NPS Morning Report - Monday, July 30, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, July 30, 2001
- Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 14:07:51 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Monday, July 30, 2001
INCIDENTS
01-348 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Follow-up: Flash Flooding
On July 8th and 26th, heavy rains caused serious flooding throughout
southern West Virginia, including New River Gorge. A Type III IMT
(Rick Brown, IC) is currently managing recovery operations in the
park. The most recent flooding spared park headquarters, but at least
one employee's home was damaged. Rising waters above the Gauley River
- part of the park - caused the Corps of Engineers to shut down a
wastewater treatment plant, which in turn forced the park to shut down
a lift station at its campground and close the campground. Waters on
Summersville Lake, which is behind an earthen dam across the Gauley,
are expected to crest at midnight today. Before flood warnings were
issued, park staff removed an unsafe structure at Thayer. The support
posts for a picnic shelter had been seriously undermined by earlier
flooding, so it was taken down. A sinkhole near the park entrance at
Glen Jean was repaired. Trail assessments continue. There was more
damage to Lower Beach Road at Sandstone Falls. Repairs on Cunard Road
should begin today. High water on Wolf Creek will likely keep workers
away from the bridge at Fayette Station for at least one more day.
[Barbara Stewart, IO, IMT, NERI, 7/29]
01-388 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Visitor Burned at Thermal Pool
D.H., 39, of Shoreline, Washington, was burned when he tried
to rescue his dog from an unnamed thermal pool in Lower Geyser Basin
in the Old Faithful area on the afternoon of July 26th. D.H. and his
family were touring the park and had stopped to view a thermal area
along the Firehole River from a pullout on Fountain Flats Drive. Their
family pet, a chocolate Labrador, jumped out of their motor home and
ran unrestrained toward the river and a thermal pool. The dog ignored
D.H.'s calls and jumped into the thermal pool, the waters of which
were between 192 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit. D.H. knelt beside the
pool and grabbed the dog, but the hot temperatures prevented him from
pulling it out of the water. During his rescue efforts, D.H.
received first and second degree burns to portions of both arms from
the elbow down and first degree burns to his knees. D.H.'s family
drove him to the Old Faithful Inn to seek medical attention. Park EMS
staff immediately responded, stabilized D.H.'s injuries, and took
him to the Old Faithful Clinic for additional care. D.H. was
subsequently transported to the West Yellowstone airport, where he was
taken by air ambulance to the Salt Lake City Burn Center. He is
scheduled to be released from the hospital today. Rangers returned to
the pool and recovered the dog, but its injuries proved fatal. [Public
Affairs, YELL, 7/27]
01-389 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Fatality
On July 28th, M.G., 48, was killed when he was run over by
a boat trailer at Government Wash. M.G. had been riding on the
trailer hitch between the trailer and the truck; when the truck
stopped, M.G. fell off, then was run over. [Dispatch, LAME, 7/28]
01-390 - Biscayne NP (FL) - Poachers Apprehended
In two separate incidents this week, rangers caught poachers in park
waters who had illegally taken over 300 snappers and groupers. The
larger of the two cases may involve violations of the Lacey Act, which
prohibits trafficking in illegally obtained wildlife. On Thursday, July
16th, ranger David Carter stopped a vessel with three people on board.
Although none of them had fishing licenses, there were nearly 100 fish
aboard, including grouper and yellowtail, mutton and mangrove snapper.
All three were cited for not having fishing licenses and for unlawful
possession of fish, and one was cited for having undersized lobster. On
Sunday, July 29th, ranger John LaCorte stopped a boat with two people
on board. Both occupants were legally able to take fish, but they had
exceeded their legal limit by over 200 fish. They were each cited for
four separate violations. Due to the magnitude of the cases, all five
people received mandatory court appearance notices. [Gary Bremen, BISC,
7/29]
[Numerous reports pending - hope to catch up over the next few
days...]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2
Five new large fires were reported yesterday, all in the Rockies.
Initial attack was light nationwide.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona,
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon,
Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
NICC has issued two RED FLAG WARNINGS - one for winds, dry fuels and
an unstable air mass for western Utah, the other for winds, dry fuels,
warm temperatures and a dry and unstable air mass for central and
southwestern Wyoming.
The full NICC situation report can be found at
http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.
National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)
Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon
Date 7/26 7/27 7/28 7/29 7/30
Crews 123 171 176 199 247
Engines 141 178 300 222 329
Helicopters 63 81 64 85 79
Air Tankers 9 8 14 16 0
Overhead 674 859 742 938 1,380
Park Fire Situation
Yellowstone NP (WY) - The park closed the East Entrance Road yesterday
afternoon due to heavy smoke and the potential for fire reaching the
road from the Arthur Fire. The fire is burning about a dozen miles
from the park's boundary and generating a lot of smoke.
Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - The Vista Fire has grown to 775 acres. A
helicopter is being used to drop water on the fire in order to keep it
out of the canyon. A total of 85 firefighters and overhead personnel
have been assigned to the fire.
