NPS Morning Report - Friday, April 12, 2002


                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, April 12, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-096 - Sequoia NP (CA) - Follow-up: Search for Missing Aircraft

The search for the missing Piper Cherokee aircraft with four people aboard
ended late Wednesday morning with the discovery of the plane's wreckage.
There were no survivors. The wreckage was discovered by a helicopter crew
from Vandenberg Air Force Base assigned to search a very steep and rugged
portion of the  Castle Creek drainage,  about three miles southwest of Moro
Rock. The wreckage was found when the helicopter crew picked up a weak
signal from the downed aircraft's emergency locator transmitter (ELT). The
area in which the aircraft was located, determined by search managers as an
area of high probability, had been searched previously. Along with pilot
P.C., the plane carried B.C., 16, J.M., 15, and
J.T., 15. All four were from Visalia. The flight occurred on
Saturday afternoon in cloudy, foggy weather conditions and was a birthday
gift for Bobby Craine. The party left the airport at 3 p.m. with the
expectation of flying over Moro Rock and returning to Visalia for dinner.
There has been intense local interest in the search, with church groups and
other community organizations bringing food for searchers to the incident
command post at park headquarters in Sequoia. Air crews from Tulare County,
the California Highway Patrol, Lemoore Naval Air Station, and Vandenberg
Air Force Base flew continuous search missions during daylight hours. The
bodies were not recovered on Wednesday due to deteriorating weather
conditions, but resumed yesterday morning and were expected to take all
day. [Debbie Bird, CR, SEKI, 4/11]

02-103 - Virgin Islands NP (VI) - Grounding of Passenger Ferry

The passenger ferry Voyager Eagle ran hard aground on Johnson's Reef around
3:30 p.m. on April 7th. The ferry was transporting 33 passengers from Red
Hook on St. Thomas to West End on Tortola when it hit the reef. No injuries
were reported. The passengers were safely evacuated from the Voyager Eagle
to the ferry Oriole and taken to Tortola. Initial salvage efforts were
unsuccessful, so the Coast Guard halted operations until a detailed salvage
plan could be developed. The ferry remained aground overnight, but  was
easily removed from the reef during high tide the next morning. According
to the ferry's captain, who has operated ferryboats for a dozen years, a
squall passed through the area as he was approaching Johnson's Reef,
causing poor visibility. The reef is clearly marked with six aids to
navigation, all of which were on station. There was no pollution as a
result of the grounding, but there was substantial marine habitat damage.
An assessment has not yet been completed because of rough water. The
captain has been cited for negligence and for striking underwater resources
and must appear in federal court. The park will assess the damage and seek
restitution. For more information, contact ranger Troy Williams at
340-776-6201 ext. 245. [Troy Williams, VIIS, 4/10]

02-104 - Edison NHP (NJ) - Serious Water Damage

A corroded sprinkler head in the historic photo lab on the third floor of
Thomas Edison's main laboratory building failed around 10 a.m. on April
9th, sending 400 gallons of water cascading down through the three floors
of the building and into its basement. The worst damage was sustained in a
second floor tool crib, the heavy machine shop, and the stockroom - in
which, Mr. Edison bragged, he had everything "from the hide of an elephant
to the eyes of a United States senator." Thousands of metal and wooden
artifacts - tools, machinery and parts, photo equipment - were drenched.
Park staff and volunteers immediately went to work mopping up floors and
hand drying each and every item that was wet. Artifacts will be monitored
for rusting and other damage. The entire sprinkler system is scheduled for
replacement during a major rehabilitation this fall. [Maryanne Gerbauckas,
Superintendent, EDIS, 4/10]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 1

Initial attack remained light on Wednesday. Two new large fires were
reported - the River Fire (200 acres) on CDF land in southern California,
and the Shaver's Mountain Fire (117 acres) in the Monongahela NF in West
Virginia. The 37,600-acre Middle Fire in the Gila NF is now 95% contained.

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

National Resource Status

                  Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed
Date              4/4   4/5   4/6   4/7   4/8   4/9   4/10

Crews             12    32    27    24    21    34    27
Engines           30    45    39    25    35    24    35
Helicopters       10    10    10    8     9     7     3
Air Tankers       0     0     0     0     0     0     0
Overhead          251   228   249   283   260   245   174

Park Fire Situation

Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - The park reports once new initial attack fire
started by an escaped camp fire. The weather remains extremely dry and
warm, with a high of 91 on Wednesday and winds gusting to 20 mph.

Indiana Dunes NL (IN) - The weather continues to be very warm, and drying
trends are continuing, "unhampered by precipitation."

