NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 29, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 29, 2001
- Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 08:47:12 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2001
INCIDENTS
01-476 - National Capital Parks Central (DC) - Arrest of Armed Felon
On August 20th, USPP officer Jose Fontanez stopped a car in the area
of Logan Circle Park. A computer check revealed that the operator was
wanted by the Secret Service for bank fraud. The driver refused to
follow Fontanez' directions and reached several times towards the
car's center console. When Fontanez attempted to arrest him, a
struggle ensued and the driver fled into an adjacent alleyway. He was
subsequently found beneath a trash dumpster and arrested. A search of
the vehicle yielded a 9 mm handgun with the safety mechanism
disengaged beneath the center console. The man was charged with
assault on an officer, bank fraud, and - since he was a convicted
felon - a National Firearms Act violation. Fontanez sustained several
abrasions and a bruise on the right side of his eye. [Sgt. R. MacLean,
USPP, NCR, 8/27]
01-477 - Fort Sumter NM (SC) - Special Event
Liberty Square, the newest addition to the park, was dedicated on
Friday, August 24th, in a public ceremony at the downtown Charleston
site. The highlights of the event were a formal dedication of a Philip
Simmons gate and groundbreaking for the future Septima Clark fountain.
Philip Simmons is a master blacksmith from Charleston who is famous
for his wrought-iron gates; Septima Clark was a local hero of the
civil rights movement who worked toward education equality. The event
included musicians, artisans and storytellers representing many of
Charleston's diverse cultures. Liberty Square, adjacent to the new
Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center and Ferry Boat Facility that
opened on August 15th, is a green space where visitors can reflect on
the efforts of the many Americans who have sacrificed for the cause of
liberty. Approximately 400 people attended the event. (Bill Martin,
PIO, FOSU)
[Additional reports pending....]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 5
Four new large fires were reported yesterday (three in California and
one in the Rockies) and another three were contained. Initial attack
was moderate in the Rockies and light elsewhere.
Very high to extreme fire danger was reported in Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah,
Washington and Wyoming.
NICC has posted:
o A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for dry thunderstorms this afternoon in
the mountain areas south of I-80 and over eastern Utah.
o A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for dry thunderstorms this afternoon and
evening in northwestern Colorado.
o A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for same in eastern and northeastern
Nevada.
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 8/25 8/26 8/27 8/28 8/29
Crews 636 618 632 573 580
Engines 777 640 607 594 627
Helicopters 205 191 196 187 163
Air Tankers 5 7 6 5 5
Overhead 4,445 4,535 4,672 4,968 3,929
Area Command Team 1 1 1 1 1
Type 1 IMT 10 8 8 6 8
Type 2 IMT 8 9 9 8 5
State IMT 3 2 1 0 0
Fire Use Team 2 2 2 1 1
Park Fire Situation
Glacier NP (MT) - A wildfire west of the park has prompted a number of
closures, but the park itself remains open, with full services and
activities. The North Fork area of Glacier has been temporarily closed
as a preventive measure due to the increased size and activity of the
Moose Fire on Monday, August 27th. The lightning-caused fire expanded
from an estimated 4,700 acres on Monday to approximately 14,000 acres.
All roads and trails within the area have been closed; no additional
backcountry permits will be issued for locations within the Polebridge
Subdistrict until further notice. As a result of the significant fire
activity and perimeter increase, a mandatory evacuation order was
issued on Monday evening for private landowners in the North Fork area
south of Polebridge. A voluntary evacuation order has also been issued
for residents of the Polebridge area. As a further precaution, a
staging area has been established across from the Polebridge Ranger
Station for approximately 300 firefighters (and equipment) to provide
structural protection, if necessary. The Outside North Fork Road has
been closed to traffic from Big Creek (approximately two miles south
of the Camas entrance to Glacier) north to the intersection to
Polebridge. Travelers are prohibited from turning off the Camas Road
at the North Fork Bridge and going south onto the Outside North Fork
Road. Rangers are patrolling the Quartz and Logging drainages to
contact any remaining backpackers in those areas. As a further
safeguard, park personnel are installing fire protection around the
Logging Creek Ranger Station, Camas Entrance Station, and backcountry
patrol cabins, using sprinklers, hose lays, and reflective materials.
Campers from a number of remote campsites were asked to relocate
Monday as a result of the temporary area closure. Hikers currently on
backpacking trips within the park's North Fork area will be allowed to
complete their trips, but it will be necessary for them to depart the
North Fork via the Red Meadow or the Trail Creek Roads through
Flathead National Forest. Anyone with advance reservations for
backcountry permits in the park's North Fork area should call the
Backcountry Permit Office at 406-888-7857 for alternative routes.
Yellowstone NP (WY) - The park reports several fires in what is being
called the Yellowstone Parkwide Complex:
o Falcon Fire (3,480 acres; 900 within the park) - The fire
continues to make somewhat dramatic runs upslope to the south
of Falcon Creek, which accounts for most of the daily
increases in acreage burned. Another day of two of this
activity will consume most of the fuels available to the fire.
A bowl on the west flank continues to burn out; about 90% of
the fuel in the bowl has been consumed. One finger on the east
flank made a run out into the Yellowstone River valley and was
expected to burn to the west bank of the Yellowstone River by
the end of the day. Plenty of unburned fuels remain along the
east flank of the fire. Isolated torching was observed in some
white bark pine on the extreme northern flank of the fire. The
probability that the fire will move north into the Lynx creek
drainage decreases with each passing day.
o Sulphur Fire (540 acres) - The fire spread yesterday to the
north, south and east. The south flank slowly backed
downslope, while the northeast flank continued to move
upslope, with short-duration crown runs and spotting. The
upslope head of the fire continues to widen and intense heat
is being generated in the ground fuels. Plenty of unburned
fuel remains within the perimeter.
o Little Joe Fire (726 acres; 110 within the park) - Suppression
actions contributed to holding the fire in check yesterday.
Some heat was observed on the southwest flank near Deaf Jim
Knob and was being worked regularly with helicopter bucket
drops. The ridge top is literally painted red from slurry
drops as part of the holding actions. Burnout operations on
the east side were begun and appear to have been successful.
The remainder of the fire stayed within control lines. The
park's Deaf Jim Cabin was lost in the fire.
o Stone Fire (120 acres) - There was little activity yesterday.
Flame on the ground was observed on the southwest and east
flanks, but little in the way of fire spread occurred. One
spot developed from yesterday's activity to the northeast of
the main body of the fire in the old 1981 burn.
Great Basin NP (NV) -Mop-up operations continue on the Granite Fire
(618 acres, 85% contained, 65 FF/OH).
Extreme N/A
Very High Zion NP
High Redwood NP, Lake Mead NRA, Point Reyes NS, Hawaii
Volcanoes NP
[Amy Vanderbilt, GLAC, 8/28; Roy Renkin/Doug Wallner, YELL, 8/28; NPS
Situation Summary Report, 8/28; NICC Incident Management Situation
Report, 8/29]
* * * * *
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.
--- ### ---