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Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, August 6, 1999
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Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 09:17:09 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, August 6, 1999
INCIDENTS
99-418 - Everglades NP (FL) - Follow-up on Search in Progress
The search for K.E. expanded on Wednesday and Thursday. Assisting the
NPS are representatives from the Florida Department of Corrections, FBI,
Collier County Sheriff's Office, and Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Staff
from Big Cypress NP and Biscayne NP are also providing support. The search
area has been expanded beyond the Coastal Prairie trail to Bear Lake in the
east and Northwest Cape in the west. Scent dogs have been transported by
boat to nearby islands in Florida Bay; specialty dogs are being used to again
check areas searched by primary coverage teams. Thirty-eight people have
been committed to the search. Investigators have also linked K.E.'s
disappearance to a stolen 36-foot vessel located in the marina at Flamingo.
The person with the vessel has been arrested. [Gregg Smith, EVER, 8/5]
99-424 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Follow-up on Fatal Aircraft Crash
On the afternoon of August 3rd, a Cessna 177B took off from Grand Canyon
Airport with three people on board. An eyewitness reported that the plane's
engine was running at low RPMs and that the plane was flying very slowly. It
crashed into a wooded slope a mile outside the park's boundary. Park
firefighters and EMS personnel were first on scene. They found that the
pilot had been killed on impact, but were able to extricate two trapped Swiss
passengers from the twisted wreckage. The male passenger died on scene of
severe traumatic injuries despite protracted efforts by park paramedics and
ALS personnel. The female passenger was stabilized and flown to Flagstaff
Medical Center. During her evacuation, a large dry chemical fire
extinguisher exploded, covering all rescuers in a cloud of white dust. Many
rescuers suffered respiratory, eye and skin irritations. A decontamination
unit was set up; some rescuers were taken to a nearby medical clinic. Ranger
Kent Keller was IC for the multi-agency response to the crash. [Kent Delbon,
Lead Ranger, South District, GRCA, 8/4]
99-427 - Glen Canyon NRA (UT) - Rock Slide with Fatality
A four-member fisheries crew from the Moab Field Office of the Utah Division
of Wildlife Resources was camped at mile 57.7 on the San Juan River on the
evening of July 29th when a thunderstorm passed through the area with heavy
winds and rain. M.A., 41, entered his tent to keep it from blowing
away. Co-workers saw numerous waterfalls in the area after the thunderstorm
passed. At 8:50 p.m., a rock slide landed on M.A.'s tent and a boulder
struck his head, inflicting a fatal injury. Two members of the crew traveled
downstream to the Clay Hills pullout to report the incident; the remaining
crew member was evacuated by helicopter the following morning. M.A.'s body
was flown out by helicopter to the incident CP at Gooseneck State Park.
There have been two other near-miss rockslides this year following
thunderstorms. On August 2nd, rangers Karyl Yeston (ARCH) and Marc Yeston
(CANY) held a CISD session in Moab for the three employees who witnessed the
incident and coordinated another session for other co-workers. [Jim
Houseman, CI, GLCA, 8/5]
99-428 - Golden Gate NRA (CA) - Death of BLM Employee
A group of nine BLM employees/interns from Fort Ord spent July 22nd in the
southern portion of the park on Milagra Ridge removing non-native plants.
After finishing work, they drove to Tennessee Valley north of the Golden Gate
Bridge with the intent of hiking into a backcountry camp in the Marin
Headlands. While hiking to the camp, Leslie Matlack, 24, who had a history
of asthma problems, experienced difficulty breathing, went into respiratory
distress, and became unconscious and pulseless. Several members of the group
began CPR while the others returned to the trailhead and called 911. Park
staff and local agencies responded, and a medevac helicopter flew to the
scene. Sustained resuscitation efforts proved unsuccessful, and she was
pronounced dead at the scene. [Richard Danielsen, Ops Supervisor, GOGA,
7/23]
99-429 - Lassen Volcanic NP (CA) - Arrest for Burglary, Larceny
On August 2nd, visitors reported what appeared to be a man tampering with a
pipe safe in the South Summit campground. Rangers contacted three people in
the campground, one of whom met the man's description. Interviews were
followed by a consent search of the associated vehicle, which in turn led to
the discovery of a tire iron with fresh marks and scratches that appeared to
match those on the lock to the pipe safe. The owner of the vehicle, 19-year-
old D.A., was arrested for attempted theft of government money,
tampering, and various other charges. The fourth member of the group, 21-
year-old D.B., walked into the area immediately after D.A.'s arrest
and was arrested on similar charges. The rangers subsequently received
complaints from campers about break-ins into their tents. Physical evidence
left inside the tents led to burglary charges being filed against D.B..
Both men were arraigned in magistrate's court in Redding on the morning of
August 3rd on a variety of misdemeanor and felony charges. The two juvenile
females associated with D.B. and D.A. were released to their parents the
same evening. [Mike LaLone, CR, LAVO, 8/5]
99-430 - Glacier NP (MT) - Sewage Spill
A sewage overflow occurred in the Apgar area on July 29th. It's not known
how much sewage overflowed, but the total is estimated to have been between
100 and 200 gallons. The apparent cause was debris clogging the sewer line.
