NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, June 27, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1864, General Joseph E. Johnston's Confederates 
repulsed Major General William T. Sherman's attack near Kennesaw 
Mountain, Georgia, suffering some 800 casualties to the Union's 3,000. 
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park commemorates the 
Confederate victory.

INCIDENTS

00-299 - Denali NP (AK) - Follow-up on Employee Fatalities

As noted in Sunday's Morning Report, the funeral service for seasonal 
ranger Cale Shaffer, killed in last week's air crash in Denali, will 
be held at 1 p.m. on June 28th at the United Methodist Church in 
Madisonburg, Pennsylvania. The NPS will be represented by rangers and 
employees from a number of areas. Cale's ashes have been returned home 
by ranger Mark Motsko, who was a friend and his supervisor at Wonder 
Lake last year. If you plan on attending, please contact Clark Guy in 
NERO (215-597-7135), who is coordinating the NPS participation.  [Jane 
Tranel, PIO, DENA, 6/26]

00-315 - Denali NP (AK) - Death of Employee

Seasonal maintenance worker Mark Weronko, 52, was killed in an 
off-duty accident on Dalton Highway (the pipeline haul road to Prudhoe 
Bay) late on the afternoon of June 24th. He was the passenger in a 
vehicle that left the narrow, gravel road and rolled onto its roof. 
The driver's injuries, if any, are not known. Mark worked at Eielson 
Visitor Center. [Tom Habecker, DR, North District, DENA, 6/25]

00-316 - Indiana Dunes NL (IN) - Death of Employee

Maintenance mechanic supervisor Dwight Lange, 49, passed away on June 
23rd. Dwight, who hailed from Superior, Wisconsin, had worked for the 
government for 27 years; he joined the Service at Padre Island NS in 
1984 and had worked at Indiana Dunes for the past ten years. He was 
Midwest Region's maintenance employee of the year in 1998. A memorial 
service will be held on June 28th at the Edmonds and Evans Funeral 
Home in Chesterton, Indiana. Dwight is survived by his wife, Cathleen, 
his mother, Lillian, and several siblings, children, grandchildren, 
and many close friends and co-workers. Memorial donations should be 
sent to the Indiana Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 921 
East 86th Street, Suite 205, Indianapolis, IN 46240. [Al Nash, INDU, 
6/26]

00-317 - Carlsbad Caverns NP (NM) - Rock Fall; Trail Closure

Rangers discovered a significant rock fall in the vicinity of Iceberg 
Rock on the morning of June 26th. Enough material - about three cubic 
yards of rock - had fallen to almost entirely block the trail to 
visitors. The 50 or so people who were in the cave at the time, 
however, were able to get out without difficulty with the assistance 
of rangers and maintenance employees. The trail has been closed and 
will remain closed until a thorough assessment can be made and cleanup 
completed. This should take from several days to a week. Visitors will 
still have access to the Big Room, the Kings Palace tour, and the 
off-trail caving tours. Rock falls in side the caverns are extremely 
rare. A geologist will be assisting park cave specialists in 
investigating the cause of the fall and assessing the area for 
possible threats to visitor and employee safety. [Mark Maciha, CACA, 
6/26]

00-318 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Arson

The interior of an entrance station under construction and about 80% 
complete was burned in an arson fire at 4 a.m. on Sunday, June 18th. 
The building is located on East Lake Mead Boulevard. It appears that 
entry was gained by prying open the door, and that the fire was set in 
a box housing the air conditioning unit. All the sheet rock, the 
electrical work and the air conditioning unit will have to be 
replaced. The fire is under investigation by park and county 
investigators and ATF agents. The station is isolated and on a road 
that local gangs use to come to the lake. [Dale Antonich, CR, LAME, 
6/19]

00-319 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Shots Fired at Bear

Rangers Julie Horne, Kevin Harrison and Prashant Lotwala responded to 
shots being fired in Lower Pines campground at 1:30 a.m. on June 12th. 
They found the shooter, James Cooper, inside his tent, yelling that 
he'd shot a bear and that the animal was still in the tree near his 
campsite. The rangers confiscated and secured Cooper's 9mm handgun. 
Cooper told the rangers that he had shined his flashlight through the 
tent's mesh window in the bear's eyes and she bluff charged the tent, 
reportedly coming to within two feet. He continued yelling at the bear 
and flashing her with his light and she charged the tent again. When 
the bear charged the tent a third time, Cooper fired one shot at her 
from inside the tent from a distance of two to four feet. Numerous 
tents, motor homes, and other campers were behind the bear and in the 
line of fire. The sow climbed a nearby tree and was still there with 
her cub when the rangers arrived. Cooper was arrested and charged with 
CFR violations of possession of a firearm, using a weapon in a manner 
that endangers persons and property, and disturbing wildlife. Wildlife 
technicians who were familiar with this sow were able to haze the 
bears out of the campground. The sow was later captured and found to 
have no wounds. Cooper pled guilty to two of the three charges. He was 
placed on a year's probation, sentenced to pay a $250 fine, and 
forfeited his weapon and magazines. [Julie Horne, PR, YOSE, 6/26]

                  [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE SITUATION

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

CURRENT SITUATION

New large fires were reported on Monday in California and the western 
Great Basin. Initial attack was moderate in California, Nevada, Alaska 
and Florida, and minimal elsewhere. 

The following resources were committed nationwide as of yesterday 
(changes from yesterday's numbers in parentheses): 81 crews (no 
change), 465 overhead (+ 78), 144 engines (- 12), 42 helicopters (+ 
1), and two air tankers (- 2).

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Oregon, 
Washington, California, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, 
Wyoming, Florida and Mississippi.

NPS FIRES

No reports. 

SIGNIFICANT NON-NPS FIRES 

Alaska State - The Clear Fire (20 miles southwest of Nenana) has 
burned 1,000 acres. High winds and low relative humidity are 
presenting challenges to containment efforts. Several structures are 
threatened.

Winnemucca Field Office, BLM - The 800-acre Rock Creek Fire (15 miles 
north of Gerlach) is threatening two residences, several National 
Register properties and habitat for a number of species of wildlife. 

OUTLOOK

NICC has not issued any watches or warnings today.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/27]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Update on Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) - The National 
Park Service CISM program has been become an integral part of 
maintaining employee health and well being within the organization. 
The CISM program consists of NPS employees from all divisions who have 
received specialized training in peer support and critical incident 
stress debriefings.  A comprehensive description of the varied facets 
of the CISM program can be obtained through the winter 1998 edition of 
"Ranger: The Journal of the Association of National Park Rangers." 
Parks requesting CISM services following a critical incident 
(including extended SARs, death in the workplace, or multi-casualty 
incidents) should call Shenandoah NP dispatch for resource allocation 
(540-999-3422). CISM program manager Pat Buccello, RAD/WASO, should be 
contacted regarding specific training or program questions 
(207-288-0431. (Dennis Burnett, RAD/WASO)

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

No submissions.

FOOTNOTE

Incident Reporters - Please note that the new incident reporting 
SOP's, distributed to all Morning Report readers last week, stipulate 
that submitters need to send copies to just two people working in/for 
WASO - Bill Halainen, editor of the Morning Report at DEWA, and Dennis 
Burnett, chief of the Service's LE program in RAD/WASO. Some folks 
have picked up on this, but many are still sending incident summaries 
to the old reporting parties or to just the editor. Copies should, of 
course, also go to designated staff in regional offices, but you need 
to send it to only Halainen and Burnett in WASO. Thanks.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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.

                              --- ### ---