NPS Morning Report - Monday, July 22, 2002



                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Monday, July 22, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-323 - Obed W&SR (TN) - Oil Spill; Fire

On the morning of July 20th, the park was notified of an oil well accident
and fire just north of the Clear Creek section of the park. The oil well
had suffered a pressure problem and subsequently blew out its pressure
relief valve, causing a significant oil loss. The oil ran down slope
approximately 150 yards into the Clear Creek and Little Clear Creek
drainage near the Barnett Bridge section of the park. The oil well operator
attempted to contain the oil, but was unsuccessful. During the oil
containment process, the oil ignited, causing a ten-acre fire. Flame
lengths in excess of 50 feet were reported and crowning around the well
site was observed. Personnel from the county, state and NPS responded to
the fire. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency was notified and dealt
with the spill; the park and Tennessee DOF managed the wildfire. The fire
was contained within a few hours, but the oil well continues to burn, with
flames up to 100 feet coming from the site. A team of oil well fire
specialist from Missouri has been called in to help control the fire, but
it will likely take them several days to accomplish this task. The wildfire
will not be declared controlled until the burning oil is controlled.  The
well was reported to be producing up to 400 barrels of oil per hour. Much
of the oil now leaking from the site is burning, which is somewhat helping
to minimize the resource damage.  Further reports will be generated as
progress is made. (F. Graham, CR, BISO, 7/20)

02-324 - Wupatki NM (AZ) - Vandalism

Rangers discovered significant vandalism to a frontcountry archeological
site known as Lomaki ruin, a pueblo built around 1190, on the morning of
Tuesday July 16th. The vandalism included damage to original features of
the site as well as restored columns and interpretive signs  The damage
assessment completed by archeologists estimated the damage at over $5,000.
There has been significant media interest in the case and rangers are
hopeful that a suspect will soon be identified. [Mary Blasing, DR, WUPA,
7/19]

03-325 - Thaddeus Kosciuszko NM (PA) - Special Event

First  Lady Laura Bush and First Lady of Poland Jolanta Kwasniewski visited
the park on Thursday, July 18th. The smallest unit in the system at just a
fifth of an acre, the site honors Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a military engineer
who designed the fortifications for West Point during the American
Revolution and went on to fight for freedom in his native Poland.
Protection rangers from Independence NHP cooperated with US Secret Service
and local law enforcement in providing security. No incidents were
reported. [Phil Sheridan, PIO, INDE< 7/19]

03-326 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Search and Rescue

Rangers received a report of a lost three-year-old child on the Green Lake
Trail near Ranger Falls in the Carbon River area around 8 p.m. on July
17th. The mother and child had been hiking with a friend when the adults
lost track of the three-year-old. The friend went for help, contacting
rangers at Ipsut Campground. A hasty search was begun and the child was
found near the point last seen by ranger Eric Oaks and a friend of the
mother around 10:30 p.m. The child was dehydrated but in good condition.
[Uwe Nehring, MORA, 7/21]

03-327 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Attempted Suicide; Rescue

The park received a report that a vehicle had gone off the road on the
uphill side of the Route 123 tunnel at 8:45 p.m. on July 19th. Witnesses
said that they'd seen the driver stop the vehicle, position it to go off
the road, rev the engine, then launch the car off the road side. The
vehicle rolled several times and came to rest on a talus slope 250 feet
below the road. A 32-year-old woman from Auburn was trapped in the car, but
sustained only minor injuries. Rangers and personnel from Greenwater
Volunteer Fire Department, Packwood VFD, Pierce County Sheriff's Department
responded to the scene. The woman was extricated, stabilized and flown to
Providence Hospital in Yakima. An investigation is underway. [Uwe Nehring,
MORA, 7/21]

[Additional reports pending. . . . ]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack activity was moderate in the Rockies on Saturday and light
elsewhere. Of the 223 fires reported on Saturday, four became project
fires; another six were contained. A training cadre and military crew
advisors are training an Army task force to provide support to
firefighters. They are scheduled to be deployed to the Monument Fire today.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in 14 states: Alaska,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Priorities for large fires in the Northwest, Southwest, the Rockies and the
Great Basin are being established by the multi-agency coordinating groups
for those areas.

Two area command teams are in the field - Mann's team has been assigned to
southeast Oregon to manage the large fires there, and the Williams-Rhodes
team is assigned to management of large fires on the Malheur and Ochoco
National Forests in Oregon.

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

                  Sat   Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat
Date              7/13  7/14  7/15  7/16  7/17  7/18  7/19  7/20

Crews             304   423   474   561   537   500   #     516
Engines           637   940   990   1,009 928   1,030 #     1,006
Helicopters       130   171   161   162   154   147   #     144
Air Tankers       2     11    8     2     4     2     #     5
Overhead          2,152 2,676 3,287 3,504 3,610 3,951 #     4,104
Area Commands     0     0     0     0     1     2     #     2
Type 1 IMT        4     6     7     7     9     10    #     10
Type 2 IMT        17    23    24    20    19    16    #     15
T1/T2 S/IMT *     -     5     5     6     7     7     #     4
Fire Use IMT            1     0     1     1     1     2     #     1

* Type 1 and Type 2 state incident management teams
# Information not available

Park Fire Situation

Rocky Mountain NP (CO) - In order to be consistent with the Forest Service
closures in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, the park has issued
a notice of closure for all public activity and use of park lands east of
Highway 7, with the exception of the Lily Lake Visitor Center and parking
lot. This section of parkland is commonly referred to as the Twin Sisters
area. These restrictions are in place due to the extreme fire danger and
current level of fire activity in Colorado. The rest of the park is open.

Yellowstone NP (WY) - The Broad Fire has burned 9,000 acres and is now 45%
contained. Frye's Type 1 team has been assigned to the fire; 367
firefighters/overhead (including nine crews), one engine, and six
helicopters are committed. Favorable weather conditions helped minimize
fire activity; smoldering, creeping and occasional torching were observed
on Saturday. Crews are constructing direct attack lines on the south flank
and mopping up. Type 1 helitankers are being utilized on the west flank,
holding the fire on the east side of the Yellowstone River. For a recorded
message of updated fire information, call 307-344-2580.  For fire maps and
other fire information visit the park's web site at:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/technical/fire/index.htm

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/20-22; Public Affairs,
Yellowstone NP, 7/21; Kyle Patterson, ROMO, 7/20]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Medical Standards Program (MSP) Update - The MSP has posted a number of
templates to assist rangers in applying for medical waivers on InsideNPS (
http://www.inside.nps.gov/). Simply type  "medical standards" in the search
box. The MSP intends to utilize this site more consistently in the future
to more quickly communicate changes and policies with the program. [Pat
Buccello, Health and Fitness Program Manager, RAD/WASO]

                               *  *  *  *  *

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

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