NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Saturday, July 8, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1935, Emmet Graft and Karl Schmidt of radio station 
WHAS, Louisville, made the first underground radio broadcast in 
history from the Snowball Room in Mammoth Cave National Park, 
Kentucky.

INCIDENTS

00-366 - Rocky Mountain NP (CO) - Six Rescues; Climbing Fatality

Park personnel have conducted six significant rescue operations and 
one body recovery in the park since mid-June:

o       June 17th - S.M., a guide for the Colorado Mountain 
        Club, fell while glissading down  Tyndall Glacier. S.M. 
        struck the rocks at the bottom of the slope, breaking four 
        vertebrae.  A rescue team lead by ranger Bill Alexander 
        reached S.M. just after 7 p.m., stabilized him and raised 
        him over 300 feet to the top of the glacier.  Unfortunately, 
        darkness fell as he was being raised, forcing a five-mile, 
        all-night litter carryout by staff, with assistance from 
        Larimer County Volunteer SAR. It took 17 hours of surgery to 
        repair S.M.'s injuries.
o       June 22nd - Park staff received a call at 2:30 a.m. reporting 
        that C.H., 20, had fallen in the Boulderfield. Hussey, 
        who had a history of seizures, was slightly incoherent. 
        Rangers Bill Alexander and Jordan Mammel arrived on scene 
        around 6 a.m. and coordinated a helicopter evacuation that 
        morning.
o       June 24th - Climber J.W. was struck in the face by 
        falling ice while climbing on Long's Peak. J.W. was able to 
        make it to the Chasm Lake shelter, where rangers coordinated a 
        helicopter evacuation to Denver. J.W. was treated for 
        sub-arachnoid trauma.
o       June 30th - A.H., 37,  contacted ranger Mary Beth 
        Lisse at Thunder Lake, complaining of lower right quadrant 
        pain.  He was evacuated by helicopter at 8:30 p.m. and 
        underwent an emergency appendectomy in Denver. Lisse cared for 
        A.H.'s two children that evening and hiked them out in 
        the morning.  The quick response saved A.H.'s life.
o       July 1st - Climber M.H., 26, called on his cell phone 
        at 9 p.m. to report that he had fallen and broken his ankle on 
        the Osiris route on The Book on Lumpy Ridge. M.H. was able to 
        jumar to the top of the route, where he was treated, then 
        carried out through the descent gully by park staff and 
        Larimer County SAR.
o       July 2nd - E.T., 34, slid down a snowfield in Chaos 
        Canyon below Otis Peak (12,486 feet) and broke her ankle.  The 
        area is appropriately named, as it is filled with large, 
        unstable boulders. This made it impossible to land a 
        helicopter, so a hazardous litter carryout was required. 
        Because of darkness and safety concerns, the evacuation team 
        spent the night in the field and carried E.T. out at first 
        light.
o       July 6th - Experienced climber C.T., 32, of Boulder, 
        Colorado, slipped on loose gravel while approaching the base 
        of the Yellow Wall climbing route on Long's Peak, falling over 
        600 feet to his death.  Rangers Jim Detterline, Mark Ronca and 
        Ryan Schuster arrived at C.T.'s resting place at the base of 
        Fields Chimney around 6:40 p.m. They conducted an 
        investigation and coordinated the removal of his body by 
        helicopter long line. C.T. was the park's second fatality 
        this year.

