NPS Morning Report - Saturday, August 4, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Saturday, August 4, 2001

INCIDENTS

00-413 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Falling Fatality

On the evening of Wednesday, August 1st, park dispatch received a 
report of an elderly woman missing from an international tour group. 
The woman, who had last been seen at Mohave Point, failed to return to 
the tour bus at the designated time. Responding rangers began an 
investigation, set up confinement points, and launched a hasty search, 
beginning at the point last seen and extending to major roads and 
trails in the area.  No sign of her was found. The search resumed on 
Thursday and expanded to include all high probability areas, but still 
without results. A search of the area below Mohave Point was conducted 
by helicopter in mid-morning. A body was spotted about 350 feet below 
the point. A recovery and investigation team flew by helicopter to a 
nearby point and recovered the body. An investigation is underway to 
determine the victim's identity and the cause of the fall. [Hunter 
Bailey, IC, GRCA, 8/3]

00-414 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Rescue

While on patrol in the Riis Beach area on the morning of June 22nd, 
USPP officer Jakim Eaddy came across a vehicle that had run off the 
road. A distraught young woman in the car told Eaddy that the driver - 
Y.I., 63, of Brooklyn - was unconscious. Eaddy could not get 
into the car through the doors, so went through its sunroof. Y.I. 
was extricated with the assistance of sergeant Greg Norman and officer 
Jack Piccolo. They found that he was not breathing and had no pulse. 
Norman and Eaddy employed an automatic external defibrillator (AED) 
and CPR to restore Y.I.'s pulse. Officer Debbie Pecoraro and NPS and 
NYFD EMT's also assisted. Y.I. was taken to a local hospital, where 
he was in critical condition at the time of the report. AED's utilize 
shocks in an effort to revive the heart and are now carried in many 
USPP and ranger vehicles nationwide. [Lt. John Lauro, USPP, GATE, 
7/23]

00-415 - New River NR (WV) - Drug Arrest

On the night of July 24th, officers and rangers in the TRIDENT task 
force - comprised of local, state and federal agencies, including the 
NPS - seized 279 grams of crack cocaine and 165 grams of powder 
cocaine found during the execution of a search warrant on the home of 
J.L., 30, of Glen Jean. An informant had made several drug 
buys from J.L. the previous week. During an attempted buy on the 
evening of the 24th, however, J.L. accused the informant of being 
"wired." The informant was able to leave the area without incident, 
but J.L. was then kept under constant surveillance until a search 
warrant could be obtained. J.L. was arrested at his girlfriend's 
house as the warrant was being executed. J.L. has long been 
suspected of being one of the major dealers in the park's 1998 Glen 
Jean crack cocaine sales case, in which seven people were convicted of 
sale and distribution of crack. J.L.'s drug activities have centered 
around the park's Glen Jean headquarters. [Gary Hartley, CR, NERI, 
7/25]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2

Two new large fires were reported in the Great Basin on Friday and two 
others were contained - one in the Rockies, the other in the 
Northwest. 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 (Montana was added from yesterday's 
listing; no states were deleted).

NICC has issued a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for hot, dry weather and isolated 
dry thunderstorms for northeast Wyoming and southwest South Dakota, 
including the Black Hills.
 
For the full NICC report, see http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.

National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)

                        Tue     Wed     Thu     Fri     Sat
Date                    7/31    8/1     8/2     8/3     8/4

Crews                   291     238     235     212     164
Engines                 327     315     365     338     300
Helicopters             0       63      64      73      89
Air Tankers             0       4       6       9       1
Overhead                1,579   1,425   1,712   1,397   1,583

Park Fire Situation

Yellowstone NP (WY) - The Arthur Fire was estimated at around 2,380 
acres as of yesterday and remains about one mile west of the park's 
east entrance. A total of 709 firefighters and overhead have been 
committed. Fire crews made progress on several tactical objectives on 
Thursday, resulting in only a modest increase in size of the fire. 
Driven by afternoon winds, the fire burned to the east and southeast, 
with some spotting into the adjacent Shoshone National Forest. An 
impressive column of smoke was seen as far away as Cody and Powell. 
Fire managers noted that this volume of smoke is not unusual, 
considering the dense fuels in which the fire is burning. Fire crews 
planned to concentrate efforts on Friday on securing lines around the 
west and northeast flanks of the fire. Helicopters were scheduled to 
continue dropping water on the hottest portions of the fire, including 
the southeastern side that burned so actively on Thursday. For a full 
report on the fire, including topographic and fire perimeter maps, 
aerial photos, live camera images from Mount Washburn, and related 
data, please go to: 
http://www.nps.gov/yell/technical/fire/Fires/Arthur/arthur.htm. 

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         N/A
Very High       Lake Mead NRA, Hawaii Volcanoes NP
High            Joshua Tree NP

[Public Affairs, YELL, 8/3; NPS Situation Summary Report, 8/3; NICC 
Incident Management Situation Report, 8/4]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Virgin Islands NP (VI) - The park is recruiting for a chief of 
resource and visitor protection (GS-12) (LE). The person selected will 
manage the division and be directly responsible for the administration 
and evaluation of complex resource and visitor protection services, 
including lifeguard services. Housing is available and a 22.5% COLA  
is provided. For more info, please contact Mindy Silva at 340-776-6201 
ext 258. [John Wilkins, VIIS]

Harpers Ferry NHP (WV/MD/VA) - The park has an opening for a GS-025-7 
or 9 protection ranger. They are seeking skills-oriented applicants 
with initiative who are looking for opportunities to develop 
communication and interagency cooperation competencies.  In addition 
to law enforcement duties, the ranger hired for this position will 
also be involved with special event planning and coordination, VIP and 
dignitary visit coordination, monitoring special park uses and filming 
permits, EMS, SAR, river rescue, and technical climbing.  Rangers also 
respond to emergencies on 17 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The 
Harpers Ferry area offers convenient training opportunities and dual 
career potential, since the Harpers Ferry Center, Appalachian Trail 
Park Office, and Mather Training Center are all located in the park.  
Please see the vacancy announcement on USAJobs, which closes August 
16th.  For more information, contact supervisory ranger Todd Roeder at 
304-535-6455 or chief ranger Larry Johnson at 304-535-6232. [Larry 
Johnson, HAFE]

FILM AT 11...

The July 28th edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an article 
on current funding, staffing, and resource issues facing the national 
parks. Written by reporter Dennis McCann and entitled "National Parks 
Need Geyser of Repairs," it features commentary by Yellowstone NP 
employees, NPCA, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and former 
director, James Ridenour. The article is available at 
http://www.jsonline.com/news/nat/jul01/parkfix29072801.asp. [John 
Beck, SERO]

                            *  *  *  *  *

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:

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Natural resource management     Cultural resource management
Operations (WASO only)          Memoranda (WASO only)
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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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