NPS Morning Report - Thursday, November 29, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, November 29, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-620 - Golden Gate NRA (CA) - MVA; Rescue

On the evening of November 21st, ranger Norm Simons was on patrol in 
the north portion of the park. Visibility at the time was extremely 
limited due to heavy fog and rain. Simons observed a bright red glow 
below the highway south of Muir Beach and discovered an overturned SUV 
approximately 100 feet over the side of the road, fully engulfed in 
flames. After making notifications on the radio, he made his way down 
the steep, brush-laden hillside to check for possible victims.  As he 
was making his way down hill, the vehicle's gas tank exploded.  Simons 
called out in an attempt to determine if there were any survivors.  A 
person located very near the burning automobile answered him.  
Skirting the burning car, Simons fell into an eight-foot- deep, 
brushed-covered ravine. Although slightly injured in the fall, he 
continued to make his way toward the individual. There he found 
B.J. of Seattle, Washington, who had escaped from the car but was 
unable to move very far from it due to second degree burns to both 
legs and a fall into the same ravine that Simons had tumbled into. 
Even though the burning vehicle was only ten feet away and directly 
above them, Simons took the time to determine that B.J. could be 
safely moved, then dragged him downhill through brush and rocks so 
that if the vehicle shifted and fell, it would not come down on top of 
them.  Ranger Terry Swift arrived on scene and coordinated a 
six-agency effort that involved extinguishing the fire and evacuating 
and treating the victim. B.J. was transported to San Francisco 
General Hospital, where he was treated for serious burns to his legs. 
The accident is under investigation by the California Highway Patrol. 
It's believed that B.J., who was en route from Seattle to his 
brother's house in San Francisco for Thanksgiving, fell asleep at the 
wheel of his car.  [Richard Danielsen, Operations Supervisor, GOGA, 
11/27]

01-621 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Tree Falls on Car; Fatality

Extremely high winds cause two trees to break off and land in the road 
a mile and a half above the Nisqually entrance early on the afternoon 
of November 25th.  A large diameter tree broke off seventy feet up and 
landed on a 1995 Ford Explorer entering the park. The driver, 
26-year-old J.C. from Bellevue, Washington, was killed 
instantly; passenger K.C., also 26 years old, sustained major 
injuries. Both were trapped inside the vehicle. Rangers and local 
firefighters first had to remove the twenty-inch diameter, 25-foot 
section of tree from the vehicle, then employed extrication equipment 
to gain access to the Explorer and remove the C.s. K.C. 
was flown to Harborview hospital in Seattle, where she remains in 
critical condition with internal injuries to her abdomen and crushing 
injuries to her pelvis, right leg, and left arm. The investigation is 
continuing. [Nina Stevens, MORA, 11/28]

01-622 - Harpers Ferry NHP (MD/VA/WV) - Special Event

A filming permit was issued this fall to director Ron Maxwell to film 
the major motion picture "Gods and Generals" in the park over two days 
in October and six days in November, each period preceded by several 
days of extensive set construction. Over 600 cast, crew, and extras 
were in the park to film the $58 million dollar Ted Turner production, 
billed as the biggest Civil War movie ever made. The film is a prequel 
to the movie "Gettysburg". Actors Robert Duvall, Jeff Daniels, Bruce 
Boxleitner, Stephen Lang, C. Thomas Howell, and Kevin Conway were very 
gracious, signing autographs and posing for pictures with park 
visitors and staff. The park was open as usual and interpretive staff 
helped minimize impacts on visitors. The event was managed under ICS. 
Extra protection and black powder safety staff from other parks helped 
ensure physical security. The park required a deposit of $100,000 for 
cost recovery, a performance bond of $50,000, and $2,000,000 in 
insurance protection from the production company. The event went 
smoothly; resource and visitor impacts were minimal.  A First 
Amendment permit was issued to a local merchant protesting the loss of 
business due to street closures during filming.  (Larry Johnson, CR, 
HAFE, 11/27)

01-623 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (AZ) - Possible Exposure Fatality

During a counter-narcotics flight, rangers spotted a body in a remote 
area of the park. Rangers and Pima County deputies investigated and 
found the body to be that of a 35-year-old undocumented Mexican male. 
His shoes were wrapped in carpet, which usually is done by narcotics 
backpackers to conceal their shoe prints. This area is frequently used 
by narcotics traffickers, but no contraband was found. It's estimated 
that the body had been there for about two weeks. The cause of death 
is believed to have been exposure, but the case was referred to the 
medical examiner's office for a final determination. [CRO, ORPI, 
11/27]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

HOMELAND SECURITY

No reports today.

