NPS Morning Report - Thursday, August 16, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Thursday, August 16, 2001
- Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 09:55:32 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Thursday, August 16, 2001
INCIDENTS
01-447 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Debris Flow
A high volume of melt water flowing out of the Kautz Glacier combined
with soft soils in the Van Trump basin to create a debris flow down
Van Trump Creek into the Nisqually River on August 14th. Fluctuations
and surges continued through the night, ceased for a while, then began
again during the heat of the day. The winter snow pack, which normally
would have absorbed much of the melt water which accumulates at this
time of the year, was lower than usual, resulting in an increased flow
of water into the loose, soft soil. Park personnel, assisted by
officers from the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, temporarily closed
the road at several points and monitored Kautz and Tahoma Creeks
throughout the night. No campers were asked to leave the park or the
campgrounds. The largest flows of water tossed small rocks and dirt on
the roadway. The flows ebbed for periods of over an hour, then would
increase substantially for periods of more than a half hour at a time.
On August 15th, several additional surges traveled down the river
during high water. Hikers were evacuated from the trail to Comet Falls
and Van Trump Park. This trail will remain closed until further
notice. Four USGS geologists flew over the debris flow area yesterday
to assess the hazards. All other park roads and facilities remain open
as usual. Regional and national media interest has been very high.
Jill Hawk served as IC. [Maria Gillett, MORA, 8/15]
01-448 - Big Bend NP (TX) - Auto Theft Arrest
On August 10th, visitor E.W. called ranger Lance Mattson and
reported that his car had been stolen the previous night. E.W.
said that he had consumed copious amounts of alcohol during the
evening and that he found his vehicle was gone when he woke up in the
morning. Mattson and Brewster County deputies questioned E.W.
closely and eventually determined that he had stolen the car in
Oklahoma and had driven it into the park. After a significant drinking
binge, he had lost track of it, so called and reported it stolen. As
it turned out, E.W. had not had enough money to enter the park, so
had taken a cross-country route in order to bypass the entrance
station. The vehicle was eventually found about a half mile into the
desert, where it ended up after plowing through the park's boundary
fence. E.W. is being extradited to Oklahoma. Federal charges are
being considered for interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle (18
USC 2312). [Cary Brown, DR, BIBE, 8/15]
01-449 - Glacier NP (MT) - Climbing Fatality
On Wednesday, August 15th, rangers recovered the body of a 22-year old
man who apparently died from massive trauma received in a fall that
occurred two days previously while he was descending from the summit
of Mt. Jackson (10,052 feet). There had been an ongoing search for the
man, a Polish national, since his companion reported him missing on
August 14th. The two young men started out to attempt a climb of Mt.
Jackson on Monday. The pair split up near Gunsight Pass at 1 p.m.,
with the victim continuing on toward the summit of Mt. Jackson. When
his climbing companion failed to return at a predetermined site and
time, the other climber hiked back down to Gunsight Lake, where he
encountered a park trail crew around 8 p.m. With the assistance of
Minuteman Aviation of West Glacier, rangers began a helicopter search
of the Mt. Jackson area at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. No sign of him was seen,
so a ground search was begun. It continued through the day without any
positive results, other than a determination that the climber had
reached the summit of Mt. Jackson and signed the register there. The
search resumed on Wednesday and his body was spotted early in the
afternoon below the mountain's west ridge. Rangers descended to the
site and recovered the body. The incident is still under
investigation, but it is presumed that he fell while descending from
the summit of the mountain and died from massive trauma. [Public
Affairs, GLAC, 8/15]
[Additional reports pending....]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 5
NOTE: The preparedness level has again gone up one step. Preparedness
Level 5 goes into effect when the following conditions are met:
Several geographic areas are experiencing major incidents which have
the potential to exhaust all agency fire resources. A total of 550
crews committed nationally. Please see the "Memoranda" section below
for the retransmission of a June WASO memo regarding the NPS response
to wildland fires.
Eleven new large fires were reported on Wednesday - five in the
Northwest, three in the eastern Great Basin, two in the South, and one
in the northern Rockies. Twelve others were contained. Initial attack
was moderate in the eastern Great Basin and the Northwest and light
elsewhere.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in California, Idaho,
Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington
and Wyoming.
NICC has posted a RED FLAG WARNING for low relative humidity and a
high Haines Index this afternoon in eastern Washington.
For the full NICC report, see http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.
National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu
Date 8/12 8/13 8/14 8/15 8/16
Crews 454 432 516 574 590
Engines 719 804 795 826 932
Helicopters 103 131 135 155 165
Air Tankers 12 12 12 15 11
Overhead 2,010 1,882 2,033 2,432 3,253
Area Command Team --- --- --- --- 1
Type 1 IMT --- 3 4 4 6
Type 2 IMT --- 10 13 15 16
State IMT --- --- 6 6 6
Park Fire Situation
Olympic NP (WA) - On Monday, the park and Olympic National Forest
began discussions regarding a possible burn ban on federal lands on
the Olympic Peninsula. Discussions were expanded to include Mount
Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and North Cascades National Park.
All of the agencies agreed to go into a limited burn ban Wednesday
evening at 11 p.m. The rationale for this decision was the mounting
fire danger and shrinking resources for initial attack. Fires in
Olympic NP will be restricted to established fire grates in developed
front country campgrounds and below the high tide line along the
coastal strip, which has remained cool and moist due to marine air
influence. (On Sunday, ranger Vic Stanculescu responded to the report
of a fire on the Lake Cushman road outside the park. It had been
started by hot charcoal briquettes thrown into the brush in a no
campfire area. Stanculescu kept the fire in check until a Forest
Service engine and personnel arrived. The fire had the strong
potential for rapid spread and would have done so if the ranger had
not responded so quickly).