Saguaro NP (AZ) - Temperatures continue to be five to ten degrees above
normal. Rainfall for the season is down almost 50% from normal.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme - N/A
Very High - N/A
High - Lake Mead NRA, Hawaii Volcanoes NP, Everglades NP, Indiana Dunes NL

[NPS Situation Summary Report, 4/11; NPS Situation summary Report, 4/11]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

National Yount Award Recipient Named - Delaware Water Gap NRA district
ranger Wayne Valentine is this year's recipient of the National Park
Service's Harry Yount Award, conferred on the ranger who most exemplifies
outstanding attributes in the art of 'rangering.' The award, named after
Harry Yount, generally recognized as the first NPS ranger, seeks " to
recognize and honor outstanding rangers, encourage high standards of
performance, foster especially responsive attitudes toward public service,
enhance the public's appreciation of the park ranger profession, and
further the art and science of 'rangering.'" The award is to be presented
at the White House. Valentine was cited for heading the park's SAR team,
recipient of DOI's unit award for excellence in 2000; for his effective
management of high visitor use areas in the New Jersey District,
particularly in taking a number of actions to successfully reduce
drownings; for developing and implementing programs to manage park
resources; for working effectively with park partners in numerous and
varied programs; and for his high personal and professional standards.
Valentine began his Park Service career at Gulf Islands National Seashore
in 1974. He worked several seasons there, both in protection and in
interpretation and also did a couple of stints as a Youth Conservation
Corps work coordinator in between. In 1977, he worked at Cape Hatteras
National Seashore as a seasonal interpreter, then went back to Gulf Island
to take a position as permanent ranger. He was immediately made acting
district naturalist for the park. In 1984, Valentine moved to Buffalo
National River, then took a position as a protection ranger two years later
at Rocky Mountain National Park . He then did a tour as a protection ranger
at Curecanti National Recreation Area before moving on to Biscayne National
Park in 1988. In 1990, Valentine came to Delaware Water Gap NRA, where he
has since served as SDR for Kittatinny Subdistrict and DR for the New
Jersey District. He also recently completed a tour as acting chief ranger.
[Bill Halainen, DEWA]

Acting Chief Selected for Ranger Activities Division - Kevin Fitzgerald,
chief ranger at Cape Cod NS, will begin a detail as acting chief of WASO
Ranger Activities on Monday, May 6th. Dick Ring, associate director for
park operations and education, had this to say about the selection: "Kevin
will bring outstanding expertise and field knowledge to the Ranger
Activities Division for the next several months as we deal with the
pressures of the coming field season and the continued requirements of
homeland security. He will also provide me with valued counsel and
assistance on the discussions underway regarding law enforcement issues."
Fitzgerald, a 1980 graduate from North Carolina State with a BS in forestry
(with a concentration in recreation resources administration), has been
with the NPS since 1978. He's worked as a fee collector at Blue Ridge
Parkway, an assistant sub district ranger at Great Smoky Mountains NP, a
district ranger at Everglades NP, as the chief of resource and visitor
protection at C&O Canal NHP, and as chief ranger at Cape Cod NS. He's a
recent graduate of the FBI National Academy. His brother, Brion, is chief
ranger at Gettysburg NMP. [Dick Ring, WASO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Crater Lake NP (OR) - All present and former Crater Lake employees are
invited to a reunion that will be held on Monday, August 26th. The reunion
is open to NPS employees, VIP's, concession employees, and employees of
major contractors, partners and cooperators. The reunion will take place in
the park and will include a picnic lunch, tours of the current
administrative areas, and interpretive tours of the park. The reunion is
scheduled for the day after the official centennial rededication ceremony,
which will be held at Rim Village on the 25th. If you're interested in
attending the reunion, contact the park by mail at: Reunion, Crater Lake
NP, Box 100, Crater Lake, OR 97605, or send an email to
crla_reunion@nps.gov . Include your name, address, telephone numbers, email
address, former duties, and years employed. The park is seeking help in
locating former employees. Please spread the word about the reunion and how
to make initial mail contact. Official invitations, registration forms and
programs will be sent beginning today to those who respond. Crater Lake is
still the incredible blue gem that you remember from your times working
here. If you haven't returned to visit the park recently, this is a great
opportunity to reacquaint yourself, both spiritually and intellectually,
with its natural and cultural wonders. The reunion will provide an
opportunity to visit with old friends, swap stories about park experiences,
and see how the park operates today. Current employees will be available to
talk about the latest in park research projects, the new GMP currently
under development, internet-based administrative tools, new snow removal
equipment, and a variety of other topics of interest. [Greg Adams, CRLA]

                               *  *  *  *  *

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

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