NPS Morning Report - Friday, July 5, 2002


                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, July 5, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-278 - War in the Pacific NHS (Guam)/American Memorial (Saipan) - Typhoon
Chataan

The imminent arrival of Typhoon Chataan prompted the declaration of typhoon
condition two for the area at 3 p.m. on July 4th (local time), which in
turn led to the immediate termination of Fourth of July activities at the
park and an orderly evacuation of the 4,000 to 5,000 people who braved rain
and windy conditions to attend the festivities. Aerial fireworks were
launched for safety reasons around 3:30 p.m. once the area was secured by
local emergency management, fire and police personnel (local storage was
inappropriate due to anticipated typhoon conditions and repackaging was
deemed too hazardous). The park's marina, which is a designated safe harbor
under Saipan's typhoon contingency plan, was filled with commercial and
small pleasure craft. At the time of the report, the typhoon was located
205 miles east-southeast of Guam and 230 miles southeast of Saipan and
moving northwest at 14 mph. Maximum sustained winds were 85 mph, but the
storm was expected to intensify. The park has been closed and all
operations have been terminated. [Chuck Sayon, Site Manager, AMME, 7/4]

02-279 - Voyageurs NM (MN) - Aircraft Incident

Pilot Tom Hablett and scientist Larry Kalleymyn were flying to Isle Royale
NP in the park's float-equipped Aviat Husky on June 28th when the engine
failed. Hablett was at 5,000 feet and beginning his descent for landing
when he noticed the engine beginning to surge. He employed emergency
procedures in an attempt to correct the problem, but without success. Isle
Royale dispatch was notified of the problem. The engine quit at an altitude
of about 1,000 feet, forcing Hablett to make a dead-stick landing about a
half-mile short of his intended destination but within protected waters
near Mott Island. Due to Hablett's skilled handling of the aircraft, the
landing was successful. The Husky was towed to its intended harbor, where
inspection revealed that both fuel tank vents had been blocked by mud
dauber insects. Pre-flight inspections in the future will focus on ensuring
that the vents are clear of such blockages. [Jim Hummel, VOYA, 7/3]

02-280 - Fort Vancouver NHS (WA) - Special Event

On June 22nd and 23rd, the park hosted the 22nd annual brigade encampment,
an event interpreting the annual return of fur traders to Fort Vancouver.
This special event featured staff and over 50 volunteers who used living
history to portray many of the original inhabitants of this British fur
trading post and western headquarters of the Hudson Bay Company. The event
kick-off took place along the Columbia River waterfront district of the
park on Saturday morning, where visitors and media witnessed the arrival of
a historic longboat full of living history interpreters portraying
voyageurs returning with their furs to the fort. For the first time since
the 1840s, the encampment was held near its historic location on the site
of the workers' village to the west of the stockaded post. Visitors
attending the event participated in programs and a black powder
demonstration. In addition, park archaeologists provided interpretive talks
describing recent finds and current archaeological activities at the
village site. Local and regional media interest was high, and public
interest combined with hot, sunny weather brought over 2,200 visitors to
the two-day event, a 20% increase in visitation over the previous year's
event.  [Greg Shine, CR, FOVA, 6/25]

02-281 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Robbery; Arrest

A woman was leaning into her car's trunk in Fort Wadsworth on the afternoon
of June 27th when a man ripped her purse from her shoulder and fled. He
took $100 from the purse, then discarded it along the way. Park Police
officers Pam Smith and Ricardo Sewell investigated. While canvassing the
area, officers Anthony Tesi and Alan Kolega learned that a man who had been
visiting a resident of Fort Wadsworth for several days matched the thief's
description. They found him at the house. The man - C.R.,
23 - was positively identified by the victim and placed under arrest. He's
been charged with third degree robbery under state codes. The arrest
occurred within 25 minutes of the offense. [Lt. John Marigliano, USPP,
GATE, 6/27]

02-282 - Big Thicket NP&P (TX) - Suicide

On the morning of June 26th, a fisherman discovered the body of a man in a
ditch beside a pickup truck in the Evadale Bridge day use area. Local
officers responded and determined that he'd died from a self-inflicted
wound caused by a concrete nail gun. A suicide note to his common-law wife
was found nearby. Investigators determined that the two had separated four
days previously. [David McHugh, Acting CR, BITH, 6/28]

[Additional reports pending...]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was moderate yesterday in the eastern Great Basin, Southwest
and Rocky Mountains and light elsewhere. Nationally, 180 new fires were
reported. Five of these became large fires; another six large fires were
contained.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, California,
Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South
Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

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.

