NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, June 20, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, June 20, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-284 - Oklahoma City NM (OK) - Special Event: T.M. Execution

The memorial was the subject of significant worldwide attention during 
the two months up to and including the execution of T.M. on 
June 11th. A major effort was made by numerous law enforcement 
agencies to keep the park, visitors and media safe during that period. 
Agencies involved included the NPS (both Oklahoma City NM and 
Chickasaw NRA), the Department of Interior, Oklahoma City PD, Oklahoma 
County SO, the FBI, Oklahoma SBI, the U.S. Marshall's Service, the 
Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Federal Protective Service. 
Intelligence was received from agencies across the country regarding 
increased militia activity and potential threats to the park; all were 
investigated and dealt with. Three bomb threats were handled, with 
suspects identified in all three cases. A six-block area of downtown 
Oklahoma City was closed as a result of one of these threats, but no 
explosives were found. On the day of the execution, one anti-death 
penalty organization conducted a prayer ceremony and protest between 
the park and the federal courthouse without incident. A permit was 
also issued for a group to gather and remember those who had been 
killed, those who survived, and those who were changed by the bombing. 
Violations on June 11th included one person arrested for placing 
graffiti on a wall at the park and one First Amendment permit 
violation. The Oklahoma City National Memorial Trust organized media 
activities in collaboration with the NPS, city, and GSA. Four blocks 
of one city street were closed for five days to accommodate the 
construction of media risers and the parking of satellite trucks. 
Visitation increased slightly at the time of the execution, but 
overall was relatively normal. The streets reopened and media risers 
were removed by close of business on June 13th. [Superintendent, OKCI, 
6/18]

01-285 - Chickasaw NRA (OK) - Boating Fatality

On the afternoon of June 16th, seven-year-old J.K. of Noble, 
Oklahoma, was riding on the back of a ski boat watching another member 
of his party being pulled on an inner tube. The polypropylene tow rope 
extending from the boat had a carabiner tied in at the far end; this, 
in turn, was clipped to a separate foot-long piece of polypro rope 
attached directly to the tube itself. While under great stress and 
tension due to the speed of the boat, estimated at 30 to 40 mph, the 
shorter section of rope failed, causing the carabiner to slingshot 
back toward the boat. The carabiner struck J.K. in the side of his 
head, causing extensive trauma. Rangers Randy Lilla and Roy Stephens 
were on patrol about 100 yards away at the time, saw the accident 
occur, and responded immediately. Lilla provided EMS care, maintaining 
the boy's airway with constant manual suction while also attempting to 
control massive bleeding from his skull. Stephens, a first-year 
seasonal ranger, took control of the park boat, providing support for 
Lilla and picking up the tube rider and equipment. J.K. and Lilla were 
transported on the ski boat to the Guy Sandy boat ramp. J.K. was taken 
to a local hospital, where his injuries were stabilized. He was then 
life-flighted to Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City, where he later 
succumbed to his injuries. [Susie Staples, PIO, CHIC, 6/18]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level II

Six new large fires were reported yesterday in California, Virginia, 
Florida and Idaho. Four large fires were contained in California , 
Florida and Idaho. Initial attack was moderate in the South and light 
elsewhere. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.  

No fire watches or warnings have been issued for today.

The full NICC situation report for today can be found at 
http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.

National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)

                        Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue     Wed
Date                    6/16    6/17    6/18    6/19    6/20
        
Crews                   77      99      114     137     184
Engines                 130     125     246     305     298
Helicopters             21      30      49      52      63
Air Tankers             5       3       1       5       9
Overhead                367     420     425     509     444

Park Fire Situation

No new fires reported.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         Great Basin NP, Hawaii Volcanoes NP
Very High       Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP, Everglades NP, Zion NP, Big 
                Bend NP
High            Santa Monica Mountains NRA, Joshua Tree NP, Guadalupe 
                Mountains NP

[NPS Situation Summary Report, 6/19; NICC Incident Management 
Situation Report, 6/20]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Medical Standards Program Update - In an effort to reduce impacts to 
park staffing during the busy summer season, the medical standards 
program manager will be identifying pending medical cases that involve 
similar issues over the course of the coming week. Cases to be 
reviewed will be primarily those that center on vision and hearing. 
Once the cases are identified, a medical review board will make 
decisions on the issues and information will be sent to supervisors 
and regional office points of contact via cc:Mail. These interim 
notices will permit those receiving waivers to expeditiously return to 
work, and will provide notice to employees who are not granted waivers 
so that they can begin the appeals process. Formal written 
notification will still be issued following established procedures; 
due to the backlog of cases with complex issues, however, this 
notification may take several weeks. Rangers who have received 
notification of "significant medical findings" from the reviewing 
medical officer in Atlanta are asked to send a cc:Mail to acting 
program manger Pat Buccello. Please provide your current contact phone 
number and fax number and those for your supervisor. Questions on this 
procedure should be also sent to Pat via cc:Mail. By limiting less 
urgent phone calls over the next two weeks, it will be possible to 
concentrate on processing the backlog of cases. [Dennis Burnett, 
RAD/WASO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Denali NP&P (AK) - The park is looking for a GS-025-9 ranger (LE) for 
a detail from around July 1st to September 30th in the Savage River 
Subdistrict. Strong EMS skills are a plus. Housing is available, and 
the 25% Alaska COLA applies. The job will provide outstanding 
opportunities for wilderness recreation and a chance to experience 
Alaska. Interested individuals should contact Savage River SDR Ann 
Marie Chytra at 907-683-9527. [Tom Habecker, DENA]

HOT LINKS

Harpers Ferry Center has released its annual report for FY 2000. It 
can be obtained at http://www.nps.gov/hfc/. [Julie Schroyer, HFC]

FILM AT 11...

The June 19th edition of the Christian Science Monitor has an article 
by Tim Vanderpool entitled "Amid Cactuses, A Park's War On Smuggling," 
which reports on the battle rangers at Organ Pipe Cactus NM are having 
against drug smuggling and illegal immigration. It's available on the 
web at http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/06/19/fp3s1-csm.shtml.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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