NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, August 17, 1999

INCIDENTS

99-458 - Carlsbad Caverns NP (NM) - Homicide

On August 8th, ranger Lance Mattson and volunteer John Keebler began
searching for two overdue hikers.  Mattson located their campsite and found
R.K., 25, of West Roxbury, Massachusetts, suffering from exposure. 
R.K.'s partner, D.C., was buried in a shallow grave near the
campsite.  R.K. said that they had run out of water and become lost.  He
said that D.C. was in great pain and asked to be killed, adding that they
were going to do it together.  He was airlifted to a local hospital, treated
and released.  Upon release, he was arrested by officers from the Eddy County
Sheriff's Office and charged with an open count of murder.  R.K.'s family
posted a $50,000 cash only bond and he was allowed to return home.  A
cooperative investigation is underway by the NPS, FBI and county sheriff's
office.  [Frank Deckert, CACA, 8/16]

99-459 - Redwood N&SP (CA) - Probable Homicide

A hiker reported the discovery of a man's body along a trail in the Lost Man
Creek area on the afternoon of Sunday, August 15th.  Rangers responded,
determined that the man was dead, and requested assistance from the Humboldt
County sheriff and coroner.  They were joined on scene by a state crime lab
technician and investigators from the DA's office.  The victim remains
unidentified.  The investigation continues.  [Bob Martin, CR, REDW, 8/16]

99-460 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Armed Robbery

A 22-year-old German visitor on a trail between the South Rim visitor center
and the canyon rim was robbed around 8 p.m. on August 15th.  A lone male
appeared suddenly out of a forested area and forcefully took the visitor's
camera (valued at over $1,000), then fled on foot.  When the victim followed
him, the man threatened him with a knife.  Rangers searched the area for
about two hours, but found no sign of the suspect.  Other than a general
description of the man, there are no leads in the case.  [David Brennan, DR,
South Rim, GRCA, 8/16]

99-461 - National Capital Parks Central (DC) - Demonstration

On August 6th, the "StoneWalkers" group, whose members manually pushed a
2,000-pound memorial from Sherborn, Massachusetts, to Washington, D.C.,
arrived in the city.  This memorial, which is gravestone-shaped, honors
unknown civilians killed in wars.  The group had planned to donate this
memorial to Arlington National Cemetery for display.  Without Congressional
legislation, however, the cemetery could not accept the memorial.  In
protest, the group abandoned the memorial in the middle of Arlington Memorial
Bridge.  The outbound portion of Memorial Bridge was closed for approximately
20 minutes while Park Police officers arranged for the removal of the
memorial.  The memorial was transported to a secure location for safekeeping. 
[Sgt. R. MacLean, USPP, NCR, 8/10]

99-462 - President's Park (DC) - Demonstration

On August 7th, the American Nationalist Party, a South Carolina-based group
that is "dedicated to the establishment of an Aryan homeland," planned to
march from James Monroe Park at 20th and I Streets NW down Pennsylvania
Avenue to Lafayette Park, capping a three-hour event with a rally outside the
White House. Several opposition groups also planned rallies in response to
this demonstration.  A group called D.C. United to Stop the Nazis had planned
to meet this group at James Monroe Park, and Shalom International, a Jewish
activist group, planned to demonstrate in Lafayette Park.  These events
generated a good deal of media interest. The Park Police responded with a
total force commitment from National Capital Region and brought in additional
support from the New York Field Office.  This commitment included
cancellation of days off and leave.  Shortly before the scheduled start of
this event, the American Nationalist Party canceled their demonstration. 
Shalom International conducted its scheduled rally in Lafayette Park without
incident.  Another peaceful "respect rally" was held at the Lincoln Memorial.
[Sgt. R. MacLean, USPP, NCR, 8/10]

99-463 - Olympic NP (WA) - Search in Progress

A search was begun late on August 13th for 18-year-old H.B. of
the Netherlands, who has not been seen for almost a week.  H.B. began a
planned six-day backcountry hike into the upper Hoh Valley on the 9th; he was
last seen on the 10th by several other hikers at Elk Lake, about 15 miles
from the Hoh trailhead.  H.B. was reported missing on August 13th by two
backcountry hikers who came upon a campsite at Elk Lake that appeared to have
been abandoned for at least two days.  Rangers found a number of items owned
by H.B. at the site, including his tent, sleeping bag, foam pad, backpack
and other equipment.  His passport and a plane ticket to the east coast for
August 15th were also found in the tent.  H.B. had been traveling and
hiking in the Canada and United States since about July 20th.  Thirty-six
ground searchers are currently assigned to the search, including four search
dog teams.  A helicopter is providing aerial reconnaissance.  Weather has
been a factor in the search, with low clouds, temperatures in the 40s and
50s, and periodic heavy rain.  [Barb Maynes, PIO, OLYM, 8/16]

99-464 - Rocky Mountain NP (CO) - Two Rescues

Park staff responded to two climbing-related accidents within two hours of
each other on the evening of August 7th - and just after the lightning
fatality reported in Friday's Morning Report (99-453).  Around 6 p.m., the
park was notified of a climber with a tibia/fibula fracture near the
Spearhead area in the park's backcountry.  C.K., 42, apparently
fell and broke her leg while walking out from an earlier climb.  A hasty team
responded and she was medivaced from the scene by a Flight for Life
helicopter from Denver.  At 8 p.m., staff responded to a report of a climber
with a broken femur at Little Twin Owls, a popular bouldering area.  B.P.,
36, had pulled a rock onto himself, breaking his femur above the
knee.  A short technical lowering effort was required to evacuate Pollack to
a waiting ambulance.  Doug Ridley was IC.  [Joe Evans, CR, ROMO, 8/11]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Sat      Sun    %  Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident   IMT     8/14     8/15  Con Con

