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Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, August 30, 1999
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Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 10:29:34 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Monday, August 30, 1999
*** NOTICE ***
Morning Report transmittal is being seriously delayed by continuing problems
with the Morning Report cc:Mail distribution system. Please bear with us -
efforts are being made to resolve the problem.
INCIDENTS
99-520 - East Coast Areas - Hurricane Dennis
Parks along the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to North Carolina have been
preparing for Hurricane Dennis since it neared the coastline late last week:
o Cape Hatteras NS/Wright Brothers NM/Fort Raleigh NHS (NC) - The three
parks went into a "semi-IC" mode on Friday, battening down non-
essential equipment and facilities, checking generators, and placing
campers and employees on alert. Hyde County ordered the evacuation of
Ocracoke Island, effective at noon yesterday; Dare County ordered the
evacuation of Hatteras Island, effective at 1 p.m. yesterday. Ocean
overwash was reported at both locations. The park closed all
campgrounds, guarded beaches and visitor centers on the two islands.
Facilities were being prepared for the hurricane's arrival.
o Cape Lookout NS (NC) - The park put its hurricane plan into effect
yesterday morning. The park was closed to visitors and all services
were shut down. All passenger ferry services to the island were
terminated, and overnight guests were evacuated. The park was
completely shut down by 4:30 p.m.
o Moores Creek NB (NC) - The park closed at 4 p.m. on Sunday to allow
employees time for safe travel to their homes or emergency shelters
prior to the hurricane's arrival.
o Fort Sumter NM/Charles Pinckney NHS (SC) - Forts Sumter and Moultrie
were closed on Sunday until the hurricane passed. Weather forecasters
were calling for winds up to 50 mph. Charles Pinckney remained open.
o Cumberland Island NS (GA) - Visitors and employees were evacuated from
the island by ferry and park boats on Saturday afternoon. Headquarters
and visitor center computers were moved to the second story of the
museum, files were taped shut, some items were covered in plastic,
valuables were boxed and stored in closets, and several buildings were
boarded up.
o Castillo de San Marcos NM/Fort Matanzas NM (FL) - The parks moved into
phase two of their hurricane preparations on Friday in which all
movable items were secured. Some phase three actions were also begun
because of the slow movement and unpredictable path of the storm. These
included packing up offices, pre-positioning equipment, and
preparations for taking out boats.
o Canaveral NS (FL) - The park's hurricane plan was in effect as of
Friday, but the area remained open to the public. Visitors were being
cautioned about the strong northerly ocean current and rough surf
conditions, and were being warned to be ready for evacuation if the
hurricane moved toward the coast. The park resumed normal operations
yesterday after Hurricane Dennis moved north and the hurricane watch
and tropical storm warnings were lifted. All buildings, boardwalks and
roads were inspected, but no major damage was found. The storm brought
in sand to park beaches.
o Biscayne NP (FL) - The park instituted its hurricane plan on Thursday,
but remained open to the public. Normal operations are expected to
resume today.
[Denis Davis, CUIS, 8/28; Gary Bremen, IO, BISC, 8/26-27; Chuck Dale,
CASA/FOMA, 8/27; Karren Brown and Jim Zahradka, CALO, 8/27 and 8/29; Chris
Bernthal and Bob Woody, CAHA/FORA/WRBR, 8/27 and 8/29; Helga Fraze, CANA,
8/27-29; Bill Martin, PIO, FOSU/CHPI, 8/29; Ann Childress, MOCR, 8/29]
99-521 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Weapons Violations
Backcountry rangers have dealt with several weapons violations this month.
On August 5th, a group of Boy Scouts from Idaho on a camping trip to Shoshone
Lake were cited for a weapons violation and several food storage violations.
