- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Thursday, July 1, 1999
- Date: Thurs, 1 Jul 1999
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Thursday, July 1, 1999
INCIDENTS
99-320 - Wind Cave NP (SD) - Assault on Ranger
Ranger Brad Merrill saw a woman drinking beer in her parked car on Saturday,
June 26th. Merrill and ranger Terry Spangler contacted the woman, identified
as T.H., 35. T.H., who appeared to be intoxicated, complied with
their request to get out of the vehicle. When Merrill reached into the car
for the beer, however, T.H. kicked him in the groin. A struggle ensued, and
the rangers had to bring T.H. to the ground in order to handcuff her. As
she was led to their cruiser, T.H. began to kick at the rangers, spit in
their faces, and otherwise resist. Merrill had to employ mace to get her
under control and prevent her from injuring herself or the rangers. T.H.'s
husband and two children returned from a visit to the cave as the arrest was
taking place and witnessed the confrontation and assault. T.H. was jailed
for the remainder of the weekend. The U.S. attorney is pursuing charges of
felony assault on a federal officer (18 USC 111). Neither the rangers nor
T.H. was injured or required medical attention. [Bruce Cunningham, MWRO,
6/28]
99-321 - Suitland Parkway (MD) - Weapons and Drug Arrest
On June 20th, Park Police officers saw a man walking along the shoulder of
the parkway, which is a controlled access highway. When they stopped and
approached him, he told them that he had a firearm in his possession. He was
immediately handcuffed and a sawed-off shotgun was removed from his pant leg.
The officers also found that he had 14 ziplock bags of crack cocaine in his
possession. He was charged with being a pedestrian on a controlled access
highway, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of cocaine with intent to
distribute, possession of marijuana, and giving false statements. [Sgt.
Robert MacLean, USPP, NCR, 6/30]
99-322 - Harpers Ferry NHP (WV/MD/VA) - Assist at Fire; HazMat Response
On June 25th, an estimated 2,000 vehicles were destroyed by fire at an auto
salvage yard adjacent to the park. Rangers responded to a request for
assistance from Harpers Ferry PD and assisted in traffic control. The
salvage yard is located in a drainage which flows through park wetlands to
the Shenandoah River. Anticipating a significant flow of contaminated water
through the drainage from the estimated 100,000 gallons of water used to
suppress the fire, rangers formed a containment dam of petroleum absorbing
pads and monitored the flow. The West Virginia Department of Environmental
Protection and the EPA had on-scene coordinators present, and they determined
that the flow was not as toxic as first feared due to the complete combustion
of the petroleum products. The salvage yard operator was cited by state DEP
for failing to have a state runoff permit and a monitoring program. [Larry
Johnson, CR, HAFE, 6/29]
99-323 - Colonial NHP (VA) - HazMat Response
A discharge of heavy #6 oil was discovered in Papermill Creek by ranger Jimbo
Thompson on June 26th. The Williamsburg Fire Department's hazmat team
responded and began efforts to contain the oil, which came from two 10,000-
gallon tanks used for fuel storage at the Colonial Williamsburg Lodge.
Colonial Williamsburg contracted with Industrial Marine Services to contain
and clean-up the spill. About 500 gallons of the oil had been removed from
the creek at the time of the report yesterday afternoon. The investigation
is continuing. [Hiram Barber, ACR, COLO, 6/30]
99-324 - Harpers Ferry NHP (WV/MD/VA) - Special Event
The park held it's annual Independence Day celebration, "Freedom's Birth: An
American Experience," on June 26th. A full slate of educational and musical
programs occurred throughout the day, culminating in a fireworks display that
evening. An estimated 12,000 visitors attended. Park Police, local law
enforcement agencies, and rangers from adjacent parks assisted in managing
the event. There were no major incidents. Rangers Todd Bolton and Nancy
Stanley planned the event. [Larry Johnson, CR, HAFE, 6/29]
99-325 - Colonial NHP (VA) - Special Event
Approximately 1,800 bicyclists traveled through the park on June 28th and
29th as part of the annual "Bike Virginia" event. The bicyclists combined
with heavy summertime visitation to cause traffic congestion along the entire
Colonial Parkway from Yorktown to Jamestown. Two minor EMS cases were
reported. [Hiram Barber, ACR, COLO, 6/30]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Mon Tue % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 6/28 6/29 Con Con
CO Montrose District Bramiers -- 270 1,200 0 UNK
Grand Jct. District South Sewemup -- 102 102 100 CND
NV Carson City FO Cold Springs -- 500 540 100 CND
AZ Navajo Area Office Navajo Mtn. 1 -- 340 340 40 NR
State Cataract -- 305 305 0 7/1
Coconino NF * Turkey -- - 660 0 NR
CA Shasta-Trinity RU * Lake -- - 200 NR UNK
Kern County * Digier -- - 350 25 UNK
UT State Broad Canyon -- 600 606 100 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
Saturday, 6/26 1 4 5 0 45 23 78
Sunday, 6/27 2 6 13 2 56 16 95
Monday, 6/28 1 8 19 3 87 39 157
Tuesday, 6/29 2 4 9 1 122 20 158
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Saturday, 6/26 68 125 25 2 242
Sunday, 6/27 56 161 23 3 184
Monday, 6/28 29 179 24 2 167
Tuesday, 6/29 43 197 24 9 187
CURRENT SITUATION
Moderate initial attack and new large fires were reported on Tuesday in
California.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in California, Arizona, New
Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Jersey, Connecticut and Alaska.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/30]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION
No entries.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Management Policies Review - Management Policies is the primary document
providing policy guidance for the NPS. The 1988 edition is being revised to
reflect legal and programmatic changes which have occurred over the last 11
years. Since adherence to Management Policies is mandatory for all National
Park Service employees, it is essential that the current draft receive
widespread review at all levels of the NPS. The internal NPS review process
now underway provides an excellent opportunity to hone the draft policies
before they are released for public comment in early September. The next
published version is due out in January, 2000. The internal draft was sent
to the National Leadership Council for distribution on June 14th. Comments
are due by August 13th and should follow the channels established by your
regional or associate director for review and approval. The following
"Policy Place" Intranet addresses are provided for your convenience:
Management Policies - http://165.83.219.60/nps/mgtpolicies.cfm
Draft Director's Orders and other internal guidance documents such as
reference manuals - http://165.83.219.60/nps/drafts.cfm
Policy Place - nps.gov/refdesk/policies.html
For more information, please contact Chick Fagan, Mike Shelton, or Marcia
Keener in the Office of Policy at 202-208-7456.
MEMORANDA
No entries.
INTERCHANGE
No entries.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
No entries.
* * * * *
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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