NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, June 13, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-269 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Death of Employee

Roman Turmon, a recreation specialist at park headquarters, passed 
away suddenly on June 9th. Roman had worked in the division since 
1997. Prior to that, he served as a counselor at the park's Job Corps 
Civilian Conservation Center at Floyd Bennett Field. Roman was also a 
former player for both the Harlem Globetrotters and the New York 
Knicks. A wake will be held at the Benta Funeral Home at 630 St. 
Nicholas Avenue in Manhattan on Thursday, June 14th, from 6 to 8 p.m.  
The funeral will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 16th, at the 
Murray Brothers Funeral Home, 1199 Utoy Springs Road, Atlanta, 
Georgia.  Expressions of condolence may be sent via Dorothy Roebuck, 
personnel officer, Gateway NRA, Building 69, Floyd Bennett Field, 
Brooklyn, NY 11234.  Dorothy will forward them to the family.  Flowers 
may be sent to the Benta Funeral Home, or a charitable contribution 
can be made to the United Negro College Fund, 120 Wall Street, New 
York, NY 10005 (212-747-0612). [John Lancos, Acting Chief, I&R, GATE, 
6/12]

01-270 - Jean Lafitte NHP&P - Tropical Storm Allison

The remnants of tropical storm Allison rained on the park from 
Tuesday, June 5th, into Monday, June 11th. During that time, Barataria 
Preserve received 17.9 inches of rain, while other site locations 
reported as much as 30 inches. At times, it was raining at a rate of 
five to six inches per hour. All park sites remained open and 
operational throughout the period, except for a period on Friday 
afternoon. No major park buildings flooded, but the Chalmette 
cemetery, battlefield, and black powder building are flooded, with the 
tour and cemetery roads closed. All Barataria trails are underwater, 
with Palmetto and VC loop trails closed due to unsafe conditions. The 
Wetlands Acadian Center boardwalk deck is underwater. On the personal 
side, one park employee's home received major flood damage, while 
another had very minor water damage. Three other employees reported 
minor vehicle flooding.  (CRO, JELA, 6/12)

01-271 - Wright Brothers NM (NC) - Concession Airplane Crash 

A Cessna 207 owned by Kitty Hawk Aero Tours (an NPS concessioner) and 
piloted by D.C. crash-landed shortly after takeoff from First 
Flight Airstrip on the afternoon of June 7th. The plane lost power and 
made an emergency landing on athletic fields near elementary and 
middle schools in Kill Devil Hills. The schools, which are adjacent to 
the park, were not in session at the time of the accident. The pilot 
and five passengers were injured in the crash.  Two of the victims 
were transported by medevac helicopter to a trauma center in Norfolk, 
Virginia. The other four were transported by ambulance to local 
medical facilities. The park has suspended Kitty Hawk Aero Tour 
operations pending further investigation. DR Jon Anglin was IC. [Paul 
Stevens, Acting CR, CAHA, 6/12]

01-272 - Glen Canyon NRA (AZ/UT) - Sexual Assault; Arrest

An 18-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at Lone Rock Beach around 
2:30 a.m. on May 28th. She was sleeping in a hammock next to her 
family's camper when a man woke her up, threatened her with a knife, 
removed her clothing, then tried to rape her. The woman fought back, 
though, and the hammock fell over during the ensuing struggle. The 
woman's assailant ran off. The park was already in ICS for the 
Memorial Day weekend and rangers were immediately assigned to the 
incident. Ranger Shawn McNally was the initial IC, and turned over 
command to ranger Billy Shott after 13 hours on duty. Rangers Heather 
Yates and Julie Yucker were assigned tracking duties and were able to 
locate the suspect several hundred yards away, hiding in his tent, by 
following his signature footprints on the sandy surface. Yates and 
Yucker took him into custody. Using Reid interview techniques, visitor 
protection specialist Brian O'Dea obtained a confession from the man. 
He is currently being held on felony charges for forcible sexual 
assault under Utah state statute. [David Sandbakken, SA, GLCA, 6/7]

01-273 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Assault 

On June 3rd, USPP officers converged on Canarsie Pier in response to a 
reported assault. The victim and two witnesses said that they'd been 
having dinner with suspect E.D. at the Sunset Landing 
Restaurant on the pier when a disagreement broke out between E.D. and 
the victim. E.D. then forcibly grabbed the woman by her arms and neck 
and pulled her away from a telephone as she attempted to call police. 
She refused to leave with E.D., so he threw her onto the hood of his 
vehicle, causing injuries to her neck and back. E.D. then fled from 
the area. Officers and detectives went to E.D.'s house, arrested him, 
and charged him with third degree assault, attempted third degree 
assault, second degree menacing, and second degree harassment. A full 
protective order was also issued. The case is being prosecuted by the 
county DA. [Lt. John A. Lauro, USPP, GATE, 6/7]

