NPS Morning Report - Monday, June 10, 2002


                       NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Monday, June 10, 2002

*** NOTICE ***

On Friday, Director Mainella announced a major planned reorganization of
the Washington Office. For an extended report on that restructuring,
including links to new organizational flowcharts, please go to
http://www.inside.nps.gov/. [Note: This web page is an Intranet site and
available only to employees at National Park Service terminals]

INCIDENTS

02-219 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Climbing Incidents; Three Rescued,
Fatalities

Rangers responded to a request for assistance from Rainier
Mountaineering, Inc., the guiding concession within the park, early on
the morning of Thursday, June 6th. A rope team of three climbers - one
RMI guide and two clients - was ascending the Ingraham Direct route at
11,800 feet when a strong wind gust knocked at least one of them down.
M.W., 48, and C.G., 50, both of Manchester, New
Hampshire, and RMI guide K.W., 35, then slid 100 to 150 feet
down the glacier and over the lip of a large crevasse, falling 60 feet
before landing on a ledge of snow and ice. K.W. was able to climb to
within ten feet of the top of the crevasse. Other RMI guides following
along the Ingraham route spotted him and used ropes to rescue the three
climbers. A U.S. Army Reserve Chinook helicopter was utilized to
transport climbing rangers at the site and extricate the two injured
climbers off the mountain. M.W. is in serious condition with a lower
leg and hip injury; C.G. is in satisfactory condition with a shoulder
and rib injuries and possible concussion. K.W. descended the mountain
under his own power. As the above incident was ending, it was found that
a climbing party of two that had been contacted by a climbing ranger the
previous evening had not returned to their tent at Ingraham Flats at
11,200 feet. A contract helicopter was requested and a climbing ranger
was put on board to conduct an aerial search. The Army Reserve Chinook
helicopter returned to the park with the initial search team on board.
Plans were made to insert a search team of four climbing rangers on the
summit to descend and search the Ingraham Direct route while a team of
five - three NPS climbing rangers and two RMI guides - continued
ascending the mountain after assisting in the previous rescue effort.
Before the summit team could be inserted, the contract helicopter crew
identified two climbers who were down at approximately 12,500 feet. The
ascending search team was directed to the site and confirmed that the
two climbers were dead. The victims were removed from the mountain by
helicopter. Identification was confirmed and notifications were made at
that time. The rescue and recovery efforts were possible due to
interagency relations with RMI, the US Army Reserve Chinook crew,
Aero-copters and the park staff.  Steve Winslow was the IC, Mike
Gauthier was the operations section chief.  A critical incident stress
debriefing has been held for RMI and park staff. [Jill Hawk, CR, MORA,
6/7]

02-220 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Assault

On the morning of Saturday, May 25th, rangers received a call from an
individual who reported that he'd been assaulted the previous night and
that his assailant was still in the area. Rangers responded and met with
the victim, who had a black eye, a swollen cheek and a missing tooth. He
said that he and his 17-year-old son met the suspect while camping at
Boxcar Cove. The two men drank heavily before retiring; shortly
thereafter, he was attacked through the window of his vehicle while he
was in the midst of a fight with his son. The victim's son showed no
signs of trauma, but said that he and his father had raised their voices
and "smacked" each other prior to his father being attacked. The suspect
was contacted and identified. He said that he'd attacked the victim
after watching him beating his son. He was arrested and charged with
disorderly conduct.  [Scott Hinson, SA, LAMR, 6/3]

02-221 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Sexual Assault

On the evening on Saturday, May 25th, rangers responded to a report of
sexual assault at Boxcar Cove. The rangers identified a 15-year-old
victim and 48-year-old suspect. Initial investigation revealed that the
man supplied alcohol to the girl throughout the day. Later in the
evening, he was found lying on top of the passed-out victim, attempting
to sexually abuse her. A friend of the girl's pulled him off.  He was
taken into custody and charged with attempted sexual abuse of a minor.
[Scott Hinson, SA, LAMR, 6/3]

02-222 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Search and Rescue

On the morning of Monday, May 27th, rangers received a report of a
suspicious truck parked at Long View overlook. Responding rangers
recognized the truck from prior contacts. The truck was left open with
the keys in the ignition; paraphernalia associated with narcotic use was
found in the bed of the truck. A search for the operator was begun.
Additional resources were called in, including air, ground and water
support. The truck's owner was found about an hour later near shore with
his dog. He had removed his shoes and was hiking along a steep cliff
band. He was transported by vessel to waiting rangers. During the trip,
he became very agitated and showed signs of mental problems. He was
taken back to his vehicle, where he was evaluated, then transported by
medical personnel to Saint Rose Hospital, where he was treated for
severe dehydration and mental problems. [Scott Hinson, SA, LAMR, 6/3]

