NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, August 30, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1862, Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee 
vanquished Major General John Pope's Union army at the Second Battle 
of Manassas, opening the way for the South's first invasion of the 
North.  Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia, preserves the 
scene of the three-day battle.

INCIDENTS

00-540 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Rescue

On the afternoon of August 25th, the park was notified that a 
23-year-old woman had been injured in a fall in White Oak Canyon. 
M.S. was swinging from a rope near a pool at the base of a 
waterfall when she fell onto a rock slab underneath the surface. An 
evacuation team led by ranger Liz Yee and a technical rescue team led 
by ranger Bill Cardwell responded. M.S. was found at the edge of the 
water, and had an open compound fracture in her lower leg. Advanced 
life support was begun while the technical rescue team rigged a series 
of belay points. She was extricated from the rugged canyon and 
evacuated up the trail; the entire operation took over seven hours. 
M.S. was taken by ambulance to Culpepper Hospital and is in good 
condition. Ranger Bob Kreiling was the incident commander. [Clayton 
Jordan, DR, Central District, SHEN, 8/26]

00-541 - Gulf Islands NS (FL/MS) - Sexual Assault

On August 26th, park dispatch received a cell phone report from some 
campers who had provided assistance to a woman found wandering naked 
along Fort Pickens Road sometime after 1:30 a.m. They had taken her to 
the ranger station. Rangers Larry Edwards and Dennis Parsons and two 
deputies from Escambia County Sheriff's Office responded. 
Investigation revealed that the 29-year-old woman had been sexually 
assaulted by a 20-year-old acquaintance, robbed of her belongings and 
clothing, then kicked out of the vehicle along the roadway. Another 
man and woman were inside the vehicle, but it's not yet known if they 
witnessed the attack. The woman said that the attacks occurred both 
inside the vehicle and on the beach near parking lot #21. A victim 
advocate assisted, as did officers from a Florida Department of Law 
Enforcement crime scene unit. The woman was treated for minor 
injuries, then transported to a local hospital. A BOLO ("be on the 
lookout" message) was broadcast for the suspect and his vehicle 
(confirmed as the location where the crime took place). A joint 
investigation continues. [CRO, GUIS, 8/28]

00-542 - Hopewell Culture NHP (OH) - Arson

On the afternoon of August 25th, C.J. of Frankfort, Ohio, 
left her 1985 GMC Blazer on the side of a park road after it had 
broken down.  When she and her husband returned to retrieve an item 
from the vehicle early the following morning, she found it fully 
engulfed in flames.  A local township fire department responded to 
extinguish the blaze.  The Ross County Sheriff's Department and Union 
Township fire chief are investigating the incident.  The vehicle was a 
total loss. [Wayne Rose, PR, HOCU, 8/27]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE SITUATION

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level V

CURRENT SITUATION

Nine new large fires were reported yesterday; seven others were 
contained. Initial attack was light to moderate in most areas. Showers 
and cooler temperatures are predicted for the Northwest and northern 
Rockies, which will help crews in making progress toward containment 
goals on the large fires in those areas. 

The following resources were committed nationwide as of yesterday 
(changes from yesterday's numbers in parentheses): 667 crews (- 62), 
7,211 overhead (- 232), 1,249 engines (- 44), and 226 helicopters 
(- 8).

Very high to extreme fire danger indices were reported in Kansas, 
Arkansas, Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and all eleven Western 
states.

For more national fire news, go to www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html, 
which also provides links to web sites for specific fires.

NPS AND NPS-RELATED FIRES

Yellowstone NP (WY) - Spruce Complex (5,650 acres, 0% containment, no 
estimated containment date, 58 FF/OH). A slight increase in fire 
activity was noted on Tuesday. Crews on the Boundary Fire are taking 
action to prevent the fire from spreading to the south. Firefighters 
have been staged at a cabin on the Plateau Fire to protect that 
building.

Theodore Roosevelt NP (ND) - Blacktail Complex (4,500 acres, 70% 
containment, full containment expected by August 31st, 135 FF/OH). 
Crews, engines and helicopters are making good progress toward 
containment, aided by a decrease in winds, lower temperatures and 
higher humidities. Hose lays are completed on the north and west 
sides. All fire lines held during the burning period yesterday.