Numerous other incidents also occurred during the period. [Joe Evans, 
CR, ROMO, 7/7]

00-367 - Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P (AK) - Death Investigation

Alaska state troopers responded to a 911 call in the park around 3 
a.m. on the morning of Monday, June 3rd. R.M., 52, died while 
camping with his son and a friend on the Gilahina River along the 
McCarthy Road. R.M. had been drinking heavily the previous evening 
and had threatened to kill members of his party and another party 
camped on private land across the road. He twice pulled a knife, but 
was talked into returning to his camp for a couple of beers. After 
awhile, R.M. again became belligerent, threatening to kill the other 
three members of his group. When he went for a gun, they restrained 
him with a choke hold, tied his hands, and placed him in the bushes to 
sleep it off. They told troopers that they found him dead when 
checking on him later that night. An autopsy has been ordered and the 
investigation continues. The troopers have primary jurisdiction in the 
investigation. [Tom Betts, WRST, 7/6]

00-368 - Glen Canyon NRA (UT) - Homicide

On July 5th, a park concessioner reported that one of the company's 
administrative assistants - J.M., 51 - had failed to report to 
work that morning. A welfare check of his residence  in Bullfrog was 
conducted. He was found dead, and foul play was suspected. A joint 
investigation with the county is underway. A Utah state crime lab team 
processed the crime scene and an autopsy was performed in Salt Lake 
City on July 6th. The death has been ruled a homicide. [Brian O'Dea, 
Protection Specialist, GLCA, 7/6]

00-369 - Mount Rushmore NM (SD) - Special Event: Independence Day      
         Celebration

A major Independence Day celebration was held in the park from July 
3rd to July 5th. Approximately 90,000 people visited the park over the 
three days, with an estimated 25,000 people on site for the July 3rd 
fireworks show - the largest crowd of visitors in the park's history 
(the governor attended the event and said that it might also have been 
one of the largest crowds of people ever at one location in the 
state). Another 20,000 or so people watched the fireworks from areas 
surrounding the park. Rangers handled numerous EMS, law enforcement 
and visitors service incidents over the three-day period, but there 
were no significant incidents. The fireworks started about 16 fires, 
four large enough to be named; the small ones were extinguished 
immediately and the fire crews on site for the event had the others 
contained by 6 a.m. the next morning. About 200 people from ten parks 
worked on the event. They were joined by many others from cooperating 
agencies. The event and all fire-related costs were covered by private 
donations. [Mike Pflaum, CR, MORU, 7/7]

00-370 - Fort Sumter NM (SC) - Special Event: Gullah/Geechee Nation    
         Gathering

About 400 people attended a ceremony establishing an official 
spokesperson for the Gullah/Geechee nation on the evening of Sunday, 
July 2nd. Marquetta Goodwine was crowned "Queen Quet," becoming the 
first person ever officially recognized as the leader of the 
widely-dispersed Gullah and Geechee people. Goodwine received official 
recognition to honor the efforts she has made to preserve her heritage 
and to educate the public about the Gullah/Geechee people - slaves 
from hundreds of African tribes who were brought together and 
developed a common language known today as Gullah or Geechee. The 
ceremony was held at Fort Moultrie near the site of a state historic 
marker commemorating Sullivan's Island as the location where thousands 
of enslaved Africans were first brought to the United States. The 
event included several speakers, and traditional music, dance and 
story-telling. [Bill Martin, PIO, FOSU, 7/7]

00-371 - Independence NHP (PA) - Special Event: Liberty Medal Ceremony

On Independence Day, the park hosted the annual Liberty Medal 
ceremony. This year, the medal was presented to Francis Crick and 
James Watson, the researchers who described the molecular structure of 
DNA in 1953.  At 2 p.m. that afternoon, seven children descended from 
signers of the Declaration of Independence gently tapped the Liberty 
Bell 13 times, starting the nationwide sounding of bells. Several 
groups exercised their First Amendment rights in the park, but no 
incidents were reported. [Phil Sheridan, PAO, INDE, 7/6]

00-372 - Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP's (CA) - Double Drowning