Park Fire Danger
Extreme Joshua Tree NP, Hawaii Volcanoes NP
Very High Lake Mead NRA
High Mojave NP, Zion NP, Dinosaur NM, Big Bend NP
[NPS Situation Summary Report, 7/29; NICC Incident Management
Situation Report, 7/30]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Intermountain Support Office (NM) - Special agent and former IMR and
SWR regional chief ranger Tony Bonanno will retire on September 5th,
ending a 32-year career with the NPS that has included ranger and
management positions in many parks and offices. Tony's career has
taken him to six different regions and included assignments at
Shenandoah NP, Colonial NHP, Blue Ridge Parkway, Zion NP, Albright
Training Center, Cape Cod NS, Organ Pipe Cactus NM, SERO, and IMRO -
plus details to many other NPS sites. A luncheon in his honor will be
held on August 28th at the Hotel Loretto on Old Santa Fe Trail in
Santa Fe. If you plan on attending, please contact Delpha Maunders at
505-988-6015 or via cc:Mail no later than August 21st. If you'd like
to share any stories about Tony or contribute to a "memory book,"
please send submissions to Rich Niemeyer, PO Box 728, Santa Fe, NM
87504-0728. [Hal Grovert, IMRO]
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MEETING AND EVENTS CALENDAR
This calendar appears every other Monday as an addendum to the Morning
Report. Please note:
o Entries are listed no sooner than FOUR months before an event,
except in cases in which registration dates close much
earlier.
o Brevity in submissions is required and appreciated.
o Please send along web sites for additional information where
possible.
o Asterisks (*) indicate new or revised entries.
**********************************************************************
August 3 - 5: 33rd ANNUAL LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL HERITAGE FOUNDATION
CONVENTION. Pierre, SD. Contact the foundation at 406-454-1234.
[Sheila Lee, NCRC/WASO]
August 5 - 9: ANNUAL MEETING: ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, Madison,
WI. Fore more information, go to http://www.esa.sdsc.edu/annual.htm.
[Sheila Lee, NCRC/WASO]
* August 12 - 29: RAIL CAMP 2001, Steamtown NHS, Scranton, PA. The camp
is a six-day program on railroading for students in the ninth through
twelfth grades. Camp counselors are drawn from the ranks of the
National Railway Historical Society. Students and/or organizations
interested in information on the camp should call 215-557-6606 or send
an email inquiry to railcamp@nrhs.com. [Ralph Coury, STEA]
August 17 - 22: SEVENTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL SCENIC AND
HISTORIC TRAILS, Casper, WY. Contact: Partnership for the National
Trails System, 608-249-7870. [Sheila Lee, NCRC/WASO]
August 30 - September 1: "TECHNOLOGY FRIENDLY: MUSEUM USE OF MULTIPLE
MEDIA FOR INFORMATION DISSEMINATION AND COMMUNICATION," ANNUAL
CONFERENCE, ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUMS. Registration
deadline: August 10th. For further information, contact William
Billingsley, 2001 conference committee, 937-376-4944 ext. 123 or
wbillingsley@ohiohistory.org. [Bill Gwaltney]
August 24: WASO RELOCATION. The Washington Office begins moving from
the Department of Interior building at 18th and C Streets to its new
office on 1800 G Street. Additional information has been received.
Here's the timetable for moves:
o August 24th - Administration and Natural Resources
o September 21st - Operations, Professional Services and
Cultural Resources
o October 5th - Offices of the Director and the Directorate
For more information on the move, check the associated web site:
http://165.83.219.72/wapc/themove.html. [Betsy Chittenden, WASO]
September 19-21: RIVER MANAGEMENT SOCIETY CONFERENCE, Wasilla, AK. For
more information, go to http://www.river-management.org. [Sheila Lee,
NCRC/WASO]
September 25-29: EIGHTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE, WILDLIFE SOCIETY, Reno, NV.
Call 301-897-9770 or go to http://www.tws.org. [Sheila Lee, NCRC/WASO]
September 29: NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY. An annual event in which
volunteers undertake projects to improve the nation's public lands.
Contact: National Environmental Education and Training, 202-833-2933.
[Sheila Lee, NCRC/WASO]
October 3 - 6: NATIONAL RECREATION AND PARK ASSOCIATION ANNUAL
CONGRESS AND EXPOSITION, Denver, CO. For more information, check
http://www.activeparks.org. [Sheila Lee, NCRC/WASO]
October 10 - 12: NATIONAL LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (NLC) MEETING.
October 15: NINTH ANNUAL LINCOLN SYMPOSIUM, Ford' Theatre NHS,
Washington, DC. The topic of this year's symposium will be the
conspirators. The program will feature an in-depth look at those
people who aided and abetted the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The
symposium is free and open to the public. No advanced reservation is
required. Seating is available on a first-come-first-serve basis. For
more information, call the park at 202-426-6924. [Donna Birchard, NCR]
November 4 - 5: NATIONAL INTERPRETERS WORKSHOP, Des Moines, IA. For
more information, contact Brook McDonald at brookmcd@ais.net. [Sheila
Lee, NCRC/WASO]
* * * * *
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.
--- ### ---