NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT
     
To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices
     
From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
     
Day/Date:   Thursday, May 20, 1999
     
INCIDENTS
     
99-106 - Santa Monica Mountains NRA (CA) - Follow-up: Employee Death
     
Deputy superintendent Scott Erickson passed away peacefully in his sleep 
early yesterday morning at the UCLA Medical Center. He died of complications 
stemming from a lung infection while undergoing treatment for a brain tumor 
that was diagnosed on March 22nd.  Over the span of his career, Scott served 
at Sequoia-Kings Canyon, North Cascades, the Fire Center in Boise, 
Everglades, and Yosemite, before coming to Santa Monica Mountains in 1994 as 
deputy superintendent.  He is survived by his son, Bryce; his brothers, Randy 
and Ross; and his mother and father, Doris and Lloyd.  Superintendent Art Eck 
has sent along the following note: "Scott Erickson will be long remembered 
here at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area for his brilliance, 
energy and ability to effect positive change.  But I know as well he is to be 
remembered by many others throughout the National Park Service.  Few 
individuals have so singly influenced our agency to its benefit.  FirePro, 
RMAP and VRAP were among the analytic tools that he conceived or shaped in an 
effort to help the Service make its case in the defense of our resources... 
We, the men and women of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, 
wish to express our thanks for the support shown by the National Park Service 
family through the hundreds of cards, letters and calls that came to Scott 
over the past eight weeks.  His commitment to the Service was not only 
warranted by its mission, but its people.  Thank you."  [Art Eck, 
Superintendent, SAMO, 5/19]
     
99-187 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Follow-up: Search in Progress
     
Three days of searching have produced no clues as to the location of J.R., 
51, who has been missing since Sunday. A window of good weather which 
lasted for much of Wednesday enabled searchers to conduct flights, bring in 
search dogs, and comb the primary search area thoroughly.  Forty-four 
searchers and two dog teams were on the ground yesterday; two helicopters 
flew overhead. Rangers, volunteers, Seattle and Tacoma Mountain Rescue 
Association teams, and climbing guides from Rainier Mountaineering were 
joined by dozens of J.R.'s friends who came to the park to aid in the 
effort. The primary search area was combed as thoroughly as the terrain 
allowed by both teams and dogs. One helicopter flew repeatedly over the 
primary search area while the other concentrated on scouring the river 
drainages and valleys and any other possible routes J.R. could have taken. 
Teams in secondary search areas again checked the Nisqually Glacier moraine 
and the Paradise Valley Road. A scaled-down search will continue today, as 
bad weather is predicted for both today and tomorrow.  Helicopters and ground 
teams may continue operations during the weekend, when the weather is 
expected to improve again. [Maria Gillett, Incident PIO, MORA, 5/19]
     
99-192 - Death Valley NP (CA) - Runaway Trailer; Hazmat Spill
     
A tractor-trailer rig traveling east bound on State Route 190 lost its brakes 
coming down a steep grade into the park at noon on May 18th.  One of the two 
trailers being towed, which contained hazardous waste, disconnected from the 
rig and continued down the hill at a high rate of speed.  Two German bicycle 
tourists were taking a break at the Emigrant rest station when they looked up 
and saw the trailer heading directly toward them.  The trailer storage 
container separated from the chassis; the chassis raced by them to their left 
and the storage bin came to rest on their right.  The wreckage narrowly 
missed the historic rock restroom facility.  Meanwhile, the driver was able 
to coast into Stovepipe Wells, where he reported the accident.  The 
California Highway Patrol, CalTrans and the NPS worked together to secure the 
scene, decontaminate people exposed to the waste, and oversee the cleanup 
operation.  Nobody was injured in the accident.  [John Anderson, PR, DEVA, 
5/18]
     
99-193 - Lake Mead NRA (AZ/NV) - Fire-Bombing Arrests
     
Ranger Randy Neal came upon two vehicles parked on East Lake Mead Boulevard 
near the Northshore Road intersection at 11:10 p.m. on May 16th.  Neither had 
their lights on, nor appeared to be disabled.  Neal stopped and watched from 
a distance.  One of the vehicles pulled forward and stopped; a streak of 
flame, later determined to be a Molotov cocktail, issued from it and struck 
the parked car, a 1998 Mustang.  Neal advised dispatch of a vehicle fire and 
pursued, cut off and stopped the other car.  The two occupants - J.V., 
36, and J.G., 36, both of Las Vegas - were held at gun 
point until backup arrived.  Both men had materials with them, including 
matches, that were confiscated as evidence.  J.G. also smelled of 
gasoline, and J.V. had a Ford vehicle key in his possession.  They were 
booked into the Clark County Detention Center on felony arson charges.  The 
Mustang was destroyed.  [Paul Crawford, SPR, Boulder Basin District, LAME, 
5/18]
     
FIRE ACTIVITY
     
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
     
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 
     
                                                      Mon     Tue    %   Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident   IMT      5/17    5/18  Con  Con
     
                    *** No significant fires reported ***
     
                                  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
     
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND)
     
                    NPS    BIA      BLM     FWS    States   USFS     Total
     
Saturday, 5/15       0      1         1       0       30      8        40 
Sunday, 5/16         0      5         0       0       28     10        43 
Monday, 5/17         0      1         1       0       97     10       109 
Tuesday, 5/18        1      4         1       0       76     11        93 
     
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 
     
                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead
     
Saturday, 5/15      20         40           5             3            90 
Sunday, 5/16        31         49           9             3           187 
Monday, 5/17        30         35           8             4           198 
Tuesday, 5/18       27         45           5             4           178
     
CURRENT SITUATION
     
Moderate initial attack activity was reported in the South, Alaska and 
southern California on Tuesday.
     
Very high and extreme fire indices were reported in Maine, Michigan, New 
Hampshire, Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Quebec and New Brunswick. 
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 5/19]
     
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION
     
Gettysburg NMP (PA) - Significant National Register Decision
     
On May 14th, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation published a 
decision supporting the National Park Service proposal to remove the 
Gettysburg Cyclorama Center from the Union battle line on Cemetery Ridge in 
order to restore the battlefield to its 1863 appearance and to properly 
preserve the cyclorama painting.  The cyclorama center was built in 1962 as a 
Mission 66 visitor center and had been declared eligible for the National 
Register of Historic Places.  The precedent-setting decision weighed the 
priorities of three resources - the building, the battlefield itself (which 
is on the National Register), and the 1884 panoramic painting, which is a 
national historic object and is therefore considered eligible for the 
National Register.  Architectural historians had argued that the building 
should be saved as an outstanding work of the architect, Richard Neutra.  The 
Advisory Council's report stated: "Neutra has a secure place in the pantheon 
of American architectural history.  There are other Neutra buildings; there 
is only one Gettysburg battlefield."  Gettysburg NMP's draft general 
management plan proposes to move the painting into a new visitor center and 
museum and restore the battle line where the current visitor center, 
cyclorama center, and parking lots now lie. [Katie Lawhon, PIO, GETT, 5/19]
     
OPERATIONAL NOTES
     
No entries.
     
MEMORANDA
     
No entries.
     
INTERCHANGE
     
No entries.
     
PARKS AND PEOPLE
     
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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