01-274 - Great Smoky Mountains NP (TN/NC) - Car Clouting Arrests

On May 30th, rangers received a report of a vehicle break-in at the 
Fork Ridge trailhead on Clingmans Dome Road. G.O. and J.M.G. 
reported that the passenger side window of their 
vehicle had been broken and that personal items were missing from the 
trunk, including several bank credit cards in J.M.G.'s name. 
J.M.G. obtained an activity report from her credit card companies, 
which showed charges being made at merchants in Cherokee, Canton, and 
Maggie Valley, all in North Carolina. One of the charges was to a 
motel in Maggie Valley. On May 31st, a telephone call to the motel 
revealed that the suspects had paid for two nights of lodging and that 
they were still at the motel. The owners of the motel were instructed 
to call the police immediately, while a second phone call was made to 
the Maggie Valley Police Department. Within the hour, the suspects 
were apprehended by police. During questioning, J.S. of Strunk, 
Kentucky, said that he'd taken items from a vehicle in the park and 
that he'd given the credit cards to his wife. R.S. confirmed 
that she'd made the purchases and that her husband had given her the 
cards. J.S. is facing state misdemeanor charges for possession 
of stolen property and federal charges for larceny (16 USC 661) and is 
being held without bond; R.S. is being held on state misdemeanor 
charges for possession of stolen property, with additional state 
felony charges pending for credit card fraud. The S.s had their 
three minor children with them at the time of their apprehension. It 
appears that most of the purchases made by R.S. were for items 
for their children. The children have been placed with state 
children's protective services. [Lisa Slobodzian, GRSM, 6/6]

01-275 - Cuyahoga Valley NRA (OH) - Suicide

A couple hiking near the Maplewood picnic area in the park's South 
District on June 12th found the body of a middle-aged man hanging from 
a tree. They reported the discovery to a county highway crew; a member 
of the crew notified the park. A vehicle registered in a woman's name 
was found at the scene, and evidently was driven there by the victim, 
who has not yet been positively identified. The investigation is being 
conducted jointly with investigators from the Summit County Sheriff's 
Office, as the park and county share jurisdiction of this site. Ranger 
Lois Neff is the lead. (Dale Silvis, DR, South District, CUVA, 6/12]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

Cerro Grande Board of Inquiry Findings Released

The Service has released the board of inquiry report on the Cerro 
Grande Fire. Members of the board spent five months and interviewed 26 
witnesses and participants in the process of developing its 
recommendations on what actions should be taken regarding the NPS 
personnel involved. The board found that those involved in managing 
the fire adhered to NPS policies, but that those policies had 
weaknesses that helped contribute to the chain of events that caused 
the fire to escape its prescription. Karen Wade, the regional director 
for Intermountain Region, was charged with determining what 
disciplinary actions should be taken. Her memo to the director 
transmitting the board's report noted that "NPS employees are charged 
with implementing the law and policy that governs the Service," but 
that the board's review  and other investigations had determined that 
the "direction provided by the agency was inadequate, and the agency's 
policies themselves had weaknesses." She therefore concluded that "the 
employees implementing those policies with that guidance cannot fairly 
be held responsible for the result." The board expressed concerns over 
errors in judgement exercised by some of the NPS personnel involved in 
the prescribed fire, but observed that the incident had already had 
"direct, immediate and long-lasting consequences" on them. 

Testimony from the General Accounting Office - the investigative arm 
of Congress - and a study by the National Academy of Public 
Administration have confirmed that policy flaws were largely behind 
the Cerro Grande Fire. In testimony before Congress, a representative 
of the GAO said that " the Cerro Grande fire exposed policy 
implementation issues that need to be addressed for managing 
prescribed fires.  Most of the issues involved procedural gaps or a 
lack of clarity about how policies are to be implemented.  These 
issues affected both the planning and implementation of the burn."

From the outset, the Service has fully accepted responsibility for the 
escape of the Cerro Grande prescribed fire. It spent the months 
following the fire working with other federal agencies and the 
National Interagency Fire Center to address the issues raised in the 
various reports and inquiries concerning the fire.  In doing so, it 
has made aggressive efforts to ensure that flawed policies have been 
changed.  Specifically, the National Park Service:
 
o       Has participated with other federal land management agencies 
        in conducting a complete review of the 2001 Federal Fire 
        Policy.

o       Now requires a technical review of all NPS prescribed burn 
        plans by equally qualified peers who are not directly involved 
        in the plan, adding a new element to ensure the safety of the 
        burn plans and ultimately increasing collaboration and 
        coordination between federal agencies, tribes, and state and 
        local governments.

o       Has new procedures in place to improve risk assessment and 
        complexity analyses which are specifically designed to address 
        concerns raised in both the initial Cerro Grande Investigation 
        and the National Academy of Public Administration Phase I 
        report on the Cerro Grande Fire.

o       Has developed an agency administrator's checklist for a 
        prescribed burn "Go/No Go" decision designed to increase the 
        involvement of park superintendents in the implementation of 
        prescribed burns and to increase the accountability of agency 
        administrators in the prescribed burn process.

o       Has new procedures in place to clearly define how to staff 
        prescribed fires adequately.

o       Now requires all NPS "burn bosses" - those directly in charge 
        of the prescribed burn - to attend a prescribed fire policy, 
        procedures and guidelines workshop.

