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Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, August 24, 1999
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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 08:34:19 -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 24, 1999
INCIDENTS
99-499 - Padre Island NS (TX) - Follow-up: Hurricane Bret
The park has completed a preliminary assessment of the impacts of Hurricane
Bret. The storm inflicted only minor damage to structures, but caused
significant beach erosion. About 15 miles of dunes appear to have been lost.
Plans are to reopen to the public today. A more complete report is expected
tomorrow. [Gus Martinez, CR, PAIS, via Jim Reilly and Tony Bonanno, IMRO,
8/23]
99-505 - Baltimore-Washington Parkway (DC/MD) - MVA; USPP Officers Injured
Park Police officers Dan McClanahan and Rick Stewart were monitoring traffic
on the parkway in separate cruisers at the Route 50 split in Cheverly,
Maryland, on August 19th. They were parked in the median about 30 yards from
the roadway when a southbound vehicle left the highway and slammed into both
cruisers. Both officers and the occupants of the third vehicle were taken by
ambulance to Prince George County Hospital. Stewart was treated and
released; McClanahan was admitted but subsequently released; the passenger in
the other vehicle was admitted in stable condition; the driver's condition is
serious. Get well wishes can be sent to Stewart and McClanahan care of USPP
Headquarters, 1100 Ohio Drive SW, Washington, DC 20024. [Sgt. R. MacLean,
USPP, NCR, 8/23]
99-506 - Cape Cod NS (MA) - Rescue
On the afternoon of August 18th, visitors at Coast Guard Beach told lifeguard
Shamus Roach that a young boy - M.M., age 9 - had been completely
buried in the sand behind one of the lifeguard stands. Roach summoned head
guard Dan Traub and lifeguard Jeff Shearstone, both of whom were nearby and
hurried to the scene of the accident. They were able to uncover M.M.'s
foot, but loose sand continued to fill in around the boy. The lifeguards
then employed a metal can as a makeshift coffer dam to prevent sand from
filling the hole. As they dug deeper, a leg and an arm appeared, then the
rest of the boy. M.M. was not breathing. Traub immediately began rescue
breathing after clearing sand from the boy's mouth. M.M. began breathing
on his own shortly thereafter. He was taken to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis,
then airlifted to Mass General in Boston, where he's listed in fair
condition. A large crowd witnessed the incident and the rescue and applauded
the lifeguards as M.M. was carried off the beach. [Kevin FitzGerald,
CACO, 8/19]
99-507 - National Capital Parks Central (DC) - Armed Robbery Arrest
On August 19th, Park Police received a look-out notice from Alexandria police
regarding an armed robbery that had occurred about five minutes previously.
Minutes later, USPP officers saw and stopped the vehicle in downtown
Washington. The operator matched the description of the suspect and was
arrested. Possible evidence of the crime was found in his vehicle. He was
turned over to the Alexandria Police Department for prosecution. [Sgt. R.
MacLean, USPP, NCR, 8/23]
99-508 - National Capital Parks Central (DC) - Counterfeit Currency Arrest
USPP sergeant Mike Wallace stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation on
August 17th. The stop led to the recovery of a large quantity of counterfeit
U.S. currency. Both the vehicle and the currency were seized as evidence.
