NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, July 13, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1843, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow married Frances 
Elizabeth Appleton, whose father bought them the Cambridge, 
Massachusetts, house in which Longfellow was lodging as a wedding 
gift.  The poet spent the rest of his life at what is now Longfellow 
National Historic Site.

INCIDENTS

00-325 - Joshua Tree NP (CA) - Follow-up on Bee Attack

Four hikers were attacked by a swarm of bees on Sunday, June 25th, at 
the Negropolis Formation, about four miles from the park's west 
entrance station. Each was stung repeatedly, with one victim receiving 
over 100 stings and breaking his leg while fleeing the attack. The 
bees have since been positively identified as Africanized honey bees. 
The area adjacent to the attack was closed to the public for over a 
week. Rangers made several attempts to find the hive with the 
assistance of pest management personnel from San Bernadino County and 
one of the four victims, but all efforts to locate it have so far been 
unsuccessful. The area has reopened. Cautionary information is being 
distributed at visitor centers and entrance stations. [Patrick 
Suddath, DR, JOTR, 7/9]

00-391 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Armed Confrontation; Weapons Arrest

On the afternoon of July 10th, ranger Dave Horne was asked to 
investigate an unoccupied sport utility vehicle parked in the traffic 
lane of Highway 140 about 100 yards west of the Arch Rock entrance 
station. The driver could not be found in the area.  Horne checked out 
the unlocked vehicle and discovered several firearms, ammunition, and 
medications inside. The truck was registered to T.F., 56, of 
Fresno, California. Citations to T.F. were found in the truck from the 
Veterans Administration police in Fresno, who had recently charged him 
with weapons violations at the VA hospital. Fresh tracks and disturbed 
earth were found above the road. Horne and special agent Scott Hinson 
followed the tracks for a short distance when they spotted T.F. hiding 
in the brush and rocks about 30 feet above them. They took cover and 
ordered him to come out. T.F. was slow to follow commands; when he 
finally stood up, they saw that he had a Remington 12-gauge shotgun in 
his hands. After about a minute, T.F. complied with commands to set the 
shotgun down and to keep his hands in view. Horne and Hinson held T.F. 
at gunpoint for a half-hour, awaiting the arrival of additional 
rangers. During this period, Hinson was advised that T.F. had once been 
a corrections sergeant in the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. T.F. was 
taken into custody when backup arrived. His shotgun was found to be 
loaded with five OO buckshot rounds. A loaded Smith and Wesson .357 
magnum revolver and a box of 50 rounds were found at his feet, and a 
loaded and cocked Walther 9 mm pistol was found in his right front 
pocket. Additional handguns and a total of 366 rounds of ammunition 
were found in his vehicle. T.F. was booked into the Yosemite jail and 
charged with felony and misdemeanor weapons violations. [Scott Hinson, 
SA, YOSE, 7/11]

00-392 - Boston NHP (MA) - Assault on Ranger

A patrol ranger encountered a suspected heroin user on Bunker Hill 
monument grounds during the early morning hours of July 4th. During 
the contact, the man swung a filled syringe in a cutting manner within 
six feet of the ranger, then fled from the park into a nearby housing 
area. A foot pursuit ensued, but ended shortly after it began. 
Numerous items were left at the scene; they were collected as evidence 
and are being processed. [Dave Ballam, BOST, 7/10]

00-393 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Rescue

A Tour West motorized raft carrying three crew members and 15 
passengers got stuck on a rock at Horn Creek rapids early on the 
afternoon of July 8th. The trip leader contacted the park via 
satellite phone and asked for assistance. It took three helicopter 
trips to get short-haul and river rescue personnel on scene, and a 
total of ten short-haul lifts to evacuate the passengers and crew to 
the shore. A second helicopter flew all of them to the South Rim. 
Seven park rescuers spent the night on the beach because of the onset 
of darkness. The raft became dislodged sometime that evening and 
floated about a mile downstream. The Tour West crew was flown by 
helicopter to that location, boarded the raft, and continued down the 
Colorado. [Michael McGinnis, IC, GRCA, 7/11]

00-394 - Kings Mountain NMP (NC) - ARPA Violation

An off-duty park volunteer saw a man metal-detecting in the park on 
July 9th. He contacted the man and engaged him in conversation, 
learning in the process that he'd so far only found bottle caps. The 
volunteer immediately reported the contact to rangers. Chief ranger 
Chris Revels checked the area, but was unable to find the man. He was 
later seen leaving the parking lot by the same volunteer. Revels and 
interpretive ranger Bert Dunkerly later found eight holes that had 
been dug on the battlefield. They were in an area which had recently 
undergone a metal-detecting survey by SEAC archeologists. The 
investigation continues. [Chris Revels, CR, KIMO, 7/9]

                   [Additional reports pending...]
 
FIRE SITUATION

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

CURRENT SITUATION

New large fires were reported yesterday in the eastern Great Basin, 
the Northwest, the South and the Rockies. Initial attack was moderate 
in the Northwest, Rockies and Great Basin. Holdovers from yesterday's 
lightning, combined with hot and dry weather, will increase the 
potential for continued fire activity.

The following resources were committed nationwide as of yesterday 
(changes from yesterday's numbers in parentheses): 81 crews (+ 7), 339 
overhead (- 98), 174 engines (+ 9), 52 helicopters (+ 7), and eight 
air tankers (+ 4).

Very high to extreme fire danger indices were reported in Oregon, 
Washington, California, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and 
Wyoming.

NPS FIRES

Dinosaur NM (CO) - The Buster Flats Fire has been fully contained at 
11,033 acres.

Denali NP (AK) - Acreages for park fires as of yesterday were as 
follows: Foraker Fire, 17,956 acres; Otter Creek Fire, 15,682 acres; 
Chitsia Fire, 8,650 acres. Widespread rain and high relative humidity 
throughout the area have put a damper on all fires. 

SIGNIFICANT NON-NPS FIRES 

Ely Field Office, BLM (NV) - The 3,500-acre Cherry Fire (70 miles 
northwest of Ely) jumped containment lines yesterday and burned into 
the Goshute Canyon wilderness study area. Air tankers are being used 
to protect threatened structures on a nearby ranch.

Wind River Agency (WY) - A Type II team is managing the Muddy Creek 
Fire (10 miles west of Thermopolis), which has burned 3,000 acres and 
is threatening ranch homes, a watershed, and winter deer habitat.

Kisatchie NF (LA) - A Type I team has been assigned to the Longleaf 
Vista Fire (30 miles northwest of Alexandria). The fire has burned 875 
acres in a wilderness area. Suppression efforts are focused on 
protecting private land near the forest boundary.

OUTLOOK

NICC has issued three FIRE WEATHER WATCHES - the first for low 
relative humidity and gusty winds in western Montana; the second for 
low relative humidity and strong winds in the central mountains and 
Columbia Basin in Oregon; the third for strong and gusty winds in 
portions of central Washington.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/13; Mike Warren, NPS 
Fire Management Program Center, 7/12]

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.

FILM AT 11...

Yesterday, we noted that The History Channel will premier a show on 
the battle of Kings Mountain on its "Frontier: The Decisive Battles" 
series and that it would air on Sunday, July 16th, at 4 p.m. Another 
segment of the same series features "The Battle of New Orleans," which 
took place at Chalmette Battlefield, now a part of Jean Lafitte NHP&P. 
This installment first aired yesterday, but will likely be 
rebroadcast. Thanks to Chris Revels (KIMO) and Dan Brown (JELA) for 
sending along notes about this series.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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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