NPS Morning Report - Saturday, July 28, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Saturday, July 28, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-348 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Follow-up: Flash Flooding

On July 8th, severe rains caused flash flooding throughout southern 
West Virginia, including the park. The Eastern IMT was subsequently 
assigned to assist with recovery operations. It concluded its work 
this week, and turned the incident over to the park. A Type III IMT 
(Rick Brown, IC) is now managing the incident. On July 26th, the 
region was again hit by very heavy rains, causing the park to again 
place a priority on public safety and assistance to local communities. 
Here's a summary of yesterday's developments:

o       The new flooding washed out almost all temporary repairs in 
        Thayer. The area is again accessible only by river and via 
        railroad right-of-way. Because of slides on Route 41, the 
        community of Terry may also need help. Park employees 
        evacuated four campers from Glade Creek campground and 
        residents from four homes in Prince. High waters kept workers 
        away from the Wolf Creek Bridge site at Fayette Station.

o       The watershed is saturated and rain is forecast for the 
        weekend. Park staff accordingly prepared for more flooding. At 
        headquarters, they moved more equipment and materials up off 
        the floors and sandbagged buildings. The ICP has moved from HQ 
        to the wastewater treatment plant at Burnwood near the Canyon 
        Rim VC.

o       The planned re-opening of the Thurmond Depot Visitor Center 
        was postponed, as Route 25, the road to Thurmond, sustained 
        more damage. Highway crews are working on repairs. 

o       The resource assessment team took advantage of the weather to 
        make an aerial survey. They detected some movement within the 
        existing slides, but no additional slides. The team plans on 
        conducting a briefing for the park on Monday.

o       Rusty's Shuttle has begun a shuttle for individual boaters 
        under a contract with the NPS. It will run through the weekend 
        and its effectiveness will be examined early in the week. The 
        service is free to the public. It is being used primarily as 
        an attempt to reduce safety hazards related to many vehicles 
        travelling narrow, winding, flood-damaged roads.

[Barbara Stewart, IO, IMT, 7/27]

01-383 - Yukon-Charley Rivers NP (AK) - Aircraft Crash

A British military Jaguar fighter bomber conducting exercises with 
Eielson AFB crashed in a very remote, steep and rugged section of the 
park on the evening of Wednesday, July 25th. At the time of the 
report, wreckage had been spotted from the air, but no one had yet 
landed at the site. The pilot is believed to have died in the crash. 
[Dave Mills, Superintendent, YUCH, 7/26]

01-384 - DeSoto NM (FL) - Flooding

On Monday, July 23rd, the park experienced severe flooding due to 
heavy rains and higher than normal tides. Water from the Manatee River 
rose above flood stage, completely inundating all park trails and 
beach areas, which were then closed. The recently re-nourished beach 
and the sod planted in front of the park's visitor center were being 
eroded away, and erosion of the newly reconstructed segments of the 
nature trail was also noted. An estimated $6,900 in damage has 
occurred to date. The waters receded on the following day. [Paul 
Carson, CR, DESO, 7/25]

01-385 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Special Event: Visit by First Lady

First Lady Laura Bush and several of her friends hiked in the park's 
backcountry during the week of July 9th. Rangers joined the hikers 
while they trekked to three concession-run camps in the High Sierra 
Loop out of Tuolumne Meadows. Said Mrs. Bush: "I thoroughly enjoyed my 
journey through Yosemite. Yosemite is a treasure that the National Park 
Service can be proud of. I want to thank the park employees for their 
dedication to sharing the natural beauty of this and other American 
parks with nature fans across the world." Her trip concluded with an 
evening at the Ahwahnee Hotel on July 14th. [Jeff Sullivan, Supervisory 
SA, YOSE, 7/24]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2

Six new large fires were reported - two in Idaho, two in Oregon, one in 
Nevada and one in southern California. One large fire was contained in 
northern California and another was contained in Idaho. Initial attack 
was light nationwide.  

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, 
Washington and Wyoming.

NICC has issued a RED FLAG WARNING for winds, dry fuels, warm 
temperatures and a dry and unstable air mass in western and central 
Wyoming, and two FIRE WEATHER WATCHES - one for strong winds and low 
humidity in southeast Oregon, the other for winds, dry fuels, warm 
temperatures, and an unstable air mass in southern Idaho. 

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

National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)

                        Tue     Wed     Thu     Fri     Sat
Date                    7/24    7/25    7/26    7/27    7/28

Crews                   76      83      123     171     176 
Engines                 82      78      141     178     300 
Helicopters             46      37      63      81      64 
Air Tankers             0       0       9       8       14 
Overhead                498     542     674     859     742

Park Fire Situation

Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - The Overton Fire was contained at 100 acres on 
July 25th. It was declared controlled on Friday, July 27th. 

Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - The Vista Fire has burned about 700 acres and 
continues to grow. 

Dinosaur NM (CO/UT) - The Ecklund Fire continues to grow slowly. A 
blackline was established on Friday in preparation for a burnout.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         Joshua Tree NP, Dinosaur NM
Very High       Lake Mead NRA, Hawaii Volcanoes NP 
High            Mojave NP, Zion NP, Big Bend NP

[NPS Situation Summary Report, 7/27; NICC Incident Management 
Situation Report, 7/28]

                            *  *  *  *  *

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
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Reports on "lessons learned" 

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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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