Secretary Norton had this to say about the report: "This is the latest 
in a series of reviews and inquiries into the Cerro Grande fire. It is 
important to learn and apply the right lessons from the reviews of the 
fire. A key lesson is the need to ensure a comprehensive approach to 
fire planning and management. That is why I directed each of 
Interior's bureau's with wildland firefighting responsibilities to 
take the necessary and appropriate actions to ensure that the findings 
of these reports are implemented. The Department will aggressively 
monitor the progress of each of the bureau's efforts." 

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level II

Two new large fires were reported on Monday - one in Florida 
(contained) and one in Arizona. Another four large fires were 
contained in Florida, northern California and Idaho.  Initial attack 
was moderate in California and the South. Very high to extreme fire 
indices were reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, 
New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.  

National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)

                        Fri     Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue
Date                    6/8     6/9     6/10    6/11    6/12
        
Crews                   26      36      31      96      73
Engines                 143     174     199     279     215
Helicopters             16      22      22      35      24
Air Tankers             1       3       4       3       4
Overhead                282     269     241     390     367

Park Fire Situation

Everglades NP (FL) - Two more sections of the Pinelands prescribed 
fire project were completed on Monday. A total of about 1,679 acres 
was burned.

Kings Mountain NMP (SC) - Members of the fire use module from Great 
Smokies are coordinated and provided leadership for a prescribed burn 
of over 400 acres on Monday. More than 30 people from Midwest and 
Southeast Region assisted.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         Hawaii Volcanoes NP
Very High       N/A
High            Rocky Mountain NP, Joshua Tree NP, Mojave NP, 
                Everglades NP, Guadalupe Mountains NP

[Doug Wallner, NERO, 6/11; NPS Situation Summary Report, 6/12; NICC 
Incident Management Situation Report, 6/12 - the full report can be 
found at http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Uniform Ordering - July 16th is the last date that made-to-measure and 
non-standard uniform items can be ordered this fiscal year 
(non-standard items are those outside the sizing charts in the catalog 
or on the contractor's web-site). August 31st is the last d ate for 
ordering ALL uniform items for this fiscal year. The contractors web 
site will not accept any orders after close of business on that date 
and ALL allowances for FY 2001 will be terminated at that time. To 
ensure the best service possible, order now. [Randy Coffman, RAD/WASO]

Firearms Disposal - Since its inception at Springfield Armory NHS in 
1997, the Service's Firearms Disposition Center (FDC) has destroyed 
over 2,000 surplus weapons from more than 100 field areas. This number 
includes weapons that have been seized as evidence or abandoned, and 
125 weapons of historic value that have been added to the park's 
museum collection. The FDC and its centralized disposition function is 
required by RM-9 and DO-44. The FDC serves an important function in 
assisting parks in improving their record-keeping. Property staffs in 
parks are often not familiar with or trained to understand weapons 
condition codes or how to read model and serial number information. 
It's imperative that law enforcement rangers and property staff work 
together to assure that accurate records are kept in FAS. Jerry 
Werneke, the park's property disposal specialist, is available during 
regular working hours to answer your questions about weapons 
disposition. He can be reached at 413-734-6477 ext 221. [Doug 
Cuillard, Superintendent, SPAR]

                            *  *  *  *  *

The Morning Report solicits entries from the field and central offices 
for its daily and weekly sections (below). The general rule is that 
submissions, whatever the category, should pertain to operations, be 
useful to the field, and have broad significance across the agency. 
Additional details on submission criteria are available from the 
editor at any time (Bill Halainen at NP-DEWA, or 
Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). Ask for either incident reporting criteria 
(issued by WASO, June 18, 2000) or general criteria. 

Daily and weekly sections are available for news or significant 
developments pertaining to:

Field incidents                 Interpretation and visitor services
Natural resource management     Cultural resource management
Operations (WASO only)          Memoranda (WASO only)
Requests/offers of assistance   Park-related web sites
Parks and employees             Media stories on parks
Training, meetings, and events  Queries on operational matters  
Reports on "lessons learned" 

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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