NPS Morning Report - Friday, June 21, 2002



                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, June 21, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-253 - Lewis and Clark NHT (IL-OR) - Serious Employee Illness

Superintendent Gerard Baker underwent a coronary artery bypass procedure on
Tuesday. He is doing well and is expected to fully recover in about four
weeks. The family has asked that cards and letters be sent to him at the
following address: 1709 Jackson Street, Omaha, NE 68102. [Betty Boyko,
Acting Superintendent, LECL, 6/20]

02-254 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Possible Homicide

The body of A.C., 27, was found in Government Wash on the morning
of June 19th. Indications are that he was the victim of a homicide. Las
Vegas Metro homicide detectives are investigating. [Anthony Devito,
Dispatch, LAME, 6/19]

[Additional reports pending?..]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

The preparedness level has gone up one step.  Preparedness Level 5 goes
into effect when the following conditions are met: Several geographic areas
are experiencing major incidents which have the potential to exhaust all
agency fire resources.  A total of 550 crews committed nationally.

Initial attack was moderate yesterday in the Southwest, Great Basin and
Rockies. A total of 157 new fires were reported nationally, two of which
became large fires. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Three MAC groups are now in place: Priorities for large fires in the
Southwest, the Rockies and the Great Basin are being established by the
multi-agency coordinating groups for those areas. An area command team
(Mann) has been assigned to manage the Hayman fire.

Significant national fires include:

Colorado

Hayman Fire, Pike-San Isabel National Forest (137,000 acres, 45% contained)
- There are now three Type 1 teams (Vail, Fry and Raley) assigned to the
fire, which is burning in ponderosa pine and mixed conifers six miles
northwest of Lake George. Some rain fell on the fire, moderating its
intensity. Crews are constructing direct attack lines and burning out where
necessary. A revised estimate of the number of residents evacuated to date
has been completed, placing the number at 5,350. No new evacuations were
ordered yesterday. Residents in El Paso County have been allowed to return
home. The fire has destroyed 54 residences and 400 outbuildings, the
majority in Teller County. Four other counties are still evaluating their
structure losses, however.

Missionary Ridge Fire, San Juan National Forest (58,976 acres, 25%
contained) - A Type 1 team (Melton) is assigned. The fire is burning 15
miles northeast of Durango in gambel's oak, ponderosa pine and mixed
conifers. Extreme behavior was reported yesterday - sustained crowning runs
with flames 100- to 200-feet in length, torching, and spotting up to a mile
ahead on the southeast, southwest and east flanks. The fire has spotted
across Route 250 to the west. Crews are building indirect attack lines
along the southeast and southwest segments of the perimeter in preparation
for a burnout. An evacuation alert has been issued to residents of the
Durango Hills, Florida Pines and Baby Bear subdivisions.

Million Fire, Rio Grande National Forest (6,000 acres, 0% contained) -
Gelobter's Type 1 team is assigned. Crews have anchored in and are
constructing lines. Four subdivisions remain evacuated. Highway 160 has
reopened.

Arizona

Rodeo Fire, Fort Apache Agency (85,000 acres, 0% contained) - Humphrey's
Type 1 team is assigned. The fire is burning in ponderosa pine, juniper and
brush three miles north of Cibecue. The fire was extremely active
yesterday, with 200- to 300-foot flame lengths and long-range spotting
reported. The fire has crossed Highway 260, which has been closed.
Firefighters are defending threatened structures. Pinedale, Clay Springs
and Linden remain evacuated; Show Low, Lakeside, Pinetop and Hon Dah are
threatened.

Nevada

Cannon Fire, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF (21,760 acres, 15% contained) - A Type 1
team (Stutler) is managing the fire, which is burning in sage, ponderosa
pine and mixed conifers 25 miles northwest of Bridgeport, California, in a
Marine winter warfare training area. Running and torching were observed on
Thursday as the fire moved south and east. Highway 395 is closed.

New Mexico

Roybal/Trampas Fire, Santa Fe NF (5,400 acres, 5% contained) - Bateman's
Type 1 is managing the two fires, which are burning in ponderosa pine and
mixed conifers. Crews are improving lines on the south flank and building
lines on the southeast flank. Four structure protection groups are creating
defensible space around threatened structures. Residents of Maestas and
Daily Canyons have been allowed to return home.


For a map showing the locations of current major fires , 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.

National Resource Commitments

                  Fri   Sat   Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu
Date              6/14  6/15  6/16  6/17  6/18  6/19  6/20

Crews             300   324   335   349   350   351   409
Engines           718   815   736   745   786   835   832
Helicopters       100   100   119   133   114   118   118
Air Tankers       0     4     3     1     1     1     2
Overhead          2,189 2,179 2,483 2,596 2,427 2,509 2,531
Type 1 IMT        8     8     9     9     9     11    11
Type 2 IMT        7     7     7     5     2     4     4
Fire Use IMT            2     2     1     1     1     2     1

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NICC has issued the following for today:

A RED FLAG WARNING for strong southwest winds, very low relative humidity
and extreme fire danger in northern Arizona and northwest New Mexico.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for dry lightning, strong southwest winds, very low
relative humidity and a high Haines index for west and south-central
Colorado.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for strong winds, low relative humidity and a high
Haines index for southern Utah and the Arizona Strip.

Park Fire Situation

Florissant Fossil Beds NM (CO) - The park reopened on a limited basis on
Monday. The visitor center is open and visitors may walk the loop trail
behind the center, but only on ranger-led programs. The park was closed
from Tuesday, June 11th, to Sunday, June 16th, as a precautionary measure
because of the very high danger and the proximity of the Hayman Fire. The
latter is burning six miles north of the park.

Park Fire Danger

Not available.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/21]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Supreme Court Ruling - On June 17th, the Supreme Court held that the Fourth
Amendment does not require officers to advise bus passengers of their right
not to cooperate or to refuse to consent to searches. In the case in
question, officers boarded the bus and began talking to passengers after
first identifying themselves. Passengers Drayton and Brown were approached
by one plainclothes officer, who after identifying himself asked if they
had any luggage on the bus. When the two pointed to a bag in the overhead
bin, the officer asked if he could check it. Brown agreed, and the bag was
checked without incident. The officer noticed that both men wore baggy
pants and jackets, which seemed out of place in the warm weather. The
officer then asked Brown: "Do you mind if I check your person?"  Brown
agreed and the officer located hard objects in both thigh areas and
arrested Brown, based on similar discoveries on other suspects. The officer
then asked Drayton: "Mind if I check you?"  When Drayton responded by
lifting his arms above his legs, the officer frisked his thigh area and
located similar objects and arrested Drayton. The packages were duct-taped
bundles of powder cocaine taped between several pairs of boxer shorts. In
rejecting the argument that their consent had been involuntary, the Court
reversed the Eleventh Circuit's requirement that officers advise a person
of his/her right to refuse consent before any consent search would be
considered voluntary. Instead, consent to search will be reviewed under a
totality of circumstances test, without extra weight given to the lack of a
warning by the police officer. For information on this case or other legal
issues, contact Don Usher at 912-267-3190 or e-mail don_usher@nps.gov on
Lotus Notes. [Don Usher, WASO/FLETC]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Amistad NRA (TX) - The park has issued a vacancy announcement on USA Jobs
for a GS-12 chief ranger. The park, which is located on the border with
Mexico, is in an area known for its excellent, year-round, water-based
recreation and for its archeology, rock art, and plant and animal life. For
more information, call 830-775-7491. [Lee LeJeune, AMIS]

                               *  *  *  *  *

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

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