NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 8, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, August 8, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-419 - Glacier NP (MT) - Bicycling Fatality

D.O., 30, of Whitefish, Montana, was killed on August 6th when 
he and his bicycle flipped over a rock wall along the Triple Arches 
section of the Going-to-the-Sun highway and fell about 250 feet. 
D.O. and a companion were cycling down from Logan Pass just after 1 
a.m. when D.O. evidently lost control of his bike and went over the 
edge. The accident was witnessed by both the driver and two passengers 
in an eastbound vehicle traveling up to Logan Pass to begin a bike 
ride. An investigation is underway. Speed was a likely factor; poor 
visibility may also have been a contributing factor. Evidence 
indicates that D.O. was not using either a headlight or headlamp, 
although a small flashlight was found on the road where D.O. went 
off. It also appears that he wasn't wearing a helmet, though that 
would not likely have prevented his death or injury in this case. The 
park has again emphasized that bicyclists are required to have 
headlights and rear reflectors, and that helmets are strongly 
encouraged. The last serious bicycle accident in the park involved a 
Whitefish resident also bicycling at night during a full moon in the 
early 1990s. That incident involved a high impact collision of a 
downhill cyclist, travelling at a high rate of speed, with a cyclist 
peddling uphill.  The downhill cyclist sustained life-threatening head 
injuries as a result of the collision as well as injury to the other 
cyclist. In that incident, the downhill cyclist was not wearing a 
helmet. [Amy Vanderbilt, PIO, GLAC, 8/7]

01-420 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Rescue

On the afternoon of August 2nd, Yosemite Valley rangers received a 
report of a stranded hiker in the vicinity of Four-Mile Trail. The 
hiker, David Gilmore of Orlando, Florida, was uninjured and stuck in a 
secure spot. A team was sent up the trail from the Valley to do a 
ground assessment while the park contract helicopter did an aerial 
size-up. The observer in the helicopter spotted Gilmore almost 
immediately. He was perched securely on a ledge approximately 400 feet 
up a steep and loose cliff band approximately 500 feet above the 
trail. The ground team arrived on scene and determined that it would 
be a very lengthy proposition to reach him from below. Two rangers 
then heli-rappelled to a ledge approximately 80 feet above and 100 
feet to the east of Gilmore. The rangers then lowered him several 
rope-lengths to the trail. Gilmore said that he left the trail to take 
a photo and then attempted to short-cut back to the trail by working 
his way down the cliff band until he realized he could no longer move 
up or down safely. [Steve Yu, PR, YOSE, 8/7]

01-421 - Hawaii Volcanoes NP (HI) - Rescue

Navy lieutenant S.L. fell about 100 feet off a cliff into the 
caldera of Kilauea Volcano on August 5th. S.L. was on shore leave 
and visiting the park with shipmates from the frigate USS Crommelin. 
They were taking pictures from the Steam Bluffs overlook when S.L.'s 
hat blew off and over the railing. S.L. went over the railing to get 
it, lost his footing, and disappeared from sight. He landed in a tree, 
stopping what could have been a 600-foot fall to the caldera floor. 
Rangers formed a technical rescue team with the assistance of Hawaii 
County FD rescue personnel and Kilauea Military Camp firefighters. 
S.L. was extracted from the caldera and flown by helicopter to Hilo 
Hospital, where he was treated for abrasions, contusions and a broken 
toe. [Paul Ducasse, HAVO, 8/7]

01-422 - Curecanti NRA (CO) - Search; Probable Drowning

Rangers were notified of a missing person around midnight on August 
4th. B.S.D., 21, a Western State College student from West 
End, North Carolina, visited a beach along Highway 149 with a group of 
friends on Saturday evening. According to his companions, B.S.D.
said that he was going to jump into Blue Mesa Reservoir from the 
highway bridge. Although the jump was unwitnessed, B.S.D. did not 
return to the beach and hasn't been seen since. Divers from the park, 
Gunnison County SO, and Crested Butte SAR have been searching the area 
around and beneath the bridge for the past three days. The 
investigation into his disappearance is continuing. Alcohol is 
believed to have been a contributing factor. [Linda Alick, CR, CURE, 
8/7]

01-423 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Commercial Vehicle Inspections

On July 31st and August 1st, rangers conducted commercial vehicle 
inspections in the Old Faithful area with assistance from the Wyoming 
Highway Patrol's Motor Carrier Division and the U.S. Department of 
Transportation. A variety of 49 CFR violations were encountered. A 
total of 95 warnings and 20 violations notices were issued for both 
driver and vehicle violations for the 67 vehicles that were inspected. 
Fines levied totaled about $2,800. Six vehicles were taken out of 
service until repaired (minimal delay) and two were placed out of 
service overnight. Three drivers were placed out of service and a 
fourth indefinitely due to inadequate driver training requirements. 
Many favorable comments were received from visitors regarding the 
operation. [Dick Divine, SA, YELL, 8/7]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2

Four new large fires were reported yesterday - one each in southern 
California and the western Great Basin and two in the South. Five 
large fires were reported contained - two in the South, two in the 
Great Basin, and one in southern California. 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 (same as yesterday).  

