NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Sunday, June 18, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1781, American loyalists under Col. John Cruger 
repulsed an attack led by Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene and "Light-horse 
Harry" Lee following a month-long siege on their defenses at Ninety 
Six, South Carolina.  Ninety Six National Historic Site contains 
remains of the defensive and offensive earthworks.

INCIDENTS

98-774 - Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - Follow up on Car Clout

During a routine contact at the Mingus Mill parking lot on December 
25, 1998, ranger John McCutcheon determined that the license plate of 
a vehicle he was checking had been stolen in a car clout the previous 
July in the Alum Cave area of the park.  McCutcheon also found that 
the driver was using the same victim's stolen driver's license, and 
that the 1995 Jeep Cherokee he was driving had been stolen from 
Georgia.  A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of numerous 
stolen items, including about 70 credit cards, cell phones, license 
plates, and a wide variety of other property.  The driver continued to 
maintain the false name until he learned that his fingerprints would 
be checked.  He then identified himself as T.C., age 42.  
T.C.,  a career thief with a long criminal record, was a fugitive 
with three outstanding felony warrants from two states against him.  
As a result of the arrest, about 60 cases were closed from around the 
southeast, including a number from NPS and Forest Service areas. 
T.C. was indicted for breaking and entering motor vehicles, larceny, 
interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen 
vehicle, possession of unauthorized access devices with intent to 
defraud, credit card fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen 
credit cards. On May 24th, T.C. entered a guilty plea to each of 
these charges and was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to 
pay $42,000 in restitution. McCutcheon and ranger Jon Murphy led the 
investigation. [John Mattox, CI, GRSM, 6/8]

00-290 - Mount Rushmore NP (SD) - Arrest, Illegal Climb

Early on the afternoon of June 15th, rangers spotted a man illegally 
on the mountain near the top of the Hall of Records area. A search was 
mounted and he was found and arrested about an hour later just above 
the fence gates above Hall of Records canyon. During that time, the 
man climbed and scrambled over much of the mountain. It's not clear 
whether or not he was attempting to evade rangers, about ten of whom 
were involved in the effort to corral him. The 31-year-old man, who 
resides in Santa Clara, California, was not armed, and neither weapons 
nor any other illegal items were found in a consent search of his 
vehicle. He was taken to county jail to await an initial appearance 
before a federal magistrate. Video surveillance cameras proved very 
valuable in tracking his movements and in directing rangers to his 
location. [Mike Pflaum, CR, MORU, 6/16]

00-291 - Yosemite NP (CA) - MVA with Two Fatalities

On the afternoon of June 8th, ranger Steve Stockdale noticed that a 
roadside telephone cable box had been hit by a vehicle. He followed a 
path of debris and damaged vegetation and found a sedan over an 
embankment and about 150 feet down the road from the damaged cable 
box. The car, which was in heavy vegetation and invisible from the 
road, was upside down and wrapped around a tree. The 58-year-old male 
driver and his 43-year-old wife were dead inside the car. The accident 
investigation showed that the car, traveling at a high rate of speed, 
had left the pavement several times on both sides of the road. It had 
repeatedly glanced off the roadside slopes and returned to the 
pavement for about a quarter mile before finally flying off the road 
at a creek culvert. Evidence showed that it flew about 78 feet through 
the air before hitting the tree seven feet above its base, indicating 
it was going over 90 mph when it left the road. The roof of the 
vehicle had to be mechanically removed by NPS firefighters so the 
bodies could be removed. The autopsy of the driver revealed that he 
had suffered a heart attack prior to the accident. Based on the time 
the telephone system was knocked out, the accident had occurred about 
ten hours before it was discovered. [Jim Tucker, Acting ACR, YOSE, 
6/16]

00-292 - Independence NHP (PA) - Special Event

On Friday, June 6th, Texas governor George W. Bush appeared at 
Carpenters' Hall, site of the First Continental Congress, to make a 
policy speech to a small audience and news media. Governor Tom Ridge 
(PA) joined Bush. Although located within the park, Carpenters' Hall 
is still owned and operated by the Carpenters Company of Philadelphia, 
which built it 226 years ago. Law enforcement rangers worked with the 
Secret Service to ensure site security. No incidents were reported. 
[Phil Sheridan, PAO, INDE, 6/12]

00-293 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Heat Stroke Fatality

A 47-year-old Belgian man collapsed on the Tonto Trail two miles west 
of the Bass Trail intersection on June 5th. His companions hiked to 
the river to get water and asked members of a river trip for help. 
Rangers received the satellite call for help at 4:30 p.m. The caller 
said that the man was unconscious and barely breathing. Rangers in the 
park's helicopter were responding to another medical incident at the 
time; the helicopter was diverted and landed near the Belgian hiker 
within 20 minutes of receiving the initial call. The hiker was 
pronounced dead at the scene. He was a member of a party of four that 
had begun their hike into the canyon on May 30th. The cause of death 
was heart failure due to heat and stress. [Jennifer Flynn, IC, GRCA, 
6/6 and 6/15]

00-294 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Near Drowning, Life Saved

W.S., 47, of Sanaford, West Virginia, was swimming off 
Terry Beach in the New River on the afternoon of June 12th when he 
became exhausted, yelled for help, then slipped under water and did 
not resurface. J.H., owner of the property adjacent to the 
beach, swam out to W.S. on an inner tube, found him underwater, 
and pulled him to shore. W.S. was not breathing, cyanotic, and 
unresponsive. Two of W.S.'s friends, who'd been drinking, began 
CPR on him. A third person, not a member of the W.S. party, 
attempted to help in the resuscitation, but a fist fight ensued over 
who would revive W.S.. During the altercation, rangers arrived 
on scene, reestablished order, and continued treatment of the victim. 
CPR was effective and W.S. resumed breathing. He was taken to a 
hospital for further treatment. Alcohol was a major contributing 
factor to both the near drowning and the altercation. Rangers are 
conducting follow-up investigations into both incidents. [Rick Brown, 
ACR/Operations, NERI, 6/14]