Secret Service investigators have interviewed the driver. [Sgt. R. MacLean,
USPP, NCR, 8/23]
99-509 - American Memorial Park (Saipan) - Special Event
Senator Thomas Harkin (D-Iowa) visited the park on August 18th and laid a
wreath at the Court of Honor/Flag Circle in remembrance of World War II
military casualties in the battles of Saipan and the Philippine Sea. A
number of dignitaries from the Northern Mariana Islands also attended. The
senator was given a brief tour of the mall and a history of the park. [Chuck
Sayon, Site Manager, AMME, 8/20]
99-510 - Wilson's Creek NB (MO) - Assist; Structural Fire
On the afternoon of August 10th, park volunteers spotted smoke on property
near the park. Rangers Sam Martinsen and Robert Still (on detail from Pea
Ridge NMP for the battle anniversary program) responded and found a fire in a
shed adjacent to a residence about a half mile from the park. They searched
the building, found a teenage male inside, ordered him to get out, then
helped with the staging of arriving fire equipment. Martinsen reentered the
house and found the teenager wandering aimlessly inside; this time, he
physically removed him. The fire was controlled with only a minimal amount
of damage. [John Sutton, CR, WICR, 8/19]
99-511 - Baltimore-Washington Parkway (DC/MD) - MVA with Fatality
A vehicle traveling northbound on the parkway left the road and struck a tree
around 9 p.m. on August 19th. The apparent driver of the vehicle fled on
foot into a wooded area; the passenger was left unconscious in the car. He
was later taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead. USPP officers found
the driver in the woods. An investigation is underway. [Sgt. R. MacLean,
USPP, NCR, 8/23]
99-512 - Redwood N&SP (CA) - Larceny Arrest
Rangers arrested T.M., 30, on August 14th for possession of
stolen property and three federal warrants - two of which also involved
possession of stolen property. T.M. was spotted riding a bike in the
town of Orick. The rangers attempted to stop him, but he fled on the bike,
then abandoned it and continued on foot. He was caught, arrested and booked
into the county jail. The bike that T.M. was riding was a Cannondale
mountain bike valued at $1,100; it had been stolen from the Freshwater Spit
campground in July. T.M. is a convicted felon, having just gotten out
of prison several months ago from a previous park case involving stolen
property. [Bob Martin, CR, REDW, 8/16]
99-513 - Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - Attempted Suicide
Cades Cove rangers Ken Davis, Randy Scoggins and Steve Spanyer responded to a
report of two gunshots fired in the vicinity of Sparks Lane just before 7
p.m. on August 22nd. Within minutes, they found a critically injured 51-
year-old Knoxville woman in a parked car. A blood-stained suicide note was
found nearby. The 300-pound woman had shot herself through the abdomen and
in the hand with a .38 caliber handgun. She was conscious while being
treated, and told rangers that she had also ingested multiple prescription
drugs. She was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center and is
expected to survive. The incident took place at the same place where a 60-
year-old local man committed suicide last December 29th. [Jason Houck, CR,
GRSM, 8/23]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Sat Sun % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 8/21 8/22 Con Con
CA Stanislaus NF Carmoke FUM 443 443 0 UNK
San Diego RU Campo -- 1,150 1,106 100 CND
Cleveland NF Ososco -- 200 300 100 CND
San Bernadino NF * 330 -- - 200 UNK 8/23
OR Burns District Stonehouse -- 4,187 4,093 60 8/23
NV Winnemucca FO Dido Cx T2 15,000 15,000 75 8/24
Battle Mountain FO Moses Cx T2 7,266 7,266 100 CND
Humboldt-Toiyabe NF Powell -- 600 600 100 CND
Elko FO * Highway 93 -- - 1,200 100 CND
TX State Reece Creek -- 1,000 1,000 60 8/23
Triple R -- 1,500 3,000 70 8/23
NM Roswell-Carlsbad FO * Corn -- - 2,745 100 CND
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; LR = last report unless significant activity occurs
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Thursday, 8/19 6 15 0 0 232 88 387
Friday, 8/20 2 9 43 0 257 47 358
Saturday, 8/21 1 8 19 0 101 59 188
Sunday, 8/22 2 6 23 0 65 52 148
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Thursday, 8/19 88 264 53 6 247
Friday, 8/20 63 221 50 3 201
Saturday, 8/21 90 225 44 1 328
Sunday, 8/22 98 207 51 2 683
CURRENT SITUATION
Moderate initial attack was reported on Sunday in the South, Northwest, Great
Basin and southern California. There was little activity elsewhere.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported Oregon, Washington,
California, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, Georgia,
and Texas.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/23]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROTECTION AND EDUCATION
Cape Hatteras NS (NC) - Completion of Lighthouse Relocation
The final transfer of the 4,800-ton Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to its newly
constructed brick spine and ribs took place at 6:45 p.m. on August 16th. As
the remaining depressurized steel shoring towers were removed from below the
lighthouse, masons began filling in the vacated space with more bricks. It
will be several more weeks before the foundation is completed. It is being
built upon a 70 foot by 70 foot, five foot thick, reinforced concrete footer.
