NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, July 28, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1846, Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny's Army of 
the West, en route to the conquest of New Mexico via the Santa Fe 
Trail, arrived at Bent's Old Fort.  Bent's Old Fort National Historic 
Site, Colorado, contains a reconstruction of the adobe fort and 
trading post.

INCIDENTS

00-432 - Upper Delaware S&RR (NY/PA) - Death of Employee

Maintenance mechanic leader Leonard W. "Lenny" Hoffert, Jr., 53, died 
suddenly on the morning of Wednesday, July 26th. He was recuperating 
at the time from major surgery that he'd had on July 14th. A retired 
20-year veteran of the Marine Corps with two tours of duty in Vietnam, 
Lenny had worked for the National Park Service at Upper Delaware since 
1991. [Calvin Hite, Superintendent, UPDE, 7/27]

00-433 - National Capital Parks Central (DC) - EMS Assist, Childbirth

On July 13th, Park Police motorcycle officer Mike Wilson was contacted 
by a man whose wife was in the late stages of labor and about to give 
birth. The baby's head was already visible when Wilson arrived at 
their vehicle. Wilson and the woman's husband successfully delivered 
the baby boy before EMS arrived on scene. The family was transported 
to a local hospital, where the mother and child are reported to be 
doing fine. [Sgt. R. MacLean, USPP, NCR, 7/27]

00-434 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (NJ/PA) - Drowning

Just before 1 p.m. on July 25th, park dispatch received a report that 
a woman had been found floating in the Delaware River and that 
Worthington State Forest personnel were performing CPR on her on 
Woodcock Bar. Rangers responded and assisted in providing CPR and in 
getting the woman to the shore. She was taken by ambulance to a 
hospital in Stroudsburg, where she was pronounced dead at 2 p.m. An 
investigation was begun in an effort to determine her identity. 
Rangers learned that she was S.C., 44, of Philadelphia, and 
that she had been visiting a local resort with a group of mentally 
challenged people from a residential home. S.C. and a companion had 
joined a group from the resort who went out onto the river from the 
park's Smithfield Beach just after 10 a.m. that morning. Most of the 
others were in canoes; S.C. and her friend were in tubes and were 
wearing life jackets. At some point, S.C. got into trouble. Her 
companion came ashore, walked to a nearby road, and got a ride back to 
the resort. She didn't tell anyone that S.C. was in trouble, though. 
S.C. was spotted drifting in the water by passing canoeists, who 
notified state rangers. The coroner has confirmed that the cause of 
death was drowning. An investigation into the circumstances 
surrounding her death is underway. S.C. was still wearing her life 
jacket when found. [CRO, DEWA, 7/25]

00-435 - John Day Fossil Beds NM (OR) - Closure; Spill

Lightning started a fire on BLM lands adjacent to the park's Clarno 
Unit on the evening of July 18th. The fire spread slowly at first, but 
gained speed on the afternoon of the 19th and spread to private lands. 
On the 20th, the IMT responsible for suppression of the Two Horse 
Complex fires closed Highway 218 so that unburned fuel between the 
flank of the fire and the highway could be burned out. The Clarno Unit 
was also closed, as the highway provides what is essentially the only 
access to the unit and because part of that area was being used as for 
the ICP and a helispot. Park staff assisted in evacuation of several 
facilities. Although the highway and unit were reopened around 
midnight on the 21st, the road had to again be closed for eight hours 
on the 22nd when a 2,000-gallong fuel truck bringing fuel to fire 
equipment overturned. No park lands were burned by the fire, nor were 
any lands damaged by the spill. [Scot McElveen, CR, JODA, 7/27]

FIRE SITUATION

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level V

The preparedness level has gone up one step.  Preparedness Level V 
goes into effect when the following conditions are met: Several 
geographic areas are experiencing major incidents which have the 
potential to exhaust all agency fire resources.  A total of 625 crews 
committed nationally.

CURRENT SITUATION

A total of 16 new large fires were reported in the Great Basin and 
Rockies; containment goals were reached on 14 other large fires. Heavy 
initial attack was reported in western Colorado, Wyoming, South 
Dakota, Utah and eastern Idaho. Hot, dry and windy weather, coupled 
with thunderstorms, will keep fire activity high in the Great Basin, 
Rockies and Arizona. Two Type I teams were mobilized and sent to fires 
in the eastern Great Basin. All national resources are becoming 
scarce.

