NPS Morning Report - Monday, May 6, 2002


                       NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:           All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:         Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:     Monday, May 6, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-135 - Thomas Stone NHS (VA) - Follow-up on Tornado Impacts

The park took a direct hit from the F-5 tornado (261+ mph winds) that
devastated nearby LaPlata, Maryland, on the evening of Sunday, April
28th. A regional Type 2 incident management team (Rick Brown, IC) has
been assigned to the recovery effort. The tornado tore through the
park's western boundary, leaving a swath of destruction several hundred
feet wide and long. The entire maintenance facility, a restored tobacco
barn and a large portion of the adjacent dense forest were totally
destroyed. Other buildings sustained lesser damage. Park crews have
cleared the main park access roads and electricity and water should soon
be restored. The park will remain closed until health and safety issues
have been addressed. [Martha R. Walker, SPR, THST, 5/3]

02-145 - Boston NHP (MA) - Structural Fire

Fire severely damaged the quarter-mile-long Charlestown Navy Yard
"Ropewalk" building on Saturday, May 4th. It took 200 firefighters from
Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Chelsea about two hours to bring the
fire under control. Boston sent 22 engines and seven ladders to fight
the fast-moving fire. Five firefighters sustained minor injuries while
fighting the nine- alarm blaze, but no one was seriously injured. The
fire was reportedly started by an arsonist. Damage to the building is
estimated at $500,000. The Ropewalk was built between 1834 and 1837 and
was designed by Alexander Parris, best known for his design of Boston's
Quincy Market. The Ropewalk, which is 1,320-feet long but only 42 feet
wide, manufactured most of the cordage used by Navy ships until it was
taken out of service in 1974, and is the last remaining naval rope
factory in the country. It is long and slender because of the method by
which rope was made. Strands of hemp would be hooked to sprockets on a
large spinning wheel on one end of the building. As the wheel was slowly
turned, laborers would hold taut the stands of hemp and walk backward
the length of the building until all the hemp was twisted into rope. The
building is in the Charlestown Navy Yard historic district and is part
of the park, but is owned by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. [Sean
Hennessey, BOST, 5/5; Peter Demarco, The Boston Globe, 5/6]

02-146 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (AZ) - Drug Interdiction

During the month of April, rangers seized three-quarters of a ton of
marijuana in five seizures and arrested the eleven Mexican nationals who
were backpacking it through the park's wilderness area. Three drivers
and one passenger were also arrested. A .380 semi-automatic pistol was
taken from a boot that one of the drivers was wearing. The marijuana was
found hidden in the walls of a utility trailer, in a pop-up camper, and
in a motor home. All three vehicles had driven through the fence on the
international border and were attempting to blend with weekend traffic
returning from Rocky Point, Mexico. A total of 5,598.4 pound of
marijuana have been seized in 16 drug cases so far this year. [Dale
Thompson, CR, ORPI, 4/30]

02-147 - Manzanar NHS (CA) - Special Event

More than 500 people attended a series of special events at the park on
the weekend of April 26th through the 28th. On Friday, the park hosted
its long-awaited ground-breaking ceremony for the adaptive restoration
of the historic Manzanar High School Auditorium. NPS representatives,
local government dignitaries, representatives of the construction firm,
and members of the Japanese-American community spoke at the event and
participated in the ground breaking. The Independence Chamber of
Commerce provided refreshments following the ceremony. That afternoon,
the park hosted a public meeting to share information on the many park
projects currently underway. The Eastern California Museum hosted an
opening reception that evening for a new exhibit of historic photographs
of the site. On Saturday, the park hosted an open house at the
auditorium, with assistance from Denver Service Center construction
staff. The 33rd annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on Saturday afternoon was
attended by an estimated 500 people and several media representatives.
This annual remembrance and religious service is sponsored by the
Manzanar Committee, a Los Angeles-based non-profit education group. This
year's pilgrimage commemorated the 60th anniversary of the signing of
Executive Order 9066 and honored the internees of the Heart Mountain
(Wyoming) and Rohwer (Arkansas) camps. Interpretive staff from Manzanar
NHS and Death Valley NP provided special interpretive programs for over
150 students from middle schools and colleges. Saturday concluded with
"Manzanar After Dark," an evening of group discussions, poetry, and
music hosted by the City College of San Francisco. Staff from Death
Valley NP, the Inyo NF, and numerous volunteers helped to make the
weekend a success. [Alisa Lynch, CI, MANZ, 5/1]

02-148 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Homicide

The body of 60-year-old G.R. was found in Meat Hole Cove just
after noon on May 2nd. The death has been classified as a murder. Las
Vegas Metro PD's homicide unit is investigating. No further information
is currently available. [Dispatch, LAME, 5/4]

02-149 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Suicide

The body of a 27-year-old man was found in Crawdad Cove in the Calville
Bay area on the afternoon of May 3rd. Death was from a self-inflicted
gunshot wound. No further information is available. [Dispatch, LAME,
5/4]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 2

Initial attack was light nationwide on Saturday. Four large fires were
contained; two new large fires were reported in the East and a third in
the Southwest. All three of these new fires have also been fully
contained. Bateman's Type 1 team remains committed to the Penasco Fire
(15,400 acres, 60% contained) in the Lincoln NF in New Mexico. Limited
access to the evacuated area has been granted to local residents, but
the evacuation center at Cloudcroft High School remains operational. A
recovery group is assisting residents in returning to their homes.
Highway 82 has been opened to normal traffic.

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

National Resource Status

                   Fri      Sat      Sun      Mon      Tue       Wed      Thu     Fri      Sat
Date               4/26     4/27     4/28     4/29     4/30      5/1      5/2     5/3      5/4

Crews                43       26       26       18       41       52       57      --       58
Engines             137      108       93       77      112      106       77      --       93
Helicopters          17        2       13       16       20       20       16      --       19
Air Tankers           0        0        0        0        1        0        0      --        0
Overhead            378      312      294      220      343      356      317      --      366
Type 1 IMT           --       --       --       --        3        3        1      --        1
Type 2 IMT           --       --       --       --        0        1        0      --        0

Park Fire Situation

No new reports.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme - Lake Mead NRA
Very High - Indiana Dunes NL
High - Grand Canyon NP

[NPS Situation Summary Report, 5/5; NICC Incident Management Situation
Report, 5/5]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

National Police Week - In observation of National Police Week, the 13th
annual candlelight vigil will take place at the National Law Enforcement
Officers' Memorial at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 13th. Full details on this
event and other Police Week activities may be found at
http://www.nleomf.com. High attendance is expected at the vigil and
other events due to the officers who were killed in the line of duty at
the World Trade Center. [Einar Olsen, RCR, NCRO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Department of the Interior (DC) - DOI's international technical
assistance program is seeking three to four law enforcement trainers for
a four-week training session at Pansiansi Wildlife College in Tanzania.
The training is tentatively set for the period from July 10th to August
15th. Enforcement personnel with experience in establishing and running
patrols, crime scene investigation techniques, training experience, and
previous international work and/or travel experience are encouraged to
send brief resumes to DOI_int@yahoo.com, or by fax to 202-501- 6381.
Please respond by May 9th. If you have additional questions, contact
Cynthia Perera at 202-219-0537. [Cynthia Perera, WASO]

*  *  *  *  *

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

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