NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, October 31, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, October 31, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-580 - Biscayne NP (FL) - Boating SAR with Fatality

On the afternoon of Friday, October 26th, three men left Black Point 
Marina to fish on the ocean side of Elliott Key.  The sky was 
overcast, the wind was blowing at 15 knots, and waves were about a 
foot high. At 9 p.m., the boat's operator called his wife to say that 
he didn't feel comfortable crossing Biscayne Bay after dark (the bay 
is very shallow) and would therefore stay out until Saturday morning. 
When the men failed to return by Saturday afternoon, the wife called 
the Coast Guard and a search was begun. The Coast Guard asked rangers 
for assistance that evening. By that time, winds were blowing at 25 
knots and waves on the ocean side were from eight to ten feet. 
Searches of likely points around Elliott Key were fruitless. Rangers 
Dave Pharo, Dave Carter, Randy Whitton and Didier Carod then checked 
markers on the bay and ocean side, also without results. By this time, 
seas on the ocean side were between ten and fifteen feet and were 
three feet on the bay side. The search was suspended until Sunday 
morning, when two of the men were found clinging to makers south of 
Biscayne - about five to seven miles from the point where the boat was 
anchored. They reported that a wave had come over the bow some time on 
Friday night, swamping the boat and tossing the men into the water. 
They drifted until they came upon the markers and climbed on them. One 
of the men was unable to hold on and drifted away during the night. 
None of the three were wearing life jackets. One of the two survivors 
is in fair condition; the other is in critical condition. The search 
was suspended at 10 p.m. on Sunday evening. [Holly Rife, CR, BISC, 
10/30]

01-581 - Big South Fork NRRA (KY/TN) - Car Clout Arrest

Several cars were broken into at the Leatherwood Ford parking area on 
October 8th. Two wallets with military ID's, government credit cards 
and personal credit cards were stolen. When one of the owners called 
to cancel his cards, he found out that they had been used a number of 
times that morning in Tennessee and Kentucky. Ranger Kristy Kozel 
obtained surveillance tapes from Kentucky stores for viewing, and a 
local gas station attendant identified the man in the tapes as D.C. 
Search and arrest warrants were obtained. D.C. turned 
himself in and confessed to the break-ins and to the fraudulent use of 
the credit cards. Ranger Tim Grooms spoke with D.C. the next day 
about other car clouts and thefts that had occurred around the park. 
D.C. also confessed to these and implicated a second person. 
D.C. appeared in court on state charges on October 17th and pled 
guilty to the October 8th car clouts and credit card fraud. He was 
sentenced to 60 days in jail and four years' supervised probation and 
ordered to pay $1,900 in restitution. Somerset, Kentucky, police are 
charging him with the use of the credit cards in that state, and the 
park will be charging him with two counts of felony car clouting and 
one count of felony theft from a campsite. Additional charges are 
pending, as more evidence is being uncovered linking the two men with 
other break-ins around the park and in surrounding communities. [Frank 
Graham, CR, BISO, 10/30]

01-582 - George Washington Memorial Parkway (VA) - Arson

Firefighters from the NPS and two local counties responded to a fire 
in a wooded area of the park at Dead Run just after 6 a.m. on October 
28th. About two acres burned. Park Police officers provided traffic 
control and site security. One of the parkway's northbound lanes was 
closed to provide a safe work zone for firefighters. Evidence was 
found indicating that the fire was intentionally set, so a joint 
investigation was begun by USPP detectives and Fairfax County 
investigators. They determined that the fire had been started in 
several areas and found suspected accelerants. [Sgt. R. MacLean, USPP, 
NCR, 10/30]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2

Initial attack was heavy in the East and South on Monday, but light 
elsewhere. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in 
California, North Carolina, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

Park Fire Situation

No new fires reported.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 10/30]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Update on Veterans Day Weekend for Unity, Hope, and Healing - 
Preparations for the upcoming Veterans Day weekend are ongoing. The 
director has encouraged all 385 parks to promote and publicize this 
weekend so that all Americans may be invited to visit their national 
parks and learn more about the people and events that shaped our 
nation. The NPS has reached out to our partners, including 
concessioners, cooperating associations, friends groups, and state 
park directors, encouraging them to participate with us. All of the 
federal land management agencies will also be doing their part. The 
NPS web sites (www.nps.gov/unity on the internet, 
www.nps.gov/unityweekend on the intranet) have been up and running 
since last Friday. If you haven't had a chance to check them out, 
please do so. Please download and utilize all of the informational 
materials/tools from the intranet site and put them to good use.  If 
you run across any problems, refer to the help desk web page. Copies 
of the director's video were mailed out  to each park via Federal 
Express on October 30th. Your park should be receiving one soon. The 
director's message to all employees outlines efforts for this Veterans 
Day weekend, including a filmed PSA by the secretary and the National 
Park Foundation's work to secure placement of advertising in some key 
publications across the country. Additional updates will appear in 
future Morning Reports. [Carol Anthony, Office of Communications, 
WASO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Salinas Pueblo Missions NM (NM) - The park has an opening for a 
lateral reassignment for a GS-9 LE ranger. Salinas Pueblo Missions is 
a small historical park with three distinct and separate units - Abo, 
Quarai, and Gran Quivara - and a centrally located headquarters and 
visitor center in Mountainair. The cultural resources include three 
17th-century Spanish missions and associated prehistoric Indian 
pueblos. The park has only two LE positions, the chief ranger and one 
other ranger. The latter has become vacant due to a transfer. This is 
a 6c position requiring a level one commission. It is being offered as 
a lateral with the hope that it can be filled quickly. The person 
selected will be involved in the full spectrum of ranger duties. 
Headquarters is located in Mountainair, population approximately 
1,200. Mountainair is in the geographic center of New Mexico, about 75 
miles south of Albuquerque. It offers limited shopping and services, 
but has a grade school, high school and clinic. Most major shopping 
and services can be found at Belen, about 40 miles away. Government 
housing is available but not required. Some housing is also available 
for rent or sale at reasonable prices in Mountainair or neighboring 
communities. For more information, please contact chief ranger James 
Boll at 505-847-2585, ext. 21. [James Boll, SAPU]

Navajo NM (AZ) - The park has openings for two rangers. One is a 
GS-5/7/9 LE position and is covered by 6c; duties include LE, ARPA 
investigations, backcountry patrols to cliff dwellings, and collateral 
duties assisting park management. Occupancy of park housing is 
required. The second opening is for a GS 5/7/9 interpretive ranger; 
duties include supervising a crew of seasonal rangers who provide 
tours of cliff dwellings and management of the park's interpretive 
program. This is also a required occupancy position. This could be a 
dual-career opportunity for an intrepid couple. Both vacancies should 
be out on USA Jobs, effective October 29th.  Applications will be 
accepted from career and career-conditional employees.  Check the 
Lotus Notes discussion database where vacancies are posted for some 
JPEG images of the park's resources. For more information, contact Irv 
Francisco at 928-672-2700. [Rick Best, NAVA]

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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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