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Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, May 28, 1999
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Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 04:46:59 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, May 28, 1999
INCIDENTS
99-215 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Follow-up: Climbing Fatality
On Monday, May 24th, D.P., 31, a Swedish citizen who was residing in
British Columbia, was skiing beneath Black Pyramid when he lost his edge,
cartwheeled out of control, and disappeared from sight off Liberty Ridge.
Rangers Mike Cauthier and Chris Olson were flown to Carbon Glacier on
Wednesday morning to find and retrieve his body from beneath recent avalanche
debris. Rangers David Gottlieb and Dee Patterson and two helicopters
provided backup safety support in case of an avalanche, rock fall or ice fall
from the notoriously active Willis Wall. The body was retrieved without
incident and flown to the Kautz Creek helibase. Steve Winslow was IC. On
Sunday, D.P. had skied down the steep (50 degrees) Liberty Ridge from
above the Black Pyramid to Thumb Rock. He and his climbing companion had
reached the mountain's summit on Monday, and were descending when the
accident occurred. [Maria Gillett, PIO, MORA, 5/26]
99-220 - Lake Mead NRA (AZ/NV) - Multiple Alcohol Arrests
Rangers in the Boulder Basin District took nine people in custody for
alcohol-related offenses during a span of 40 minutes on the afternoon of
Sunday, May 23rd. Ranger Ryan Regnell came upon a vehicle parked on
Northshore Drive, several of its five adult male occupants standing outside
urinating. All were drunk and one had an active arrest warrant. Four were
arrested for public intoxication, the other on the active warrant. Shortly
thereafter, ranger Paul Crawford stopped two vehicles for traffic violations
on the same road near Government Wash. Each was occupied by a driver and
passenger. Ranger Art Gunzel took the lead on one vehicle while Crawford
worked the other. Both drivers were arrested for operating under the
influence; both passengers, who were drunker than the drivers, were arrested
for public intoxication. A while later, off-duty ranger Brian Cooperider
spotted what appeared to be a drunken driver heading out of the park towards
Boulder City. Ranger Randy Neal stopped it, but the driver then started up
again and continued into the city at about 20 mph. The 50-year-old driver
was taken into custody after she parked at her residence. [Bud Inman, LAME,
5/24]
99-221 - Glen Canyon NRA (AZ/UT) - Disturbed Person; Assault on Ranger
Rangers David Schifsky and Greg Wozniak and deputy J.J. Bradford responded to
a call of a mentally unstable man wandering through campsites and scaring
visitors in the undeveloped camping area at Bullfrog Bay South. The man,
subsequently identified as B.C., 20, of Kaysville, Utah, was under the
influence of alcohol and threatened suicide. B.C. was staggering and said
he felt nauseous and was going to vomit when he suddenly stood up straight
and sprinted down the beach. A hundred-yard chase ensued and ended with
Wozniak and Bradford wrestling B.C. to the ground. B.C. was handcuffed and
taken to a holding facility at Bullfrog. While being searched, B.C.
assaulted Schifsky and Bradford. He was then taken to the county sheriff's
department and charged with public intoxication and assault on a peace
officer. Nobody was injured in the incident. [Dave Walton, Subdistrict
Ranger, Bullfrog Subdistrict, GLCA, 5/26]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Tue Wed % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 5/26 5/27 Con Con
GA Okefenokee NWR * Hickory Island -- - 14,128 50 NEC
FL Osceola NF Friendly T1 13,500 15,647 15 6/5
Apalachicola NF Bay Creek -- 400 984 70 5/28
State NW Command -- 20,000 26,000 100 CND
* Pole Pine -- - 150 30 5/26
AZ Coronado NF Mexico 8 T2 1,500 370 100 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; UNK = unknown; NR = no report
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
Sunday, 5/23 2 3 4 0 18 44 71
Monday, 5/24 0 10 3 0 225 61 299
Tuesday, 5/25 1 5 3 0 68 31 108
Wednesday, 5/26 0 5 1 1 76 11 94
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Sunday, 5/23 49 35 14 0 285
Monday, 5/24 64 69 18 1 302
Tuesday, 5/25 88 72 20 2 941
Wednesday, 5/26 52 72 15 2 795
CURRENT SITUATION
Fires continued to burn in the South and Southwest on Wednesday, but there
was little activity elsewhere. Very high and extreme fire indices were
reported in Georgia, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. [NICC Incident
Management Situation Report, 5/27]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION
No entries.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Supreme Court Decision - On April 5th, the Supreme Court issued a ruling
clarifying vehicle searches based on probable cause. The court held that law
enforcement officers possessing probable cause to search a vehicle may also
inspect any passenger's belongings found inside the vehicle that could
contain the object that the officers seek. The court noted that drivers and
passengers alike have a reduced expectation of privacy in any property
transported in vehicles, and, when combined with the possibility of losing
the evidence due to the vehicle's ready mobility, serve to justify this new
rule (Wyoming v. Houghton, 119 S.Ct. 1297 (1999)). The court also recently
ruled on searches incident to the citation of vehicles. The justices
declined to extend the New York v. Belton line of cases concerning search
incident to arrest of vehicles to an Iowa case that allowed a search incident
to citation under Iowa law. The relevant law allowed officers to conduct a
full Belton search even when issuing a citation for traffic offenses such as
speeding. The court pointed out that the search incident to arrest rule was
intended to provide for officer safety and the collection of evidence
following the custodial arrest of an occupant of a vehicle. The
circumstances typically surrounding the issuance of a citation have no such
concerns (Knowles v. Iowa, 119 S.Ct. 484 (1998)). For more information about
these or other court decisions, contact Don Usher via cc:Mail at NP-WASO.
MEMORANDA
No entries.
INTERCHANGE
No entries.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Indiana Dunes NL - Yesterday evening, the park presented an honorary park
ranger award to former U.S. Congressman Sydney Yates (9th District,
Illinois), who served 24 terms in the House and chaired the House Interior
Appropriations Subcommittee from 1977 to 1995. He retired after the 105th
Congress. The presentation was part of a program in Yates' honor at
Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History. Yates received the honorary
ranger award for "his recognition of the importance of preserving our
nation's resources and his active support in protecting the environment and
educating the children of America about their natural and historical
legacy..."
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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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