On the afternoon of July 5th, C.S., 43, and his son, A.S., 
10, drowned at the confluence of the Marble Fork and Middle Fork of 
the Kaweah River. A family member flagged down ranger Glen Giokaris 
and reported that the two were in trouble in the river. Giokaris was 
on scene immediately and pulled both of them from the river. 
Additional rangers and emergency personnel arrived within minutes. CPR 
and advanced life support measures were administered for about 50 
minutes until halted by a medical control physician. According to 
witnesses, the son attempted to swim across the river to his father, 
but began having difficulty staying above the surface. Another family 
member came to the boy's aid, but he grabbed her in panic and was 
pulling her underwater. The father separated the two and the current 
carried her downstream a short distance. By the time she was able to 
get out of the river, both father and son had disappeared. Ash 
Mountain subdistrict ranger Randy Larson was IC; ranger Bud Walsh is 
the principle investigator. [Bob Wilson, LES, SEKI, 7/7]

00-373 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Motorcycle MVA with Two Fatalities

V.S., 74, and his wife, C.J.S., 64, both of 
Palmyra, Illinois, died in a motorcycle accident just south of Tower 
Fall Junction around 1 p.m. on July 5th. According to witnesses, the 
S.s were heading south near Rainy Lake when he swerved to miss a 
mule deer near the road and lost control of the motorcycle. It then 
went down an embankment and hit a tree. Both of the S.s were 
wearing helmets and he was driving at or near the speed limit. Park 
personnel from Tower, Canyon and Mammoth responded immediately and 
provided emergency medical care, but resuscitation efforts were 
unsuccessful. [Public Affairs, YELL, 7/6]

                      [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE SITUATION

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

CURRENT SITUATION

One new large fire was reported in southern California yesterday. 
Initial attack activity was light to moderate nationwide. Containment 
goals were met on large fires in Idaho, Montana and Hawaii. An area 
command team is managing large fires in western Colorado and southern 
Wyoming, and a Type II team has been ordered to stage in Denver.

The following resources were committed nationwide as of yesterday 
(changes from yesterday's numbers in parentheses): 137 crews (+ 24), 
508 overhead (+ 115), 205 engines (+ 12), 58 helicopters (+ 12), and 
one air tanker (- 1).

Very high to extreme fire danger indices were reported in Utah, 
Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, California, Alaska, Arizona, New 
Mexico and South Dakota.

NPS FIRES

Dinosaur NM (CO) - The Buster Flats Fire has burned 10,060 acres, an 
increase of only 10 acres from yesterday, and is 45% contained. 
Retardant drops are preventing spread of the fire to the north. 
Gusting winds and low relative humidity continue to impede containment 
efforts. A total of 266 firefighters and overhead personnel, six 
engines and five helicopters have been committed to the fire.

SIGNIFICANT NON-NPS FIRES 

Salt Lake Field Office, BLM (UT) - The Borrow Pit Fire (20 miles 
southwest of Salt Lake City) has burned 3,900 acres. The fire has 
exhibited extreme behavior, with a run up one canyon and some 
flare-ups in canyon bottoms and along ridges. 

Grand Junction District, BLM (CO) - The Cone Mountain Fire (38 miles 
southwest of Grand Junction) has burned 4,960 acres. Another day of 
red flag conditions caused the fire to make short runs yesterday in 
heavy fuels. Crews nonetheless made significant progress on fireline 
construction. A residence and two commercial buildings have been lost.

Alaskan Areas, BLM - There are currently 21 unstaffed and uncontained 
fires burning in limited protection areas. Together, they've so far 
burned 281,320 acres.

OUTLOOK

NICC has issued the following for today:

o       A RED FLAG WARNING for strong southwest winds, low relative 
        humidity and a Haines Index of six for east central Nevada.
o       A RED FLAG WARNING for very dry and windy conditions in 
        southwest Wyoming.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/8]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No submissions.

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

No submissions.

FOOTNOTE

Several readers have noted that the web address for information on 
flag etiquette and protocol provided in the June 28th Morning Report 
was in error. The correct listing is www.legion.org/flagcode.htm. This 
address provides a nine-page guideline from 36 USC 10, which in turn 
was taken from a law passed by Congress in 1976. You might also check 
4 USC and Executive Order 10834, both of which also cover flag 
etiquette. Thanks to Dennis Reidenbach (INDE), Gordie Wilson (SER), 
and Ed Clark (HOFU).

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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