Park Fire Danger
Extreme Hawaii Volcanoes NP
Very High Mojave NP
High Joshua Tree NP, Lassen NP, Redwood N&SP
[NPS Situation Summary Report, 8/15; NICC Incident Management
Situation Report, 8/16]
MEMORANDA
"Staff Support for 2001 Wildland Fire Season," signed on June 18th by
acting director Deny Galvin and sent to all regional directors and
superintendents. It is being retransmitted here at the request of the
Fire Management Program Center due to the rapidly escalating response
to western wildland fires:
The 2000 fire season was the most challenging we have faced since 1910
in terms of numbers of acres burned and firefighting resources
committed. This year, many parts of the country are experiencing
moisture deficits, some already worse than last year at this same
time. It is evident that a chain of weather events has now set in
place conditions for another potentially severe fire season that could
place significant demands on our resource capability.
Successful and safe responses to the rigorous demands of an
above-average fire season require a concerted effort by National Park
Service employees at all levels of the organization and all
disciplines. If the current trend in conditions continues, requests
will be made for above average numbers of employees from Parks, for
assistance both within and outside home units. Initial preparations
and long-term planning can - and should - be done now. I am asking
regional directors and park superintendents to ensure that our
employees and equipment are ready for another potentially difficult
fire season.
The following sections clarify areas where most questions occur
related to support of wildland fire activities. Please review these
sections and disseminate to appropriate staff members.
Park Operations -- As preparedness levels change and the call for
assistance broadens, base park operations and visitor services may
have to change due to the need to shift staff and equipment to fire
suppression efforts. Plan for this before it becomes a crisis. Each
superintendent should consider how park operations may be changed at
each preparedness level. Following are some considerations:
o Some services may be reduced, such as visitor center hours.
o Some facilities must operate regardless of the preparedness
level, such as wastewater treatment plants.
o Adequate staff must be present in the park to provide
essential and critical services.
Resource Availability -- National preparedness levels established by
the National Multi-Agency Coordinating (MAC) Group are dictated by
burning conditions, fire activity and resource availability, and guide
continual preparations for worsening situations.Resource availability
is the area of greatest concern. Preparedness Levels I - V are
described in the National Interagency Mobilization Guide (NMG)
available on the web at www.nifc.gov/news/2001nmg.pdf. (Descriptions
of these various preparedness levels, with I being the lowest and V
the most severe, are found in NMG Chapter 20, section 26, pages 49-54,
and may be helpful to you in your long-range planning.) All offices
are to assess their need for qualified fire personnel and make
available those not essential to initial attack or critical park
operations. Permanent employees should be assigned to overhead
assignments, wherever possible, while seasonal employees should
generally fill our commitments for crew assignments. Those personnel
that have received additional training since their last assignment
should be identified for a qualifying trainee assignment into that
newly acquired skill. All regions are to expedite their mobilization
efforts in concert with their cooperators.
Information Dissemination -- As services are reduced to address
national firefighting priorities, we will increase the information
program to assure that park visitors are aware of and understand the
need for reductions in hours of operation or suspension of programs.
National Fire Plan Objectives and Wildland Fire Suppression -- This
year we are actively engaged in fuel treatment activities as part of
the National Fire Plan (NFP). The NFP represents one of the highest
priority programs for the Department of the Interior. It is
critically important that we continue these activities to the greatest
extent possible or until the wildland fire situation dictates a higher
priority. In support of these objectives, all fire personnel funded
through the 251 and 252 PWEs will remain dedicated to fuel treatment
activities during National Preparedness Levels I, II, and III. At
National Preparedness Levels IV and V, all qualified personnel will be
made available for firefighting or support assignments. Fire Use
Modules will remain dedicated to fuel treatment activities during
Preparedness Levels I, II and III and will be available for wildland
fire assignments (use or suppression) only if priority fuel treatments
have been completed, or fuel treatment work is suspended. If there
are questions about specific situations and circumstances, please
contact your Regional Fire Management Officer.
Backfill -- Program managers are reminded that they have authority to
shift regular hours to fire accounts (Base 8) or they have backfilling
authority for positions assigned to emergency wildland fire
operations. See Shifting Regular Hours to Fire Accounts (Base 8),
page 4, Chapter 19, RM-18 and Backfilling, page 5, Chapter 19, RM-18.
RM-18 is on the web at www.nps.gov/fire/fire/policy/rm18.
I expect all parks and offices to contribute fully to the effort, as
we remain committed to providing an appropriate level of support to
NPS and interagency wildland fire suppression activities. Any
questions related to this information can be directed to your Regional
Fire Management Officer or Sue Vap, National Fire Management Officer,
at the Fire Management Program Center in Boise, at 208/387-5225.
FILM AT 11...
C-Span has produced a program about wildland fire management,
highlighting the National Interagency Fire Center and an actual fire,
the Green Knoll Fire on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The
producer and videographer spent a day at NIFC filming operations and
nearly two days on the fire. All told the crew filmed 10 hours of
action, tours, interviews, and briefings. The C-Span program will run
Monday evening, September 3rd (Labor Day), from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
EDT. Larry Hamilton, BLM fire director, and Dennis Pendleton, FS fire
director, will travel to Washington to be in-studio with the program's
host. The show will include about two-thirds video from NIFC and the
Green Knoll fire and one-third live question and answer from phone-in
callers. Green Knoll IC Joe Carvelho will also call in for about one
hour. There will be 21 "vignettes" (six from NIFC and 15 from the
fire) or short video tours, stories or interviews. [Nancy Lull, NIFC]
* * * * *
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.
--- ### ---