02-223 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Search and Rescue

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, May 28th, rangers received a
report of two overdue hikers and learned that several hikers had been
missing for over four hours. They were last seen hiking up from the hot
springs located in Goldstrike Canyon. The reporting party had already
checked the canyon, but found no sign of the missing hikers. Additional
support was brought in, including maintenance and fire personnel.  After
several hours of searching, the couple was located near the top of the
canyon wall. Both were uninjured, needing only assistance getting down.
Searchers reached them via a trail and walked them out. [Scott Hinson,
SA, LAMR, 6/3]

[Additional reports pending...]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 4

The preparedness level has gone up one step.  Preparedness Level 4 goes
into effect when the following conditions are met: Two or more
geographic areas experiencing incidents requiring Type I teams. 
Competition exists for resources between geographic areas.  Either 425
crews or five Type I teams are committed nationally.

Initial attack was heavy in the Rockies on Saturday and in northern
California on Sunday, but moderate to light elsewhere. Priorities for
large fires in the Rockies are being established by the Rocky Mountain
multi-agency coordinating group. An area command team (Chesley) is
assigned to manage the large fires in southeastern Colorado.

Among the more significant fires on the NICC Incident Management
Situation Report were those noted below. Due to the numerous fires
burning during the summer, only the most significant (and all NPS fires)
appear here. For a map showing their locations, click on
http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/firemap.html ; for details on all major
fires currently burning, click on http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
or http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html.

Colorado

Coal Seam Fire, Grand Junction Dispatch Center Area Counties (7,500
acres, 0% contained) - Hart's Type 1 tea is assigned. Extreme fire
behavior was reported yesterday. Burnout operations around Glenwood
Springs city water tower were successful. Efforts are being made to keep
fire the out of Glenwood Springs itself. The western and southern
portions of the city have been evacuated - 400 structures are threatened
and 23 have been lost.

Hayman Fire, Pike-San Isabel National Forest (19,700 acres, 10%
contained) - Martin's Type 1 team is en route. The fire is six miles
northwest of Lake George. High rates of spread to the north and east and
extreme fire behavior were reported yesterday. Several camps, ranches,
recreation areas and towns are being evacuated, and 3,700 residences are
threatened. Twenty commercial buildings have been lost.

California

Wolf Fire, Los Padres National Forest (21,278 acres, 55% contained) - A
Type 1 team (Gelobter) is managing the fire. Spotted and isolated
torching on the north flank occurred yesterday as the fire spread to the
north and northeast. High winds and low relative humidity impeded
containment efforts.

New Mexico

Ponil Fire, New Mexico State Forestry Office (85,000 acres, 10%
contained) - Lohrey's Type 1 team is assigned. A wind event spread the
fire to the north and northeast on Sunday. The town of Ute Park,
Philmont Boy Scout Camp, the Vermego Park complex, power lines, numerous
gas wells and several historic structures are threatened.

National Fire Danger

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and
Utah.

National Resource Commitments

                Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun
Date            6/    6/4   6/5   6/6   6/7   6/8   6/9
            
Crews           287   464   439   321   365   315   321
Engines         348   427   410   441   499   488   497
Helicopters     82    95    88    87    85    94    89
Air Tankers     2     0     0     1     2     5     8
Overhead        1,332 1,567 1,864 1,876 1,683 1,627 1,551
Type 1 IMT      4     4     4     4     4     4     5
Type 2 IMT      9     12    9     7     6     9     10
Fire Use IMT    1     1     1     1     1     1     1

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NICC has issued the following for today:

A RED FLAG WARNING for strong winds, very warm temperatures, low
relative humidity and high Haines indices (click on
http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/glossary.html#H for a definition of the
term) throughout Colorado.
A RED FLAG WARNING for strong north to northeast winds and low relative
humidity for areas below 2,000 feet for the northern Sacramento Valley
and west to the Coast Range in northern California.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for gusty afternoon winds, low minimum relative
humidity and extreme fire danger for northern New Mexico.

Park Fire Situation

Cherry Fire, El Malpais NP (8,300 acres, 10% contained) - A Type 2 team
(Gardner) has been assigned to the fire. A total of 266 firefighters and
overhead personnel and eight engines are committed. The fire is burning
in grass and ponderosa pine. High winds contributed to extreme fire
behavior yesterday. Crews are burning out on the north, south and east
flanks. A voluntary evacuation has been recommended for the El Calderon
area and Frank Lloyd Wright House. An evacuation plan and structure
protection are in place for several residences.

Kupukupu Fire, Hawaii Volcanoes NP (3,660 acres, 60% contained) - A
total of 176 firefighters and overhead personnel, two helicopters and
five engines are committed.  Aircraft are being used to hold the fire on
its northern flank, protecting native Hawaiian rain forest. Crews
completed hand lines on the fire's south flank and are mopping up.

Park Fire Danger

Not available.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/9-10]

*  *  *  *  *

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

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