During a routine contact, a backcountry ranger discovered food improperly
stored at the scouts' two campsites near Shoshone Lake. While investigating
the obvious food violations, the ranger also discovered a 40-caliber Glock
handgun and ammunition in a backpack. The group was assisted from the
backcountry and issued several citations. On August 8th, a group of four
campers from Utah was discovered camping illegally at Shoshone Lake
(backcountry camping is allowed in designated campsites only). During the
contact, the ranger discovered that the group had improperly stored food, had
planned to use wheeled carts to move their canoes, were in violation of their
boating permit because of unsafe boating practices, and were carrying two
weapons (a hunting-type compound bow and a Marlin .30-.30 rifle). They will
be required to appear in court for the violations. In the third incident,
rangers were notified by hikers that they had seen a group hiking on the
DeLacey Creek Trail to Shoshone Lake with a 12-gauge shotgun. Rangers found
the group from Utah camped illegally on the beach of the lake. Shawn
Whiting, 21, of West Jordan, Utah, appeared in federal district court on
August 25th and pled guilty to carrying a weapon, camping without a
backcountry permit, improper food storage, possession of an illegal firearm,
and disorderly conduct. Whiting was fined $275 and placed on one year's
probation. [Public Affairs, YELL, 8/27]
99-522 - Denali NP (AK) - Special Event
The park and National Weather Service (NWS) marked 75 years of cooperative
weather observations in a joint Founder's Day/National Weather Service Day
event held at the park's sled dog kennels on August 25th. The NWS presented
the park with an award commemorating one of the longest standing weather
cooperatives in Alaska's history. Park visitors received a special
commemorative postcard and the Postal Service was on hand to provide
commemorative postal cancellations. NWS and NPS staff also answered
questions about the kennels and Alaska weather history. [Russ Wilson, DENA,
8/27]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level IV
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Thu Sun % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 8/26 8/29 Con Con
CA Stanislaus NF Pilot T1 3,320 4,028 100 CND
Angeles NF Shinn T2 600 600 100 CND
* Bridge -- - 500 UNK UNK
Los Padres NF * Camusa T2 - 180 100 CND
San Bernadino NF * Willow T1 - 2,000 0 UNK
* Mixing T2 - 2,500 33 UNK
Riverside RU * Pine -- - 2,065 28 UNK
Lassen-Modoc RU Willow ST 5,300 7,000 100 CND
Butte RU Butte Cx ST 12,165 32,879 85 8/30
Tehama Glen RU Tehama Glen Cx -- 12,000 35,400 100 CND
Shasta Trinity RU Shasta-Trin. Cx ST 1,275 2,500 50 8/30
Modoc NF Yellow-Pine Cx T2 17,684 26,491 50 UNK
Plumas NF MHRD Cx T1 2,866 10,412 20 UNK
FRRD Cx T1 3,210 3,650 43 UNK
Shasta-Trinity NF High Cx T1 8,000 18,500 10 UNK
Big Bar Cx T2 2,500 4,527 19 UNK
N. Cal.District Wimer -- 533 533 100 CND
Annie -- 640 640 100 CND
NV Winnemucca FO Pass Creek T2 7,400 8,833 100 CND
Carson City District Fish Cx T2 36,000 45,000 100 CND
Sutro T2 2,000 2,000 100 CND
Battle Mountain FO Rail Springs -- 1,000 1,000 100 CND
Ely FO * Sellem T2 - 10,000 50 8/31
WA State * Major II ST - 270 100 CND
* Incident 64 -- - 100 80 8/30
OR Sheldon-Hart NWR Badger T2 30,000 40,896 100 CND
State Placeder Gulch -- 675 675 100 CND
* Mt. Pisgah -- - 117 100 CND
Colville Agency Soap Lake Mtn. -- 350 607 100 CND
Warm Springs Agency * Calica -- - 1,500 100 CND
MT Crow Agency * Ash Creek -- - 300 UNK UNK
Glacier NP * Anaconda -- - 250 UNK UNK
UT Salt Lake District * Flat -- - 3,000 75 8/30
* Marblehead -- - 750 50 UNK
State * Clay Pit II -- - 400 0 UNK
ID Upper Snake District * Nicky -- - 350 50 8/30
* Wapi -- - 1,618 UNK UNK
TX State Topeka -- 1,500 1,700 90 8/30
* Pitchfork ST - 1,500 20 UNK
* McCormack -- - 2,000 50 8/30
* Rudd Road -- - 400 75 8/29
* Willham -- - 1,100 100 CND
FL State Tuggle Springs -- 580 580 UNK 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
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, 8/26 1 10 15 0 135 89 250
Friday, 8/27 1 11 40 1 349 65 467
Saturday, 8/28 2 8 30 0 85 98 223
Sunday, 8/29 0 8 15 1 74 45 143
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Thursday, 8/26 415 739 119 14 1,289
Friday, 8/27 457 910 118 19 1,885
Saturday, 8/28 468 797 127 21 2,616
Sunday, 8/29 419 756 103 6 2,196
CURRENT SITUATION
Friday: A military liaison was established at NIFC and six military airborne
firefighting systems were activated in northern California. Resource demands
remained heavy; there were new large fires in southern California and the
Northwest, but initial attack remained moderate in most areas.