Glacier NP (MT) - Sharon Fire [450 acres, 0% containment, no estimated 
containment date, 10 FF/OH]. Structure protection measures have been 
taken at three backcountry cabin sites. NPS staff are monitoring the 
fire on daily aerial observation flights. Park Peake Fire [2,100 
acres, 75% containment, full containment expected by October 15th, 
four FF]. Fire activity is low to moderate with no substantial 
increase in perimeter. Occasional spotting is occurring along Kintla 
Creek and open flames are visible near the glacier.

Grand Teton NP (WY) - Teton Complex (15,506 acres, 0% containment, no 
estimated containment date, Type II team, 374 FF/OH). Structure 
protection remains in place. Containment problems for the fires in 
this complex include high winds, low relative humidity and heavy 
fuels.

Great Basin NP/Humboldt-Toiyabe NF (NV) - Phillips Ranch Fire [2,600 
acres, 15% containment, no estimated containment date, 40 FF/OH). No 
new information.

Jewel Cave NM/Black Hills NF (SD) - Jasper Fire (70,150 acres, 10% 
containment, no estimated containment date, 902 FF/OH). Unfavorable 
weather continue to hamper containment efforts, though crews are 
making good progress on the east and west flanks. Highway 16 remains 
closed and evacuations around the fire remain in effect. The park 
remains closed and unstaffed.

For a listing of all fires, see www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.html. 

OUTLOOK

No watches or warnings have been issued today.

A Pacific trough will move across the northwest along the Canadian 
border and will bring cooler temperatures behind this system. There is 
a chance of showers in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and western 
Montana. The air mass will remain dry in Oregon and central and 
southern Idaho. Monsoonal moisture will bring thunderstorms to the 
higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada, across central Nevada, Utah, 
Wyoming, and southward. 

Winds will generally be west to northwest at 10 to 20 mph in the 
northwest United States. In the rest of the area, winds will be 
upslope or southwest at 15 mph or less. 

Temperatures will be in the 70's to mid 80's in the mountains, mid 
80's to 90's in the lower elevations and 100 to 110 in the hottest 
deserts.

Relative humidity will be in the teens and 20's with some single digit 
readings occurring in the driest areas. 

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/30]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Cape Cod NS (MA) - Dolphin Stranding, Rescue

On August 26th, rangers assisted personnel from the New England 
Aquarium and the Cape Cod Stranding Network in rescuing approximately 
30 stranded Atlantic white-sided dolphins. The dolphins were seen the 
previous evening in the Herring River, an embayment off of the 
Wellfleet harbor and Cape Cod Bay. Low tides had kept them from 
returning to deeper waters, and some had run aground. Rescuers 
assembled the following morning to begin herding the dolphins to 
deeper water during high tide. Rangers, volunteers and personnel from 
the Wellfleet Harbor Master's Office, the Coast Guard (Provincetown 
Station), Mass Audubon, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute 
used acoustic pinging devises and boats to encourage the dolphins out 
of the Herring River into the Wellfleet Harbor and further out into 
Cape Cod Bay.  Six of the dolphins died during the night, probably due 
to stress from the stranding.  Dolphins, pilot whales and other marine 
mammals occasionally enter the area due to feeding or other activity, 
become confused in the dropping tide, and become stranded. (Kevin 
Fitzgerald, CR, CACO)

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No submissions.

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Hawaii Volcanoes NP (HI) - The park has an opening for a GS-025-11 
supervisory park ranger in interpretation. The vacancy announcement 
numbers is PISO-MPP-00-24 and it can be found on USA Jobs. It closes 
on September 7th. Duties include: Manage and direct all interpretive 
and information programs. Supervise a staff of interpretive park 
rangers, park guides and volunteers. Write proposals for fund planning 
for various projects, plan for rehabilitation of facilities and 
exhibits, coordinate special design needs with individuals and 
associations. [Mardie Lane, HAVO]

Gulf Islands NS (MS/FL) - The park is currently advertising for a 
GS-11 lead park protection ranger. The announcement is on USA Jobs and 
closes on September 18th. This position has many conditions of 
employment and special requirements due to the nature of the work.  It 
is open to current career or career-conditional employees within the 
Department of Interior and CTAP eligibles only.  The announcement 
number is GUIS P00-15. If you are interested in this job, or know 
someone who is, please download the full text of the vacancy 
announcement from USA Jobs or request a hard copy by calling the 
park's job line at 850-934-2601. [Kitty Lewis, GUIS]

                            *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed 
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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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