NICC has issued two RED FLAG WARNINGS and two FIRE WEATHER WATCHES for 
today:

o       A RED FLAG WARNING has been posted for afternoon and evening 
        thunderstorms with dry lightning along and east of the Sierra 
        Nevadas and the Cascade Crest.
o       A RED FLAG WARNING has been posted for dry afternoon 
        thunderstorms for the San Bernadino and Cleveland National 
        Forests, Joshua Tree NM, the eastern Mohave Desert and Death 
        Valley NP.
o       A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been posted for afternoon and evening 
        dry lightning above 5,000 feet in the Sierra Nevadas from the 
        Stanislaus National Forest south to the Kern County line.
o       A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been posted for strong northeast and 
        east winds for northwest and west central Montana.

For the full NICC report, see http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.

National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)

                        Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue     Wed
Date                    8/4     8/5     8/6     8/7     8/8
        
Crews                   164     145     134     181     201
Engines                 300     377     319     341     369
Helicopters             89      84      75      85      80
Air Tankers             1       4       6       7       4
Overhead                1,583   1,279   1,078   1,388   1,324

Park Fire Situation

Yellowstone NP (WY) - Crews on the Arthur Fire (2,800 acres, 40% 
contained) continued to make excellent progress in containing the fire 
on its northeastern, eastern and southeastern flanks yesterday. Direct 
fire line construction is progressing along the southern perimeter, 
and substantial progress has been made on containing spot fires above 
Canfield Creek. The park's East Entrance, which has been closed since 
the outbreak of the fire, will be partially reopened to the public 
tomorrow. Highway 20 from the East Entrance to Fishing Bridge had been 
closed to public travel to allow for firefighting operations and to 
insure visitor and firefighter safety. Portions of the fire closest to 
the road have now been contained, however, and progress on mopping up 
remaining hotpots will permit visitors to safely use the road with 
certain limitations: The road will be opened during the portions of 
the day when firefighter traffic will be the lightest - 9 to 11 a.m., 
and 8 to 10 p.m. daily. Pilot cars will lead traffic through the fire 
zone during these periods. The road will remain closed to public 
traffic during the remainder of the day. Should weather or other 
unforeseen conditions result in resumed danger, the road could again 
be closed on short notice. The Eagle Creek and Threemile campgrounds 
in the Shoshone NF east of the East Entrance remain closed for 
firefighting operations; also closed are the forest's Crow Creek, 
North Fork, West Grinnell and Grinnell Meadows trails. A total of 812 
firefighters and overhead were committed to the fire as of yesterday. 
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. 

Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - The Vista Fire continues to burn on the North 
Rim. There was spotting on the south end of the fire on Cape Royal 
Road on Monday, and the road was closed until further notice. 

Grand Teton NP (WY) - An interagency handcrew was dispatched yesterday 
to an 80-acre fire in the Forest/Gros Ventre/Slide area. 

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         Hawaii Volcanoes NP
Very High       Zion NP
High            Joshua Tree NP, Mojave NP, Rocky Mountain NP 

[Public Affairs, YELL, 8/7; NPS Situation Summary Report, 8/7; NICC 
Incident Management Situation Report, 8/8]

FILM AT 11. . .

Two stories on Yosemite's bears will be aired on TV today and 
tomorrow. The Discovery Channel will carry a piece on the park's black 
bears on "Deadline Discovery" at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT tonight. The program 
will look at new management challenges and program accomplishments, as 
well as new techniques being used by the park to reduce bear-human 
food conflicts. On Thursday, ABC Primetime will also air a story on 
the park's black bears. It will appear at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT. [Johanna 
Lombard, YOSE]

"In the Light of Reverence," a video ten years in the making, will air 
August 14th on PBS. The video explores American culture's relationship 
to nature in three places considered sacred by native peoples - Mt. 
Shasta in California, the Colorado Plateau in the Southwest, and 
Devils Tower in Wyoming. Rich in minerals and timber and beloved by 
recreational users, these "holy lands" exert a spiritual gravity which 
pulls Native Americans into conflicts with mining companies, New Age 
practitioners, and rock climbers. Ironically, all sides see themselves 
as besieged. Their battles tell a new story of culture clashes in an 
ancient landscape. The program juxtaposes reflections of Hopi, Wintu 
and Lakota elders on the spiritual meaning of place with views of 
non-Indians who have their own ideas about how best to use the land. 
The film captures the spiritual yearning and materialistic frenzy of 
our time. [American Indian Liaison and Trust Responsibility Office, 
IMR]

                            *  *  *  *  *

The Morning Report solicits entries from the field and central offices 
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submissions, whatever the category, should pertain to operations, be 
useful to the field, and have broad significance across the agency. 
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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 
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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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