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

                  Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu
Date              6/27  6/28  6/29  6/30  7/1   7/2   7/3   7/4

Crews             364   347   334   318   365   372   388   389
Engines           869   803   890   856   857   950   715   768
Helicopters       131   136   142   126   131   138   130   135
Air Tankers       5     0     0     3     2     3     1     1
Overhead          3.003 3,015 3,029 2,915 3,024 2,934 3,248 3,001
Area Commands     3     3     3     3     2     2     2     2
Type 1 IMT        9     10    9     11    11    8     8     9
Type 2 IMT        6     8     8     12    11    15    15    15
Fire Use IMT            1     1     1     1     2     2     1     1

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NICC has not issued any watches or warnings for today.

Park Fire Situation

Dinosaur NM (CO) - A Type 2 team (Chrisman) is assigned to this fire, which
has burned 4,800 acres in the park in sagebrush, pinyon pine and juniper.
Isolated torching and low ground fire were observed on Wednesday, but full
containment was predicted for yesterday. Crews were constructing lines on
the east flank and monitoring a slopover north of the Yampa River. Resource
commitments as of yesterday: 270 firefighters and overhead personnel
(including eight crews), ten engines and three helicopters.

Sunset Crater Volcano NM (AZ) - Due to extreme fire danger, the park was
closed to the public on June 29th. The closure will remain in effect until
sufficient rainfall reduces the current hazard. It's expected that the park
will reopen at the same time as surrounding Forest Service developed areas.
Nearby Wupatki NM remains open, but can be entered long via the north
entrance; the entry from Sunset Crater has been closed. The decision was
made after consultation with the Forest Service and with local and regional
NPS staff. Superintendent Sam Henderson made this statement: "With the
additional closures announced recently by the Forest Service, we can not
justify continued public use in an area that is surrounded by a closed
forest. The logistics and number of checkpoints required to ensure the
safety of both visitors and park resources became unmanageable. We will not
be better able to coordinate our efforts with those of the Coconino
National Forest, and will be working together very closely to try to get us
through this challenging time."

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/2-7/5]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Ranger Activities Division, Washington Office (DC) -Candidates are being
sought for a detail as GS-14 or GS-15 acting chief ranger for the National
Park Service for a period of up to 120 days, beginning as early as August
11th but not later than September 8th. Interested individuals should have a
broad background in all facets of ranger work, i.e. law enforcement, SAR,
EMS, wildland and structural fire, wilderness management, fees, special
park uses, regulations, health and fitness, etc. The person selected will
play an integral role in fine tuning the details of the WASO realignment
and supporting the establishment of the new associate director for resource
and visitor protection (chief ranger) position. Interested individuals
should respond by email to dick_ring@nps.gov by close of business on July
26th.  Contact either Dick Ring (202-208-3002) or Kevin FitzGerald
(202-208-5988) for more information.  Travel, per diem and salary will be
paid by WASO.

Lincoln Home NHS (IL) - The park has issued an announcement for a permanent
WG-4749-9 maintenance mechanic. The merit promotion announcement can be
found on USA Jobs and closes on July 17th. Fore more information, contact
facility manager Ray Moore at 217-492-4241 ext. 229. [Barbara Fearon, LIHO]

Independence NHP  (PA) ? Vacancy announcements have been issued for two
GS-9/11 supervisory park ranger (law enforcement) and three GS-9/11 park
ranger/instructor (FTO) positions. They close on July 25th. The park is
located in center-city Philadelphia; duties are diverse and challenging.
Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell head the list of cultural treasures
found at the site. Annual visitation exceeds three million. All of the
amenities associated with city life are present. For more information about
the positions, please call Erin Nangle at 215-597-1506. [Joe Nicholson,
INDE]

                               *  *  *  *  *

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

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