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Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, August 3, 1999
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Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 08:53:17 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, August 3, 1999
INCIDENTS
99-57/99-401 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Murder; Follow-up on Triple Homicide
On the morning of Thursday, July 22nd, park dispatch received a missing
person report on J.R.A. J.R.A., an employee of the Yosemite
Institute, a non-profit environmental education organization that operates
under a cooperative agreement with the NPS, had been planning to drive to the
Bay Area the previous evening. Rangers checked her residence in Foresta and
found her truck partly packed for the trip. The house was wide open and no
one was around. A search of the area was begun and the area around the house
was cordoned-off as a potential crime scene. A ranger/tracker was called in
and was able to determine from track evidence that J.R.A. might have
gotten into a vehicle with another person. The FBI was notified of the
possibility of a kidnapping and an agent was sent from Fresno. In the early
afternoon, a search team found J.R.A.'s beheaded body hidden in a small
creek several hundred feet from her house. Before the arrival of the FBI,
NPS agents identified several leads and started working on them; they also
asked the FBI evidence recovery team from Sacramento to process the large
crime scene. About 15 FBI agents were assigned to the case. They teamed up
with NPS agents and began working leads in the evening. One lead from an NPS
employee placed a distinctive vehicle in the Foresta area the previous night
around the time of the murder. A lookout was broadcast for the vehicle, and
it was subsequently found outside the park in Mariposa County. Rangers and
deputies contacted the driver, C.S., and agents from the NPS and FBI
jointly interviewed him later that night in the park. C.S. denied ever
being in the Foresta area, and, with no good cause to hold him, he was
released. The next morning, C.S. failed to show up for work and could not
be located. Physical evidence was later identified which tied C.S. to the
crime scene. An FBI press briefing stating that C.S. was now being sought
for questioning regarding J.R.A.'s murder went out on Friday, July 23rd.
C.S. was located on Saturday morning at a nudist resort near Sacramento
after citizens who saw press coverage reported him. C.S. was detained for
questioning by agents from the Sacramento FBI office, and during questioning
admitted to the murder of J.R.A. and to the murders of Carole and Juliana
Sund and Silvina Pelosso last February. A criminal complaint charging
C.S. with first degree murder in the territorial jurisdiction of the
United States (a capital offense) has been filed in U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of California. He is currently awaiting indictment. It
is likely that state charges will be filed in the S./P. case. Media
coverage of the case has been extensive. [Dan Horner, SA, YOSE, 8/2]
99-402 - North Cascades NP (WA) - Search and Rescue
On Monday, July 19th, rangers and Whatcom County deputies began a ground and
air search for two climbers - A.C., 33, and E.N., 42 -
reported overdue from a climb of the Sulphide Glacier route on Mount Shuksan.
Ranger Kelly Bush located the pair from a contract helicopter that evening.
They had employed a signal fire to attract attention to their position, which
was over a mile off and 3,000 feet below their route in the Shuksan Creek
drainage. The pair had strayed off course on the heavy snowpack, which
obscured their intended descent route. [Galen Stark, NOCA, 7/19]
99-403 - North Cascades NP (WA) - Search and Rescue
E.H., 61, and R.P., 38, were reported overdue from a
planned climb of Mounts Blum and Hagan on Tuesday, July 27th. Both are
experienced climbers and leading members of the Olympia branch of the
Mountaineers. Four ground crews searched the intended route, while ranger
Kelly Bush searched from a contract helicopter for nearly six hours before
finding the pair in a steep gully on the forested west slope of Mount Blum on
Wednesday afternoon. Drinking water and a radio were lowered to the
climbers, who were uninjured but very disoriented and dehydrated. Rangers
guided them on a six-hour descent off the mountain to the trailhead. The
major contributing factor was erroneous navigation over difficult cross-
country terrain. [Galen Stark, NOCA, 7/30]
99-404 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Drowning
J.R., 17, was at the marina at Katherine Landing with his parents
on the afternoon of July 29th. He jumped into the water from the family's
houseboat to install spark plugs in two personal watercraft. As he climbed
back onto the houseboat, he complained about a tingling sensation in his legs
that got stronger as he approached the stern of the houseboat. His mother
reached over to try and help him and received a shock; her husband grabbed
her and was also shocked. A passing visitor unplugged the boat from shore
power, terminating the electrical charge in the water. Concession divers
recovered J.R.'s body in 30 feet of water. CPR was begun and he was
taken to Bullhead City Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. [Dispatch,
LAME, 7/29]
99-405 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (NJ/PA) - Drownings
Two drownings occurred in the park over the past weekend. On Friday, July
30th, D.O., 19, of Newark, New Jersey, drowned in the Delaware River
just off the Depew recreation site in the New Jersey District. D.O. was
attempting to swim across the river when he began struggling in the current,
yelled for assistance, then went under. A companion attempted to rescue him,
but was unsuccessful. District ranger/diver Wayne Valentine located D.O.'S
body in about ten feet of water. The second drowning occurred in similar
circumstances on Sunday, August 1st. J.Z., 22, of Jersey City, New
Jersey, and a companion decided to swim across the Delaware River from
Kittatinny Point in New Jersey to the Pennsylvania shoreline. J.Z.'s
companion turned back when they were half way across; J.Z. made it to the
opposite shore, but began struggling on the return trip and went under. A
visitor and a seasonal ranger from the nearby Kittatinny Point visitor center
ran into the water, pulled him to shore, and began CPR. Additional rangers
and an ambulance crew were on scene within minutes and continued
resuscitation efforts. Although witnesses said that J.Z. hadn't been
submerged for more than a minute, efforts to revive him proved fruitless.
