85        297          74            13           434
Thursday, 8/13     126        388          80             6           598

CURRENT SITUATION

Moderate initial attack was again reported in most areas yesterday.

Very high and extreme fire indices were reported yesterday in Texas,
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Michigan, South Dakota, New Mexico, Nevada,
Utah, Idaho, Oregon, California, and Washington.

NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH today for dry thunderstorms with gusty
winds in southeast Idaho, eastern Oregon, and the Cascade and Olympic
Mountains in Washington.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/14]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

No entries.

PARK DISPATCHES


OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

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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