NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Saturday, May 19, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-225 - Fire Islands NS (NY) - Aircraft Emergency Landing

On the afternoon of May 17th, a single-engine Cessna 150 lost power 
and was forced to make an emergency landing on the beach in front of 
the park's designated wilderness area a mile west of Smith Point. 
There was no damage to the plane and no injuries to the two operators, 
a training instructor and his student. The plane was safely towed off 
the beach by an experienced recovery team. There was no damage to park 
resources. (George Leone, IC, FIIS, 5/18)

01-226 - National Capital Parks (DC) - Rescue

Park Police officers were called to the FDR Memorial on May 5th to 
assist a 69-year-old visitor who complained of chest pains and 
shortness of breath. Officer Mark Varanelli, a certified paramedic, 
began treating her. Within minutes, she began experiencing a grand mal 
seizure. Both pulse and breathing stopped. Varanelli inserted an 
airway and began helping her breathe. He finally had to resort to an 
AED defibrillator to restore her pulse and breathing. She was flown to 
Washington Hospital Center in Eagle 1, the USPP helicopter, where she 
remains in critical condition. [Sgt. Dennis Maroney, USPP, NCR, 5/7]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

No new information. Please check the NPS Fire Management Program 
Center web page (www.fire.nps.gov) for further information on fire 
plan projects.

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 1

Initial attack activity was moderate in the South on Friday and light 
elsewhere. One new fire was reported in the South; one large fire was 
contained in Montana. High pressure will begin to weaken across the 
southeastern states as a cold front approaches the area. Florida, 
southeast Georgia and South Carolina will remain dry, while other 
portions of the Southeast will see showers and thunderstorms develop. 
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Florida, 
New Mexico and Texas. 

NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for low relative humidity this 
afternoon in most of Florida and southeast Georgia.

The full NICC Incident Management Situation Report can be found at 
http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf

National Resource Status

Date                    5/15    5/16    5/17    5/18    5/19

Crews                   63      54      36      29      23
Engines                 123     88      84      101     84
Helicopters             25      22      22      19      17
Air Tankers             0       1       0       0       0
Overhead                444     337     287     294     234

Park Fire Situation

Everglades NP (FL) - The Lopez Fire (8,533 acres, 54 FF/OH, three 
engines, two helicopters, one single-engine air tanker) is 95% 
contained, with full containment expected by May 20th. 
Although there's only a minimal threat that the fire will escape into 
unburned vegetation, it cannot be declared contained until hardwood 
hammocks near the perimeter are secured.  Control of the fire is 
anticipated by May 22nd, but it will take significant rain to put it 
out completely. Suppression activities currently underway are focused 
on minimizing the fire's impacts to sensitive hammock soils and 
vegetation. The Smokey Bear hotshots spent the last two days mopping 
up hot spots in one of the big hammocks while helicopters dropped 
water from sling buckets. Another hand crew worked the hammock on 
Friday. Monitoring continues via aerial reconnaissance and road 
patrols. It has not rained in the park for nearly two weeks; fire 
danger remains very high. Soil moisture levels are dropping, and the 
surface water level has dropped over a foot since the Lopez Fire 
began. Fire danger could become extreme within days. Firefighters are 
staged for initial attack on any new fires that may occur here or in 
the region. The single-engine air tanker was  reassigned from the 
Lopez Fire to a fire at Big Cypress NP on Thursday afternoon; the 
hotshots were reassigned to Big Cypress Thursday evening. 

Acadia NP (ME) - Firefighters from the park responded to a county-wide 
mutual aid request for a wildland fire in the town of Bucksport on 
Monday, May 14th. A controlled burn of a blueberry field (a common 
local practice) was carried out on Friday, May 11th, and was thought 
to have been fully extinguished. Extremely dry conditions, coupled 
with strong winds, caused the fire to rekindle on Monday and move into 
heavier fuels. The fire displayed rapid spread rates, active torching 
and significant spotting. It jumped a state highway and threatened 15 
homes, forcing several residents to evacuate their homes. The park's 
Model 62 fire engine, with a crew of four, was specifically requested 
for its Class A foam capabilities. The engine was used for structural 
protection and to construct wet line. A total of 33 fire departments 
participated in the suppression operations. No homes or other 
structures were lost to the 20-acre fire.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         Big Bend
Very High       Everglades
High            Grand Canyon, Lake Mead, Great Smokies

[Doug Jones, FMO, ACAD, 5/18; Deb Nordeen, IO, EVER, 5/18; Mike 
Warren, NPS FMPC, 5/18; NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 
5/19; NPS Situation Summary Report, 5/18]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Padre Island NS (TX) - Kemp's Ridley Turtle Nesting

The park's first Kemp's Ridley sea turtle nest of the year was found 
on May 16th. Chief ranger Gus Martinez and ranger Gary Carroll were on 
morning patrol on the beach when they saw a turtle coming out of the 
water and onto the beach. They immediately set up a perimeter to 
protect the turtle. USGS field biologist Dr. Donna Shaver and a team 
responded to recover the eggs once they were laid. The Kemp's Ridley 
is the most endangered sea turtle in the world. This is only the 
second Kemp's Ridley found in the United States this year. The 
turtle's eggs were recovered and will be incubated at a park facility. 
The sea turtle was brought back to the lab and fitted with a satellite 
transmitter so it can be monitored for future nesting activity. Kemp's 
Ridley sea turtles can lay up to three clutches in a year and nest 
during the daytime. [Gus Martinez, PAIS]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Yosemite NP (CA) - Chief ranger Bob Andrew will retire on June 2nd 
after over 32 years of dedicated service to the NPS. Bob began his 
career as a seasonal fire control aid at Yellowstone after leaving the 
Army in 1963, then took a permanent positions as a ranger there. From 
Yellowstone, he went on to Wind Cave, Grand Teton, and Big Bend. Bob 
then served as chief ranger at Zion, Glacier and Yosemite, where he's 
spent the last nine-and-a-half years. Bob also spent a year  in a 
detail assignment as Yosemite's chief of resources management, led 
park operations during the 1997 flood, and set high standards for many 
to follow. If you would like to send Bob a card or congratulations for 
starting on new adventures, please send them to Marcia Romero, 
Yosemite National Park, P O Box 577, Yosemite, California, 95389, 
before May 30th. [Phyllis Harvey, YOSE]

FILM AT 11...

On Memorial Day, CNN, CNN Headline News, and CNN Airport Channel will 
broadcast a three-minute feature news article on the restoration camp 
held at Mammoth Cave NP on May 5th and 6th. The restoration camp is a 
special project of the National Speleological Society (NSS), an 
organization dedicated to the exploration, study, and conservation of 
caves. The restoration camp at Mammoth Cave has been operating since 
1989; it consists of three weekend camps scattered throughout the 
year, as well as a week-long camp during the summer. The majority of 
the work done by this volunteer organization consists of restoration 
of old tourist trails in Mammoth Cave. More information on the camp 
can be found at: http://oldsci.eiu.edu/physics/len/mammoth/mcrp0.html. 
[Matt Reece, Cave Specialist, LABE]

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS

Regular sections not appearing today (due either to lack of 
submissions or time constraints in preparing this edition) but are 
available at all times:

o  Interpretation/Visitor Services - Significant developments in these 
   fields.
o  Operational Notes - Any information of consequence to the field on 
   operational matters.
o  Memoranda - Memoranda from WASO to the field on all operational 
   matters.
o  Interchange - Requests or offers from any park or office for 
   materials, information or any other operational needs.
o  Hot Links - Web addresses for NPS-related sites.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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