NPS Morning Report - Friday, May 10, 2002
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, May 10, 2002
- Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 07:18:47 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, May 10, 2002
INCIDENTS
02-164 - Zion NP (UT) - Rescue
Rangers evacuated an injured hiker from the Narrows on May 7th. At
approximately 3:55 p.m., the park dispatch office received notification of
an injured hiker in Orderville Canyon. The park SAR team, including a park
medic, was dispatched to the scene. The team found C.E., from
Spokane, Washington, with an injured ankle and unable to walk. They
splinted his ankle, placed him on a litter, then put him in an inflatable
rescue raft for evacuation from the Narrows. The rescue effort was
completed at 9:45 p.m. C.E. was transported in his personal vehicle to the
Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah, where he was treated for
a fractured ankle. C.E. had been day hiking in the Narrows and was
exploring the lower reaches of Orderville Canyon when he jumped down and
injured his ankle. He was not wearing sturdy footwear with good ankle
support, as is recommended for hikers in the Narrows. The inflatable rescue
raft was designed and built especially for Zion National Park for rescues
such as this one. The raft consists of two inflatable pontoons connected by
four supports where a litter can be strapped. This incident marked the
first use for the new raft; members of the SAR team were very pleased with
its performance. [Janice Kali, ZION, 5/8]
02-165 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Rescue
Two overdue hikers were successfully rescued after being spotted by
helicopter searchers on Tuesday, May 7th. R.A., 28, of Redondo
Beach, and C.P., 27, of Los Angeles planned a three-day backpacking
trip in the Wawona District, which is in the southern part of the park.
Their trip went awry when they lost the trail in snowy conditions. They
initially tried to follow a drainage, but decided to stop and wait for
rescue when they realized that they were lost. Rangers were notified late
Monday night by concerned friends and family when the pair did not return
to work earlier that day. A search was begun on Tuesday that involved as
many as 40 people. Helicopter searchers followed the pair's tracks in the
snow, which ultimately led them to the lost hikers. R.A. and C.P. were
hungry and dehydrated, but otherwise in good condition. "This incident had
a positive outcome because they had the right gear and clothing, but mainly
because they stopped and stayed in one spot once they knew they were lost,"
said ranger Lulis Cuevas, who served as the incident commander. "Terrain in
this area is extremely rugged and the hikers could have easily hurt
themselves while looking for the trail." [Public Affairs, YOSE, 5/8]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation
Preparedness Level 2
Initial attack was light again on Wednesday. Major fires included:
• Dalton Fire, Santa Fe NF (804 acres, 70% contained, 995 FF/OH) - A
Type 1 team (Gelobter) has been assigned to the fire.
Significant progress has been made on firelines. Evacuation orders
have been lifted.
• Toadlena 1 Fire, Navajo Nation (400 acres, no additional info) - A
Type 1 team (Humphrey) has assumed command of the fire,
which is three miles west of Toadlena, New Mexico.
• Penasco Fire (15,400 acres, 100% contained, 412 FF/OH) - The fire,
which was being managed by Bateman's Type 1 team, has
been fully contained.
• Blackjack Bay Complex, Oekfenokee NWR (44,000 acres, 0% contained,
168 FF/OH) - A unified command has been established
among Zimmerman's fire use management team, the Georgia Forestry
Commission and the Florida Division of Forestry. A
confinement strategy is being employed on the three fires in the
complex. Steven Foster State Park has been closed to the
public.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Colorado,
Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
National Resource Commitments
Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed
Date 5/1 5/2 5/3 5/4 5/5 5/6 5/7 5/8
Crews 52 57 -- 58 58 68 40 93
Engines 106 77 -- 93 83 140 105 125
Helicopters 20 16 -- 19 17 21 21 25
Air Tankers 0 0 -- 0 0 0 0 0
Overhead 356 317 -- 366 399 484 391 727
Type 1 IMT 3 1 -- 1 1 2 2 2
Type 2 IMT 1 0 -- 0 1 1 1 --
Fire Use IMT -- -- -- -- 1 2 1 1
Park Fire Situation
Saguaro NP (AZ) - The park reports normal temperatures with below average
precipitation, and that most forests in the area have fire restrictions in
place.
Park Fire Danger
Extreme - Lake Mead NRA, Everglades NP
Very High -
High - Rocky Mountain NP
[NPS Situation Summary Report, 5/9; NICC Incident Management Situation
Report, 5/9]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Law Enforcement Task Force Update - The National Park Service's law
enforcement task force continues its work. The next step in the process
will be the dissemination of a database being used to track task force
projects to all chief rangers Servicewide. Protection rangers will also be
receiving a summary of all the projects that the group is undertaking.
These will likely be sent out next week. [Deputy Director Don Murphy]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Department of Interior (DC) - DOI's International Technical Assistance
Program is recruiting NPS employees for three different details:
• Tanzania - Three to four law enforcement trainers for a two- to
four-week training session at the Ugalla Game Reserve,
Tanzania. The training will take place in July. Individuals with
experience in establishing and running patrols, crime scene
investigation techniques, training experience, and previous
international work/travel, are encouraged to send brief resumes to
Doi_int@yahoo.com or by fax at 202-501-6381. Responses are due by May
17th. If you have additional questions, please contact
Cynthia Szymanski at 202-565-1194.
• Central America - Specialists for two separate workshops to be held
in Central America on protected area planning, design,
visitor services, and interpretation. Three are needed to lead a
workshop from June 12th through July 5th; three are needed to
lead a workshop from July 1st through July 23rd. Specific details for
each trip can be found at the following website:
http://inside.nps.gov/programs/program.cfm?prog=320&div=28&page=home.
Individuals with the desired expertise, training
experience, and previous international work/travel, are encouraged to
send brief resumes to Doi_int@yahoo.com or by fax at
202-501-6381. Responses are due by May 17th. If you have additional
questions, please contact Cynthia Szymanski at
202-565-1194.
• Guatemala - A person is needed to participate in a one-week trip to
the Mirador Basin in Guatemala to assess for and determine
priority training and technical assistance needs that might be
addressed using DOI expertise, and to assist in developing a draft
work plan and budget for providing requested technical assistance.
This assignment is currently scheduled for June 9th to the
14th; however, due to other external factors, it may be postponed to
as late as mid-July. It is expected that this assignment will
involve one day in Guatemala City and the rest of the time in the
field. Some pre-trip planning (up to four hours) and post-trip
follow-up (up to four hours) will be necessary, including an exchange
of information via email with all those involved in the
assignment. Individuals with the desired expertise, training
experience, and previous international work/travel, are
encouraged to send brief resumes to Doi_int@yahoo.com or by fax at
202-501-6381. Responses are due by May 17th. Additional
information can be found at
http://inside.nps.gov/programs/program.cfm?prog=320&div=28&page=home. If
you have other
questions, please contact Cynthia Perera at 202-219-0537.
* * * * *
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation
and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
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