NV    Winnemucca FO          Andorno          --    1,400    1,840  100 CND 

UT    Salt Lake FO           Clay Pit         --    3,500    3,500  100 CND
   
ID    Salmon/Challis NF      Soldier         FUM    2,440    2,440    0 10/15
      Payette NF             Ramey           FUM      350      350    0 UNK
      Sawtooth NF            Scott Creek     FUM      132      132    0 UNK

WA    Spokane District     * Jameson Lake     --        -    2,000   90 8/15

CA    Cleveland NF           Laguna 100       ST    2,900    4,416   54 8/16

TX    State                  Schleicher Cty.  --    8,000   10,000  100 CND
                             Jones            --    1,000    1,100   60 8/16

                                  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 
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; UNK = unknown; NR = no report

NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND)

                    NPS    BIA      BLM     FWS    States   USFS     Total

Thursday, 8/12       5      7        17       1      167     55       252
Friday, 8/13         0      6        11       2      178     78       275
Saturday, 8/14       0      2        14       0       53     37       106
Sunday, 8/15         3      2         5       2      107     41       160

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Thursday, 8/12      55        117          36             0           365
Friday, 8/13        31         91          19             0           222
Saturday, 8/14      33        154          33             1           128
Sunday, 8/15        15        106          25             5            71

CURRENT SITUATION

Moderate initial attack was reported in southern California on Sunday, but
there was little activity elsewhere.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in 12 states - Oregon,
Washington, California, Montana, North Dakota, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, South
Dakota, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Texas.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/16]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROTECTION AND EDUCATION 

Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Exotic Species Management

On August 9th, a Las Vegas TV station advised the park that one of their news
crews was headed to Government Wash to cover a story about an alligator.  A
local teenager who was fishing in the area had hooked a two-and-a-half foot
gator and reeled it in.  Rangers responded and confirmed the story.  Ranger
Liz Dupree employed her gator skills to secure the animal's mouth, after
which it was turned over to the Nevada Division of Wildlife.  The TV station
developed film taken by a friend of the teenager which showed a second
alligator swimming away.  It's believed that the pair were pets that were
dumped into the lake.  Although the state of Nevada allows many things,
ownership of gators is not among them.  Rangers Brian Cooperider and Paul
Crawford went fishing in the area in an attempt to catch the gator, but
without luck.  The area will be monitored.  Anyone who can advise the park on
how long the alligator could live in this environment is asked to contact
chief ranger Dale Antonich via cc:Mail or at 702-293-8908.  [Dale Antonich,
CR, LAME]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Uniform Program Update - Several developments of note:

o     The current uniform supply contract expires in a year.  The process of
      developing a new request for proposals (RFP) is underway.  It should be
      advertised in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) in December or January,
      with selection of the contractor set for February or March of 2000.
o     The memorandum that details the 1999 uniform closeout procedures should
      arrive in the parks shortly.  There are only a couple of changes from
      previous years - more details on backorders, and specific contacts for
      closeout problems.
o     R&R Uniforms, the current contractor, is looking into "demand forecast"
      software to better anticipate needs and stock levels.  Ranger
      Activities will be working with R&R to establish core items that are
      never out of stock; that is, sufficient quantities will be required to
      assure that they never run out.
o     A minor design change has been approved in the lightweight hiker boot
      made by Vasque.  The current stock will be sold out and the new design
      phased in.
o     There were 17,400 people in uniform in the NPS at the end of the third
      quarter of FY99.

Additional updates on the program will appear in the future.  [Ken Mabery,
RAD/WASO]

Fire Sprinkler Recall - Mealane Corporation of Philadelphia, in cooperation
with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is voluntarily recalling up to
one million Star brand fire sprinklers managed between 1961 and 1976. 
Investigation has shown that the sprinklers could fail to perform in a fire. 
The systems have been installed primarily in nursing homes, but can also be
found in hospitals, schools, resorts, stores, office buildings, warehouses
and supermarkets.  The Star sprinklers being recalled are dry-type models D-
1, RD-1, RE-1, E-1 and ME-1.  The name "Star" appears on the sprinkler, along
with the model number and date of manufacture.  If you have one of these
systems, call the Star sprinkler recall hotline at 800-866-7807 or access the
website at 222.star-recall.com to participate in the recall.  Mealane will
provide free replacement sprinkler heads and reimbursement for the labor
costs of removing and replacing the old units.  [Joe Mazzeo, NERO]

NPS Search and Rescue Meeting - A Servicewide SAR meeting is scheduled for
November 7th to the 9th in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Participants will be
completing a draft of the SAR reference manual (RM-56).  This meeting will
follow the International Technical Rescue Symposium being held at the same
location.  Any NPS SAR personnel interested in contributing to this project
can obtain information from the EMS/SAR bulletin board or directly from Ken
Phillips, SAR coordinator, Grand Canyon NP - either by name on cc:Mail or at
520-638-7792.  

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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