Monitoring throughout the load transfer indicated that everything went fine.
The relighting of the lighthouse will take place at 8 p.m. on September 4th.
An appropriate ceremony is being planned at the old site, which is 2,900 feet
away. The formal dedication of the "new" historic station will be held next
spring or summer. [Bob Woody, PIO, Outer Banks NPS Group]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
FLETC Graduation - Land management training program class 905 graduated from
FLETC on July 2nd. LMTP-905 continued the tradition of high individual and
class performances by NPS basic classes. In addition to an overall academic
class average of 93.29, other high points included:
o Jimmy Barna (CARE) attained a perfect 500 on the physical efficiency
battery (PEB). His name will be added to the "500 Club" plaque in the
entrance to the physical techniques building. Also scoring above 95%
in the PEB were William Weidner (ACAD), Stephen Willis (GRCA), Richard
Rechholtz (ACAD), Jeffrey Herriford (YELL), Paul Martin (GUIS), Michael
Hardin (CORO), John McCutcheon (GRSM), Mark Camisa (GLCA) and John
Evans (JOTR).
o Thomas Iandimarino (EVER) was the high firearms expert with a perfect
score of 300. Also qualifying as experts were John Evans, Donald Hart
(MORU), John McCutcheon, Stacy Kelly (EVER), William Weidner, Mark
Camisa, Dirk Chalfant (GRTE), and Thomas Parrack (CHCU).
o The highest academic honors went to John Patmore with an outstanding
average of 99.26 (he missed only two questions out of 227 on five
different exams). Others with academic averages over 95% were Jeffrey
Herriford, Donald Hart, class president Jennifer Flynn (NATR), Ryan
Levins (YOSE), Michael Hardin (CORO), Thomas Parrack, James Abbe
(CAHA), John Evans, Karyl Yeston (ARCH) and Dirk Chalfant.
Students who attain a 95% average in all three areas of training and have not
had to remediate any practical exercises are recognized as distinguished
graduates, and the student attaining the highest average among the
distinguished graduates is the honor graduate. That distinction went to John
Evans, who is now eligible for selection as FLETC's honor graduate of the
year. Congratulations to John and to the entire class for their outstanding
individual and group performances. The class also participated in the FOCUS
"World Win 2000 Run for the Children," a five-mile run/walk event held on
June 12th. They were recognized as the largest team in the competition.
[Paul Henry, Superintendent]
MEMORANDA
No entries.
INTERCHANGE
LE Refreshers - If you are in a park east of the Rockies and have a slot open
in a 40-hour LE refresher this fall, please contact chief ranger Bruce
Edmonston at Roosevelt-Vanderbilt NHS at 914-229-6214 or via cc:Mail.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
FLETC - Former NPS ranger and current California Highway Patrol officer
Cameron Sholly was seriously injured on August 17th when the police vehicle
he was riding in as a passenger struck a guardrail. He was extricated from
the vehicle by fire department personnel and remains in Stanford Hospital.
Injuries include multiple pelvic fractures and major deep muscle bruising.
Sholly was a ranger at Yosemite from 1992 to 1996 and a 1996 graduate of
FLETC (with a PEB score of 500). Cards and notes and/or donations to his
recovery fund should be sent c/o CHP Officer Kevin Dwyer, 355 Convention Way,
Redwood City, CA 94063 (415-369-6261).
WASO - Ron Greenberg, the assistant director for Cultural Resources
Stewardship and Partnerships, will be retiring this fall. A farewell will be
held at the Fort McNair Officers Club at 11 a.m. on October 29th. If you'd
like to attend, please contact Denise Mayo or Margaret Triebsch, both of whom
are on cc:Mail by name. [Maureen Foster, WASO]
Arches NP - Public Land Order 7402 went into effect on July 29th, officially
transferring 3,108 acres of BLM lands in Lost Spring Canyon to the NPS.
Another 32 acres of state land is to be transferred to the park in the near
future. These actions are pursuant to the Arches National Park Expansion Act
of 1998 (PL 105-329). [Jim Webster, ARCH]
* * * * *
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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