The latter incident took place at the same time as a response to a sizable
wildfire on Kittatinny Ridge in the New Jersey District and the rescue of an
injured climber from a cliff face opposite Kittatinny Point in the
Pennsylvania District. [CRO, DEWA, 7/30 and 8/1]
99-406 - Big South Fork NRRA (KY/TN) - Drowning
A.T., 18, was swimming with friends at the Station Camp river
access point on the afternoon of August 1st. A.T., who was a poor swimmer,
slipped into deeper water and began to struggle. His friends and family
tried to help, but he pulled them down with him and they had to release him
in order to avoid going under as well. Rangers and local authorities were
notified, and A.T.'s body was recovered shortly thereafter. The body
recovery was aided by a new underwater camera that was bought by the local
rescue squad for this purpose. Ranger Kristy Kozel is lead investigator.
[Frank Graham, CR, BISO, 8/2]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Sat Sun % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 7/31 8/1 Con Con
MT Gallatin NF Six Mile T2 1,135 1,134 50 8/5
State Bar Z Ridge T2 130 107 100 CND
Flathead NF Swaney T2 88 88 100 CND
Lewis and Clark NF Spring Creek T2 300 564 90 8/2
Bitterroot NF Devil Storm T2 1,364 1,400 90 8/2
ID Salmon/Challis NF Soldier FUM 1,609 1,959 0 UNK
S. Cent. Idaho Area * Shoshone Basin -- - 515 75 8/1
NV Winnemucca FO * Martin -- - 400 30 8/3
OR Burns District * Weed Lake Butte -- - 250 0 8/2
WY Big Horn NF Bull Elk Park T2 402 402 100 CND
FL Florida NF's Bill Branch -- 227 227 90 UNK
Heading Notes
Unit Agency or Area Office = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA
state resource or ranger unit; RD = state ranger district; FO =
BLM field office; 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 I Team; T2 = Type II Team; T3 = Type III Team; ST =
State Team; FUM = Fire Use Management 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
Thursday, 7/29 2 8 26 0 84 38 158
Friday, 7/30 1 113 8 1 104 42 269
Saturday, 7/31 1 5 6 0 58 31 101
Sunday, 8/1 3 1 19 0 51 42 116
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Thursday, 7/29 91 139 37 5 528
Friday, 7/30 113 181 49 6 520
Saturday, 7/31 128 161 47 6 819
Sunday, 8/1 132 162 56 4 790
CURRENT SITUATION
Only minimal initial attack was reported nationwide on Sunday. New large
fires were reported in the Great Basin and Northwest.
High to extreme fire indices were reported in Oregon, Washington, California,
Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, Utah, Nevada, and South Dakota.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/2]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION
Reports pending...
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Reports pending...
MEMORANDA
Reports pending...
INTERCHANGE
No entries.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Reports pending...
UPCOMING IN CONGRESS
The following activities will be taking place in Congress during coming weeks
on matters pertaining to the National Park Service or kindred agencies. For
inquiries regarding legislation pertaining to the NPS, please contact the
main office at 202-208-5883/5656 and ask to be forwarded to the appropriate
legislative specialist.
HEARINGS/MARK-UPS
Wednesday, August 4
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic
Preservation, and Recreation (Thomas): Oversight hearing on the performance
management process under the requirements of GPRA. Hearing to be held at
2:15 p.m. in 366 Dirksen.
House Resources Committee (Young): Mark-up of the following bills:
o H.R. 1619 (Gejdenson, CT), a bill to amend the Quinebaug and Shetucket
Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor Act of 1994 to expand the
boundaries of the corridor.
o H.R. 701 (Young, AK), a bill to provide outer continental shelf impact
assistance to state and local government, to amend the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act of 1965, the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery
Act of 1978, and the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (commonly
referred to as the Pittman-Robertson Act) to establish a fund to meet
the outdoor conservation and recreation needs of the American people,
and for other purposes.
o H.R. 798 (Miller, CA), a bill to provide for the permanent protection
of the resources of the United States in the year 2000 and beyond.
o H.R. 2435, a bill regarding the Wills House at Gettysburg National
Military Park.