00-295 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Drowning

M.C., 25, of Welch, West Virginia, drowned in the New 
River while fishing near Prince on the morning of June 10th. M.C. 
was wading in the river with two friends at the time of the accident. 
He stepped off a rock ledge into a deep hole and was swept downstream 
by the swift current. One of his friends tried to reach him, but also 
stepped off the ledge and was swept down the river. He made it to 
shore, but M.C. went under and did not resurface. Ranger and 
volunteers from three area fire departments responded and began a 
search. M.C.'s body was found just after noon near the point 
where he was last seen and about eight feet under the water. M.C. 
was not wearing a life jacket. [Rick Brown, ACR/Operations, NERI, 
6/12]

00-296 - St. Croix NSR (MN/WI) - Drowning

Late on the evening of June 10th, ranger Jeff Woods received a report 
of a possible drowning in the Osceola day use area. Rangers Woods and 
Matt Urch arrived just as an ambulance was leaving the area with 
A.F., five, who had been found floating several feet 
offshore in a backwater of the St. Croix River. He was flown to a 
hospital in St. Paul, where he was pronounced dead. [CRO, SACN, 6/13]

                [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE SITUATION

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III

CURRENT SITUATION

No new large fires were reported yesterday, and initial attack was 
light nationwide.

The following resources were committed nationwide as of yesterday 
(changes from yesterday's numbers in parentheses): 205 crews (+ 8), 
1,064 overhead (+ 21), 267 engines (- 78), 51 helicopters (- 8), and 
14 air tankers (+ 6).

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.

NPS FIRES

Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - The park reports considerable difficulty in 
obtaining the necessary resources to replace equipment and overhead as 
they rotate off fires after 14 days. Name requests for resources have 
met with only limited success. The weather forecast calls for hot and 
dry weather through the weekend.

Rocky Mountain NP (CO) - The park has closed some trails and areas due 
to threats from the Bobcat Fire on adjoining USFS and private land. 
Significant amounts of smoke are drifting into Estes Park and park 
headquarters.

SIGNIFICANT NON-NPS FIRES 

There was little or no activity on most major fires on Saturday.

OUTLOOK

NICC has issued a RED FLAG WARNING for dry lightning this morning in 
west central Utah, and three FIRE WEATHER WATCHES - one for dry 
thunderstorms in northern and central Utah, one for dry thunderstorms 
in central and eastern Nevada, and one for a high dispersion index in 
southern Florida.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/18; Mike Warren, NPS 
Fire Management Program Center, 6/16]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Commercial Filming Fees - On May 26th, President Clinton signed Public 
Law 106-206, the long awaited authority allowing the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a fee system 
for commercial filming activities on federal land. This Act will 
affect the NPS, BLM, USFWS, and Forest Service.  The decision has been 
made not to implement it until regulations are promulgated by the 
solicitor's office.  It's not yet certain when those regulations will 
be completed; updates will be provided through the Morning Report. 
Although the affected agencies cannot charge "location fees" until the 
regs are done, the NPS still has the authority to recover costs under 
16 USC 3a, and all parks are encouraged to do so.  The new act will be 
discussed in depth at the three upcoming servicewide workshops on 
filming and roads.  These workshops are scheduled for San Diego (July 
12th), Albuquerque (August 8th), and Williamsburg, Virginia (August 
23rd).  Questions on any of this should be directed to Dick Young at 
757-898-7846. (Dick Young, RAD/WASO)

Significant Office Relocation - In preparation for the move of the 
Intermountain Support Office personnel in Santa Fe from its current 
digs to a new location in the Rodeo Park Plaza business park, 
telephone and data services will be down beginning at 2:30 p.m. on 
Wednesday, June 21st. This will affect ALL email and phones for ALL 
Santa Fe based employees, including those park areas in the 
Intermountain Region who access email and DOInet through the Santa Fe 
Support Office. It's expected that services at the new location should 
be restored by 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 22nd. The physical move will 
begin on Thursday, June 22nd, and be completed by June 26th. [IMSO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/TN/AL) - The park is actively recruiting for 
two positions. The first is a permanent GS-12 assistant chief ranger. 
The major responsibilities include safety, law enforcement, fire 
management, special park uses, concessions, and the division's budget. 
The announcement is NATR-00-35 and is open departmentwide until July 
7th. The duty station is park headquarters in Tupelo, Mississippi. 
Tupelo High School recently received a blue ribbon award from the 
Department of Education as one of the top schools in the nation. The 
second position is a GS-11 district ranger. This is the second time 
the position has been advertised. Major responsibilities are safety, 
supervision, law enforcement, resource protection, resource 
management, interpretation, fire management, and community relations. 
The announcement is NATR-00-23R and is open departmentwide until June 
30th. The duty station is in Ridgeland, Mississippi, adjacent to the 
state capital in Jackson.

FILM AT 11...

This intermittent section will contain listings of upcoming 
significant TV and radio shows, films and print articles about the 
NPS. 

On Tuesday, June 27th, at 8 p.m. (EDT), the PBS "Savage Planet" series 
will be on Death Valley. Some park staff are in it. It was filmed by 
England's Granada Television last summer and fall.

                            *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed 
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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