NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, April 10, 2002


                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, April 10, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-096 - Sequoia NP (CA) - Search in Progress

An air search is in progress for a small private plane that took off from
Visalia Municipal Airport on Saturday, April 6th., for an overflight of
Moro Rock. The plane, with the pilot and three passengers aboard, flew east
into the park's airspace, then disappeared from radar in the vicinity of
the rugged Marble Fork drainage. The pilot was a local Visalia man and his
three passengers were all 15-year-old boys who attend Golden West High
School in Visalia. The flight was a birthday gift for one of the boys. A
faint signal has been picked up by triangulation teams from the Civil Air
Patrol, but air and ground crews have not turned up any further evidence of
the missing plane's location. The search is continuing, and includes
additional air and ground crews and participation from Civil Air Patrol
triangulation crews. Due to the difficulty of the terrain, a ground search
will likely be conducted when there is reasonable anticipation of finding
the plane. Kinsey Shilling is IC. [Shauna Dyas, IO, SEKI, 4/9]

02-097 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Bomb Threat

The concessioner at the Willow Beach store received a handwritten note on
April 8th, stating that a bomb would be placed in the store and everyone
would be killed. Rangers Chris Largent and Chuck Hahn investigated. They
found that the note had been sent from Newark, New Jersey, and that the
envelope had a Miami, Florida, return address. It was signed with the name
of a South American actress. Since these two cities had been linked to
bio-terrorism incidents, the rangers closed and locked the store. It
remained closed until investigator Paul Crawford arrived and determined
that it was safe to reopen the building. The investigation continues. [Dale
Antonich, CR, LAME, 4/8]

02-098 - Whiskeytown NRA (CA) - Pursuit, Arrest of Hit and Run Driver

On March 14th, ranger Bill Watkins was nearly forced off the road by a
pickup truck on Highway 299 within park boundaries. Watkins immediately
radioed a description of the speeding truck and driver and pursued. Minutes
later, the pickup struck another vehicle, causing moderate body damage,
then continued down the road. Watkins continued to follow and maintained
close contact with other pursuing officers. Ranger Gary Panich was able to
determine an approximate location of the suspect based on numerous tips
from alarmed pedestrians and communicated it to the other units.
Whiskeytown special agent Alan Foster served as incident commander and
coordinated the search for the suspect with units from the Shasta County
Sheriffs Office and a California Highway Patrol helicopter. Watkins found
the driver of the pickup truck walking along a remote road about an hour
later and placed him under arrest. He was subsequently charged with
reckless driving, hit and run and evading law enforcement officers, then
jailed. The truck was impounded. According to witnesses, the driver
exceeded speeds of 80 mph and repeatedly crossed over the double yellow
line prior to his arrest. [Steve Prokop, CR, WHIS, 3/14]

02-099 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/AL/TN) - MVA with Falling Tree; Fatality

E.C., 51, of Carthage, Mississippi, was northbound on the
parkway near milepost 115 shortly before midnight on April 9th when his
vehicle hit a tree on the roadway. A three-foot diameter pine tree was
apparently in the process of falling when E.C. hit it. The roof of his
car was sheered off on impact, evidently killing him instantly. The vehicle
continued down the road another 450 feet before coming to rest. A second
vehicle traveling southbound on the parkway also hit the fallen tree
moments later; it sustained serious damage, but no injuries were reported.
A front had moved through the area earlier that evening, causing heavy rain
and high winds. [Jackie Henman, ACR, NATR, 4/9]

02-100 - Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - Suicide

A local resident who stopped to investigate a parked car about 50 yards off
Highway 129 on April 8th discovered the body of a 36-year-old Maryville,
Tennessee, woman inside. Blount County deputies were first on scene and
determined that the car was within exclusive jurisdiction in the park;
rangers Randy Scoggins and Richard Aldridge and special agent Jeff Carlisle
accordingly responded and investigated. The woman died from a
self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. She was last seen before leaving
for work on Easter Sunday, March 31st. A suicide note was found that dated
from March 31st. [Bob Wightman, GRSM, 4/9]

02-101 - Sequoia & Kinds Canyon NPs (CA) - Apparent Suicide

Ranger Chris Waldschmidt radioed the park dispatch office on the morning of
April 6th and requested a registration check on an unattended vehicle
parked in the upper lot of Giant Forest Museum. The dispatcher advised
Waldschmidt that the registered owner's name had been entered into the
system as a missing person by his wife in Visalia the previous day. The
63-year-old man was reportedly suicidal; he had considered a suicide
attempt from the summit of Moro Rock in September, 2001, but had changed
his mind while talking with his wife on his cell phone. A  major ground and
air search was conducted over the next two days. A technical search team
found his body at the base of Moro Rock on April 8th. All evidence
collected during the search investigation indicates that he committed
suicide by leaping from the summit of Moro Rock. Kings Canyon DR Kinsey
Shilling was IC. [Bob Wilson, LES, SEKI, 4/8]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 1

Initial attack was light everywhere on Monday. Five new large fires were
reported, one each in Arizona, Kentucky, and West Virginia and two in
Minnesota. The 800-acre Deerwood Fire in Minnesota and 140-acre Barren Fork
Fire in the Daniel Boone NF in Kentucky were contained. A Type 1 team
(Humphreys) is still assigned to the 37,600-acre Middle Fire in the Gila
NF, now 65% contained. A fire use management team (Cones) is managing the
5,500-acre Number One Island Fire in Okefenokee NWR in Georgia.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona and New Mexico.

National Resource Status

Date              4/3   4/4   4/5   4/6   4/7   4/8

Crews             17    12    32    27    24    21
Engines           38    30    45    39    25    35
Helicopters       8     10    10    10    8     9
Air Tankers       0     0     0     0     0     0
Overhead          173   251   228   249   283   260

Park Fire Situation

Indiana Dunes NL (IN) - The park completed three prescribed burns last
weekend with help from personnel from the Hoosier NF and Manistee NF.

Saguaro NP (AZ) - Dry lightning caused some fires in the park over the past
weekend, none significant.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme - N/A
Very High - Everglades NP, Big Bend NP
High - Delaware Water Gap NRA

[NPS Situation Summary Report, 4/9; NPS Situation summary Report, 4/9]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

NCR Center for Urban Ecology (DC) - The center is seeking an education
coordinator for the recently created Urban Ecology Learning Alliance. The
coordinator will have full responsibility for planning, developing and
implementing educational opportunities in both natural and cultural
resources. The focus will be on the nature and health of the resources in
NCR and the essential science necessary to describe, monitor, protect and
restore these treasures. The alliance is part of a developing network of
learning centers throughout the National Park Service. Information on
submitting applications can be obtained by checking USA Jobs and
referencing position number NPS-NCR-02-24 for GS-0401 biologist, 0408
ecologist or 1701 education specialist. The web sites, respectively, are as
follows:
http//jsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/summary.asp?OPMControl=IC3845
http//jsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/summary.asp?OPMControl=IC3735
http://jsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/summary.asp?OPMControl=IC3838
For more information, contact NCR Human Resources at 202-619-7256. [Jim
Sherald, CNR&S, NCR]

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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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