Session to be held at 11 a.m. in 1324 Longworth.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Murkowski): Mark-up of the
following bills:
o S. 25 (Landrieu, LA), a bill to provide Coastal Impact Assistance to
State and local governments, to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act Amendments of 1978, the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of
1965, the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act, and the Federal Aid
in Wildlife Restoration Act (commonly referred to as the Pittman-
Robertson Act) to establish a fund to meet the outdoor conservation and
recreation needs of the American people, and for other purposes.
o S. 340 (Allard, CO), a bill to amend the Cache La Poudre River Corridor
Act to make technical corrections, and for other purposes.
o S. 819 (Graham, FL), a bill to provide funding for the National Park
System from outer Continental Shelf revenues.
Session to be held in 366 Dirksen (time not given).
Thursday, August 5
House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands (Hansen):
Hearing on the following bills:
o H.R. 20 (Gilman, NY), a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to construct and operate a visitor center for the Upper Delaware Scenic
and Recreational River on land owned by the State of New York.
o H.R. 748 (Stupak, MI), a bill to amend the act that established the
Keweenaw National Historical Park to require the Secretary of the
Interior to consider nominees of various local interests in appointing
members of the Keweenaw National Historical Parks Advisory Commission.
o H.R. 1615 (Sununu, NH), a bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
to extend the designation of a portion of the Lamprey River in New
Hampshire as a recreational river to include an additional river
segment.
o H.R. 1665 (Bateman, VA), a bill to allow the National Park Service to
acquire certain land for addition to the Wilderness Battlefield in
Virginia, as previously authorized by law, by purchase or exchange as
well as by donation.
o H.R. 2140 (Deal, GA), a bill to improve protection and management of
the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in the State of
Georgia.
o H.R. 2339 (Bereuter, NE), a bill to amend the National Trails System
Act to authorize an additional category of national trail known as a
national discovery trail, to provide special requirements for the
establishment and administration of national discovery trails, and to
designate the cross country American Discovery Trail as the first
national discovery trail.
Hearing to be held at 10 a.m. in 1324 Longworth.
Tuesday, August 17
House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands (Hansen):
Oversight field hearing on the importance of preventive maintenance, historic
preservation and facilities improvements to maintain the integrity of Glacier
National Park and its relation to the local economy. Hearing to be held at 9
a.m. in the Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park.
LEGISLATION INTRODUCED
The following bills either directly or indirectly pertaining to the NPS have
been introduced since the last Morning Report listing of new legislation
(June 29th):
o H.R. 2466 (Regula, OH), a bill making appropriations for the Department
of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2000, and for other purposes.
o H.R. 2532 (Hefley, CO), a bill to provide for the establishment of
national heritage areas.
o H.R. 2541 (Taylor, MS), a bill to adjust the boundaries of the Gulf
Islands National Seashore to include Cat Island, Mississippi.
o H.R. 2557 (Meek, FL), a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to
conduct a feasibility study on the inclusion in Biscayne National Park,
Florida, of the archaeological site know as the Miami Circle.
o H.R. 2570 (Regula, OH), a bill to require the Secretary of the Interior
to undertake a study regarding methods to commemorate the national
significance of the United States roadways that comprise the Lincoln
Highway, and for other purposes.
o H.R. 2577 (Cubin, WY), a bill to authorize the development and
maintenance of a multi-agency campus project in the town of Jackson,
Wyoming.
o S. 1349 (Thomas, WY), a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to
conduct special resource studies to determine the national significance
of specific sites as well as the suitability and feasibility of their
inclusion as units of the National Park System.
o S. 1365 (Murkowski, AK), a bill to amend the National Preservation Act
of 1966 to extend the authorization for the Historic Preservation Fund
and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and for other
purposes.
o S. 1366 (Murkowski, AK), a bill to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to construct and operate a visitor center for the Upper
Delaware Scenic and Recreation River on land owned by the New York
State, and for other purposes.
o S. 1367 (Murkowski, AK), a bill to amend the Act which established the
Saint-Gaudens Historic Site, in the State of New Hampshire, by
modifying the boundary and for other purposes.
o S. 1374 (Thomas, WY), a bill to authorize the development and
maintenance of a multi-agency campus project in the town of Jackson,
Wyoming.
o S. 1397 (Enzi, WY), a bill to provide for the retention of the name of
the geologic formation known as "Devil's Tower" at the Devils Tower
National Monument in the State of Wyoming.
o S. 1398 (Helms, NC), a bill to clarify certain boundaries on maps
relating to the Coastal Barrier Resources System.
o S. 1434 (Landrieu, LA), a bill to amend the National Historic
Preservation Act to reauthorize that Act, and for other purposes.
NEW LAWS
The following bills have passed Congress and been signed into law:
No new laws.
* * * * *
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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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