MEMORANDA

"Status of the Facility Management Program," signed on November 8th by 
Director Mainella and sent to all regional directors. Excerpts follow:

"This memorandum provides an update on the National Park Service (NPS) 
Facility Management Program and presents you with a snapshot of the 
implementation status of participating parks in your respective 
region. The primary goal of this program is to emphasize stewardship 
and appropriate business practices in the management of our built 
resources.  The Department of the Interior, the White House and 
Congress consider the NPS Facility Management Program a critical 
management reform necessary to address the growing backlog of deferred 
facility maintenance.

"The NPS Facility Management Program encompasses a Director's order 
and facility management business plan, the Facility Management 
Software System (FMSS), the Asset Management Process (AMP)-including 
the inventory and condition assessment of all NPS-owned facilities-and 
a training strategy for deployment and implementation of the program.  
The NPS Facility Management Program provides for managing the built 
resources in our care in a manner consistent with Federal laws, the 
Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards #6, "Accounting 
for Property, Plant and Equipment" and Department of the Interior 
recommendations. . .  

"It is imperative that superintendents recognize and support the 
principles and practices established by the NPS Facility Management 
Program.  In light of all the support the NPS is receiving from the 
White House and Congress, we need to be able to better demonstrate our 
effective stewardship and preservation of our built resources in 
support of our cultural and natural resources."

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Yellowstone NP (WY) - REVISED - NEW OPENING AND CLOSING DATES: The 
park is recruiting for several permanent full time and subject to 
furlough GS-7/9 law enforcement ranger positions. Some of these 
rangers will deal directly with bison management operations. The 
vacancy announcement, which can be found on USA Jobs, will be open 
from November 30th to December 20th. For more information, contact 
Lisa Helms at the CRO at 307-344-2147. [Lisa Helms, YELL]

Roosevelt/Vanderbilt NHS (NY) - The park is currently recruiting for a 
subject to furlough GS-5/7/9 protection ranger through both merit 
promotion and OPM. The vacancy announcement for merit promotion is 
ROVA-01-25 and closes December 3rd. The position is located in Hyde 
Park, New York, and is being advertised with a two month furlough in 
January and February.  For more information, call the chief ranger's 
office at 845-229-6214.  [Bruce Edmonston, CR, ROVA]

FILM AT 11...

USS Arizona Memorial (HI) - The Service's Submerged Resources Center, 
based in Santa Fe, will be featured prominently in two documentary 
films to premiere in Hawaii during a week of events associated with 
the anniversary of December 7, 1941. The documentaries are Discovery 
Channel's "Death of the USS Arizona" and History's Channel's "Save the 
Arizona." The staff includes center chief Larry Murphy, underwater 
archeologists Dan Lenihan, Matt Russell and Dave Conlin, and 
audio-visual production specialist Brett Seymour. Seymour shot the 
underwater footage for both documentaries.  On December 2nd, Discovery 
Channel will air "Death of the USS Arizona." Dan Lenihan will provide 
commentary from underwater. The program will provide a forensic study 
and frame-by-frame analysis of the actual historic footage of the USS 
Arizona exploding and results in new revelations about the loss of the 
USS Arizona, as well as never before seen footage, such as the actual 
Japanese attack planes flying over in formation. On December 7th, the 
History Channel will air "Save the Arizona," part of its Emmy award 
winning "Save Our History" series. The documentary will address 
archeological and ecological issues facing the USS Arizona and the NPS 
stewardship and research of this national war memorial. It includes 
never before seen footage of the ship's interior shot by the NPS 
Submerged Resources Center divers via ROV cameras. Times for both 
shows are to be announced. ["Intermountain Morning Line," 11/27]

                            *  *  *  *  *

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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