NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, September 5, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, September 5, 2001
- Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 09:30:46 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, September 5, 2001
INCIDENTS
01-490 - Cape Hatteras NS (NC) - Fatal Shark Attack
S.Z., 28, and N.S., 22, both Russian
nationals residing in the U.S., were swimming in chest-deep water 20
to 40 feet from shore on the evening of September 3rd when they were
attacked by a shark. Although visitors were present, neither the beach
nor nearby waters were crowded at the time of the attack. Witnesses
reported that the victims were jerked violently in the water, then
called for help. Several people entered the water to assist them and
placed a 911 call for assistance. Dare County dispatched numerous
emergency services to the scene. A Dare County Sheriff's Department
deputy arrived within four minutes; district ranger Steve Ryan, other
deputies, and county EMS and Hatteras Island Rescue units arrived
shortly thereafter. S.Z. went into full arrest on the beach, so
CPR was begun with the assistance of two visitors. S.Z. and
N.S. were transported to the medical center in Avon, where
S.Z. was pronounced dead. N.S. was taken by Dare County
Med Flight to Norfolk General Hospital, where she is in critical
condition. The medical examiner reported that S.Z. died from
blood loss due to multiple shark bites to the lower extremities.
N.S. suffered similar injuries. No witnesses saw the number or
type of sharks involved, but nothing indicates that there was more
than one shark. The park has put ICS in operation in order to
investigate the incident, deal with inquiries from the media and the
public, and monitor any abnormal shark activities warranting
protective measures. The Russian consulate has requested regular
updates. Dare County emergency managers are working closely with the
park to ensure a unified response and resource sharing. Reconnaissance
flights will continue through Thursday, and rangers and resource
management staff have stepped up patrols along the shore. Media
interest has been extremely high. All national and local networks are
or have been on scene, and the park is receiving inquiries from local
and national newspapers. The superintendent has done two live
televised appearances for major networks; the park PIO and incident IC
have been interviewed by newspapers and numerous domestic and foreign
radio stations. The park held two press conferences yesterday and will
hold more if necessary. Mary Doll is the park PIO; Jeff Cobb is the
IC. [Jeff Cobb, CR, CAHA, 9/4]
[Additional reports pending....]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 4
Two new large fires were reported yesterday, both in the Great Basin.
Four others were contained. Initial attack was light everywhere.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona,
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington
and Wyoming.
NICC has posted a series of warnings and watches for today:
o A RED FLAG WARNING has been posted for strong winds and low
humidity in northern and central portions of Nevada.
o A RED FLAG WARNING has been posted for isolated dry lightning,
increasing winds, an unstable air mass, low relative humidity
and high temperatures for western South Dakota.
o A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been posted for strong gusty winds in
the afternoon and evening in the upper Snake River plain in
Idaho.
o A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been posted for strong south to
southwest winds, low realtive humidity and a high Haines index
for western and central Utah.
o A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been posted for isolated dry
lightning, increasing winds, an unstable air mass, low
relative humidity and high temperatures for western, central
and northeastern Wyoming.
o A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been posted for wet and dry
thunderstorms and gusty winds associated with a cold front
passage for south-central and southeastern Montana.
o A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been posted for strong winds and very
low relative humidity for areas in northern California east of
the Sierra-Cascade Crest and south of Modoc NF (including
Lassen NF and the far eastern portion of Plumas NF).
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 9/1 9/2 9/3 9/4 9/5
Crews 533 508 571 496 510
Engines 555 606 674 496 546
Helicopters 138 137 146 141 135
Air Tankers 5 2 8 1 5
Overhead 3,972 3,745 3,538 2,693 2,647
Area Command Team 2 2 2 1 1
Type 1 IMT 5 4 3 4 4
Type 2 IMT 7 7 6 4 4
State IMT 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Use Team 1 1 1 1 1
Park Fire Situation
Glacier NP (MT) - The Moose fire (58,500 acres, 15,000 within the
park; 5% contained, no estimate for full containment; Type 1 team
w/1,047 FF/OH committed - including 32 crews, 15 engines, nine
helicopters) burned actively up Camas Ridge and was north of Camas
Creek yesterday morning. Helicopter bucket drops and retardant were
used in an attempt to keep the fire north of the creek. The fire was
also active on lands burned in the old Howling fire on Adair Ridge.
Crews have reduced fuels and installed sprinklers around buildings at
the head of Lake McDonald; that work continues. Portions of the fire
outside of the park were burning to the south in the Flathead NF and
to the north in the Home Ranch Bottoms area. The park,
Going-to-the-Sun Road, most campgrounds, and all commercial visitor
facilities remain open.
Extreme N/A
Very High Crater Lake NP
High Joshua Tree NP, Grand Canyon NP, Glacier NP, Hawaii
Volcanoes NP
[NPS Situation Summary Report, 9/4; NICC Incident Management Situation
Report, 9/5]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Saguaro NP (AZ) - The park currently has an opening for a GS-025-7/9
backcountry ranger. The vacancy opened on USA Jobs on August 29th and
closes on September 19th. The person in this position serves as a
commissioned law enforcement ranger responsible for visitor and
resource protection in the Rincon Mountain District (East) and has
primary responsibility for the care and management of 58,000 acres of
wilderness. He/she will spend extensive time hiking and on horseback
patrols in arduous conditions and must be available for regular
backcountry overnight travel in which the ranger camps in backcountry
settings. He/she also conducts horse patrols from November through
May, assists in managing the use and care of park stock, and
participates in wildland and prescribed fire activities, emergency
medical services, search and rescue, and the NPS physical fitness
program. The job may also require oversight of volunteers, seasonal
employees, or SCA assistants to complete backcountry projects. For
more information on this position, please contact district ranger Bob
Lineback at 520-733-5111 or chief ranger Paula Nasiatka at
520-733-5110.
* * * * *
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
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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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