NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT
  
  
  To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices
  
  From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
  
  Day/Date:   Monday, February 7, 2000
  
  ALMANAC
  
  On this day in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Jewel 
  Cave, South Dakota, a national monument.  Jewel Cave National Monument 
  contains a series of chambers connected by narrow passages, with fine 
  calcite crystal encrustations.
  
  INCIDENTS
  
  00-033 - Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - Rescue
  
  Around 10:30 p.m. on the evening of February 2nd, park dispatch 
  received a cell phone call from three backpackers near Clingmans Dome 
  who reported that they were wet, exhausted and needed help. The three 
  hikers - R.C., 18, K.H., 19, and M.H., 21, all 
  from Tennessee - had parked at the Sugarlands Mountain trailhead along 
  Little River Road, intending to hike up the trail and stay overnight 
  at the Mount Collins shelter. Their itinerary called for a hike of 
  about 12 miles through snow up to a foot deep, with a 3,000 foot 
  elevation gain. During the night, two teams of rangers set out to 
  locate the group - one leaving at 2 a.m. and heading up the Sugarlands 
  Mountain trail from the Huskey Gap trail, the other departing at 4 
  a.m. and walking up to the trail via the unplowed road to Clingmans 
  Dome. The two teams then worked toward each other. They reached the 
  trio of hikers around 8:30 a.m. at a point about two miles south of 
  the Clingmans Dome road. All were alert and conscious. Rangers hiked 
  out with R.C. and M.H.; K.H., started to hike out, but 
  was unable to continue and had to be carried out by a litter team 
  through a foot of snow. Park snowplow operators opened a single lane 
  up the Clingmans Dome road so that park vehicles could reach the 
  hikers and evacuate them. Both M.H. and R.C. were 
  okay; K.H. was examined by paramedics and released to her 
  parents with advice to see her personal physician. [Bob Miller, PIO, 
  GRSM, 2/4]
  
  00-034 - Kenai Fjords NP/Katmai NP (AK) - Avalanches
  
  Warm weather, heavy precipitation and hurricane-force winds have 
  caused numerous avalanches and weather-related problems throughout 
  south central Alaska. On Thursday, the governor declared that section 
  of the state a disaster area. Headquarters at Kenai Fjords NP has been 
  isolated by avalanches and the city of Seward is operating on 
  generator power. One employee evacuated her residence after an 
  avalanche came down in the subdivision.  Katmai NP lost a roof on a 
  storage building in King Salmon owned by the Air Force when it was 
  struck by 110 mph winds. A total of eleven small aircraft were 
  severely damaged by the high winds; three of them were torn loose from 
  their tie-downs and overturned. No serious injuries were reported, but 
  damage to structures in the area was widespread. Damage to park 
  buildings has been limited to roofing and siding. Preceding the wind,  
  the temperature rose from 24 degrees below zero to 40 degrees above in 
  just three hours. The region's Type II incident management team has 
  been put on alert by the Alaska Department of Emergency Services 
  (ADES).  Travel on roadways by NPS employees is being limited to 
  essential activities.  The NPS is cooperating with DOI and ADES 
  efforts.  A roster of personnel available for search and rescue 
  operations is being assembled at the state's request.  [Jay Liggett, 
  RLES, ARO, 2/4]
  
  CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
  
  No submissions.
  
  OPERATIONAL NOTES
  
  Fire Management Mentoring - Over the next three to seven years, there 
  will be a dramatic loss of firefighting personnel through retirement. 
  The National Park Service alone will lose almost half of its mid- to 
  upper-level fire management personnel. The Service is committed to 
  developing its personnel to levels that will provide the professional 
  capability to manage the wildland fire program. In order to attain 
  this end, a formal, voluntary mentoring program was instituted last 
  year. The objective is to develop employees to their fullest 
  potential; it is explicitly not a career placement program. The first 
  round of mentor/"mentee" training was completed last September; the 
  second round will begin this coming fall, with 15 mentors and 15 
  "mentees." The timeline for this program is as follows: Application 
  deadline, February 25th; mentor/"mentee" pool match - March 10th; 
  letter to "mentee" with mentor profiles - March 24th; "mentee" 
  selection of mentor - May 19th; formal training for "mentee" and 
  mentor - September 18th; agreements signed and sent to coordinator - 
  October 20th. The program is open to all employees who are currently 
  in fire management positions or have a strong interest in 
  participating in and/or supporting fire or incident management at the 
  local or national level. For further information, contact Bill Adams 
  at FMPC in Boise via cc:Mail or at 208-387-5219. 
  
  MEMORANDA
  
  No submissions.
  
  PARKS AND PEOPLE
  
  No submissions.
  
  TRAINING/MEETING CALENDAR
  
  The NPS training/meeting calendar follows this edition of the Morning 
  Report as a separate message.
  
                               *  *  *  *  *
  
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  by park, office and/or regional cc:Mail hub coordinators.  Please 
  address requests pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your 
  servicing hub coordinator.  The Morning Report is also available on 
  the web at http://www.nps.gov/morningreport
  
  Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
  cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
  
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