The following resources were committed nationwide as of yesterday 
(changes from yesterday's numbers in parentheses): 634 crews (+ 103), 
2,897 overhead (+ 664), 820 engines (+ 98), 167 helicopters (+ 12), 
and 13 air tankers (+ 3).

Very high to extreme fire danger indices were reported in all eleven 
Western states and in Texas.

NPS FIRES

Mesa Verde NP (CO) - Bircher Fire (22,950 acres, 70% containment, Type 
I team, 1,016 firefighters and overhead): The fire grew by only a few 
acres yesterday. Higher relative humidity made it possible for crews 
to make progress through direct attack. The fire continues to burn in 
the cliffs and rimrock on the north and south flanks.

Death Valley NP (CA) - Happy Fire (5,700 acres, 85% containment, 75 
firefighters and overhead): The Type II management team has been 
released. A flare-up occurred in an inaccessible area with sparse 
vegetation.

SIGNIFICANT NON-NPS FIRES 

Note: There are too many major fires to list here due to time and 
space constraints. Most of the following are fires being managed by 
Type I teams. For a full listing of all project fires, see 
www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.html.

Boise NF (ID) - Twin Creek Fire (390 acres, 30% containment, Type I 
team, 465 firefighters and overhead): Despite strong, shifting winds, 
fire lines held all along the northwest and south flanks through the 
afternoon. The potential remains for significant runs in continuous 
heavy fuels.

Payette NF (ID) - Burgdorf Junction Fire (10,100 acres, 35% 
containment, Type I team, 611 firefighters and overhead): Southwest 
winds and long-range spotting are causing the head of the fire to 
continue advancing toward the northeast. Fire line construction is 
slow due to inaccessible terrain, torching and spotting.

Salmon-Challis NF (ID) - Clear Creek Fire (54,000 acres, 30% 
containment, Type I team, 890 firefighters and overhead): The fire has 
crossed Big Deer Creek and Panther Creek, making significant runs. 
Three historic cabins have burned. Evacuation of the Blackbird Mine is 
underway. The fire was active through the night.

Wasatch-Cache NF (UT) - Wasatch Complex (2,070 acres, no estimate of 
containment, Type I team, 279 firefighters and overhead): The 
Wallsburg Fire is torching and potting in sub-alpine fir. The East 
Vivian Fire spotted outside containment lines and has made several 
significant runs to the northeast.

Fishlake National Forest (UT) - Oldroyd Fire (200 acres, 5% 
containment, Type I team, 18 firefighters and overhead): Torching, 
crowning and spotting has been observed. About 35 structures are 
threatened.

Department of Energy (ID) - Ineel Fire (16,000 acres, no other details 
available): Employees were evacuated from the Idaho National 
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory yesterday. Highway 20 between 
Idaho Falls and Arco was closed for a time. Air tankers were employed 
to protect structures.

Upper Snake River District (ID) - Coffee Point North Fire (30,000 
acres, 20% containment, Type I team, 16 firefighters and overhead): 
Active torching and spotting occurred on this fire again yesterday. 
The current threat is to critical wildlife habitat. A Type I team has 
been ordered to manage this and other large fires in eastern Idaho.

Helena NF (MT) - Canyon Ferry Complex (23,640 acres, 40% containment, 
Type I team and Type II team, 689 firefighters and overhead): The 
Bucksnort Fire showed no growth over the past 24 hours, permitting 
progress on fire line construction, but fire behavior on the Cave 
Gulch Fire has been extreme and an evacuation is in place for the 
community of York.

Los Padres NF (CA) - Plaskett 2 Fire (2,800 acres, 60% containment, 
Type I team, 1,193 firefighters and overhead): The fire continues to 
back into the North Fork of Willow Creek and burn along Highway 1. 
Dozers have opened an old mining road to aid access to the east side 
of the fire.

Sequoia NF (CA) - Manter Fire (18,725 acres, 30% containment, Type I 
team, 689 firefighters and overhead): The fire has spread 
significantly to the northeast. A 100-acre spot fire on the east side 
of the Kern River is moving toward the Long Valley area. Voluntary 
evacuation orders have been put into effect for the community of 
Kennedy Meadows, where 200 structures are threatened.

OUTLOOK

NICC has issued a RED FLAG WARNING for strong winds in eastern 
Washington.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/28; Mike Warren, NPS 
Fire Management Program Center, 7/27]

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.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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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