Saturday: Initial attack was moderate in most areas, but new large fires were
reported in southern California, the Great Basin and the Northwest.
Competition was reported for a number of NIFC resources, generally aircraft
and type I crews. A firefighter from the Santa Barbara FD was fatally
injured on the Camusa Fire; an investigation is underway.
Sunday: Initial attack was again moderate in most areas. New large fires
were reported in southern California, the eastern Great Basin, the South, and
the northern Rockies. Competition continued for aircraft and type I crews.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported on Sunday in Oregon,
Washington, California, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming,
Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
NIFC has posted a RED FLAG WARNING for strong southwest winds and low
relative humidity in inland northeast California, and FIRE WEATHER WATCHES
for gusty winds in northern Idaho and western Montana, strong and gusty
southwest winds and isolated dry lightning in Utah, and strong gusty
southwest winds in most of Nevada.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/28-30]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROTECTION AND EDUCATION
No entries.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No entries.
MEMORANDA
"Alternative Transportation Training Conferences," signed by the deputy
director on August 30th and sent electronically to all regional and associate
directors and superintendents:
"As visitation to our national parks continues to increase, the National Park
Service (NPS) faces the challenge of ensuring protection of park resources
while providing for safe, efficient access to the parks. Increasingly,
national parks and surrounding communities are looking to integrated
transportation solutions to address this growing problem. We, in the NPS,
recognize that our experience with these complex transportation planning
issues is limited and seek to better educate ourselves and our partners on a
range of emerging transportation issues. For that reason, the NPS and the
U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will hold four regional training
sessions, entitled 'New Approaches to Transportation: Planning, Partnerships,
and Programs.' We would greatly appreciate it if you would lend your support
to this effort by encouraging your staff to attend these very important
training sessions.
"These 2 1/2-day training sessions will be held in four cities: Philadelphia
(November 1-3, 1999); Denver (November 15-17, 1999); Atlanta (November 30 -
December 2, 1999); and Seattle (January 19-21, 2000). The 1/2-day
interdisciplinary charette, on the final day, will be used to take the
information learned from the training and apply it to specific projects. We
would like to base the charettes on real transportation projects or
challenges from your region. To do that, we need nominations to be submitted
by September 30, 1999.
"Nomination submittals should be forwarded to Joni Gallegos, NPS
Transportation Planning Program Officer at 202/501-8926 or electronically at
joni_gallegos@nps.gov. Joni is also available to answer any questions you
may have regarding the sessions. There is on-line registration and training
information at www.bikefed.org/nps, and brochures with a faxable registration
form will be mailed to all parks and regional offices next week.
"Transportation is an integral part of each park visitor's experience and an
important tool to further the agency's mission. Thank you for your support,
we look forward to seeing you there."
INTERCHANGE
No entries.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Cape Hatteras NS - The park has reannounced its GS-12 chief of interpretation
position in order to accept additional applicants. The vacancy announcement
(SESO-99-132) is listed on USAJOBS and closes on September 13th. Applicants
who previously applied are still being considered and need not reapply. For
further information, contact Chris Bernthal via cc:Mail or at 252-473-2111
extension 134. [Chris Bernthal, CAHA]
Pipestone NM - The park has two positions open in its interpretation/visitor
services/protection division. One is for a GS-025-5/7/9 protection ranger,
which has a 6c primary designation; the other is for a GS-11 supervisory park
ranger and is proposed as a secondary/administrative law enforcement
position. The announcements are listed on USAJOBS as MWR-99-20 and MWR-99-
21. The protection vacancy is also open to outside sources and listed on
USAJOBS as 99-0855 JR. The announcements close on September 12th.
CALENDAR
The biweekly calendar of training courses and meetings now appears as a
separate addendum to the Morning Report and follows in the next message.
* * * * *
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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