A vacuum pumper truck and tanker truck were brought in to clean the areas
around the leaking manholes and flush them out. A manhole near the village
Inn, which is next to lower McDonald Creek, also overflowed. Two sewage lift
stations were immediately shut down to relieve the amount of sewage entering
the lines and reduce the overflow. There was no indication of sewage
directly entering the creek. There were no closures, and the associated
problems appear to have been resolved. [PIO, GLAC, 8/4]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Tue Wed % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 8/3 8/4 Con Con
NV Ely FO * Taft Creek -- - 300 60 8/5
Winnemucca FO * Dun Glenn Cx T2 - 20,000 UNK UNK
* Jungo Cx T2 - 20,000 UNK UNK
Battle Mtn. FO * Battle Mtn. Cx T2 - 30,000 UNK UNK
Elko FO * Bispo -- - 2,800 5 UNK
* Bacchus -- - 425 15 UNK
* Ajax -- - 1,300 UNK UNK
* Jiggs -- - 3,840 20 UNK
Carson City FO * Wilcox -- - 5,000 30 8/8
OR Deschutes NF Cache Creek T2 200 200 100 CND
Prineville District North Pole -- 350 350 90 8/5
* Muddy Ranch -- - 400 50 8/5
Burns District * Potato Hills -- - 200 10 8/6
* Long Hollow -- - 2,500 10 8/5
* Wilder Creek -- - 1,500 50 8/6
Lakeview District * Crump -- - 2,000 80 8/5
* Lynch -- - 1,000 0 UNK
WA Okanagan NF * Balky -- - 160 50 8/5
Spokane District * Francis Canyon -- - 200 0 8/5
State * Union Valley -- - 240 100 CND
MT Beaverhead/
Deerlodge NF Balsam T2 99 130 10 8/7
ID Salmon/Challis NF Soldier FUM 2,029 2,089 0 UNK
Lower Snake District Buck 'N Doe -- 4,500 5,500 60 8/5
Upper Snake District Mule Butte -- 5,000 92,540 0 UNK
NY State * West Point -- - 500 100 CND
FL Florida NF's Bill Branch -- 227 227 93 UNK
AK Yukon-Charley NP B242 -- - 46,956 NR NR
B248 -- - 18,521 NR NR
B260 -- - 48,442 NR NR
B264 -- - 46,360 NR NR
Gates of Arctic NP B380 -- - 714 NR NR
B430 -- - 69 NR NR
B474 -- - 20 NR NR
Noatak NP B333 -- - 88,430 NR NR
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
FIRE NARRATIVES
Whiskeytown NRA - Over August 3rd and 4th, the park had four wildland fires.
Conditions are extremely dry; when coupled with steep terrain, the result is
hot fires with rapid rates of spread. There have been no weather fronts to
trigger the fires, and all are considered to be highly suspicious. The
latest fire was started on Wednesday morning approximately one mile outside
the boundary and was limited to less than one acre. The smoke column from
the Whiskey Fire was spotted by Rangers Tuesday afternoon at about 3:45 p.m.
This fire was started in a narrow gulch and was running rapidly uphill,
forcing the evacuation of the Whiskey Creek launch ramp. The Whiskey Fire
also threatened nearby houses and the historic Whiskeytown post office. It
took three air tankers, five helicopters, and numerous strike teams to
prevent a catastrophic event. This fire burned 30 acres. The Tower Fire was
discovered shortly after noon on Monday. This fire was also ignited
downslope in a chute and quickly ran uphill. The fire threatened the nearby
historic town of French Gulch and burned within 200 yards of the historic
Camden House, but little damage was done. This fire burned approximately 45
acres. On Tuesday, the fourth fire was ignited across from the Overlook
visitor center on but was limited to less than one acre. All but the first
fire were within the boundaries of the park. They were all started along
paved, heavily traveled roads. Suppression costs are estimated at $400,000.
California Department of Forestry and National Park Service investigators are
currently investigating all fires.
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Sunday, 8/1 3 1 19 0 51 42 116
Monday, 8/2 1 23 12 4 333 151 524
Tuesday, 8/3 5 9 43 0 227 175 459
Wednesday, 8/4 4 12 91 2 175 187 471
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Sunday, 8/1 132 162 56 4 790
Monday, 8/2 111 214 67 7 626
Tuesday, 8/3 170 365 85 5 801
Wednesday, 8/4 162 422 82 10 770
CURRENT SITUATION
Fire activity increased significantly in the Great Basin on Wednesday,
requiring the mobilization of five Type II IMT's and an area command team.
Initial attack remained steady in the Northwest and northern Rockies. New
large fires were reported in both areas and in the East.
High to extreme fire indices were reported in Oregon, Washington, California,
Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, Utah, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, Delaware,
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Oklahoma.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/5; Karen La May, ARO; Mike
Warren, NPS FMPC; Lawrence Carr, WHIS]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION
Reports pending...
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Reports pending...
MEMORANDA
Reports pending...
INTERCHANGE
No entries.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Reports pending...
* * * * *
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
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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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