NPS Morning Report - Friday, July 26, 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 26, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-333 - Klondike Gold Rush NHP (AK/WA) - Glacial Flood

Campers in the NPS-managed Dyea Campground were awakened at 6 a.m. on July
23rd by torrents of water flowing through and around their tents and RV's.
Ranger Jim Wessel led the evacuation of the campground, while Skagway
Emergency Services personnel evacuated surrounding residents and park
inholders from throughout the Dyea Valley. Although less than an inch of
rain had fallen during the previous 24 hour period, the Taiya River rose
from 15.5 feet on the 22nd to a crest of 21 feet around 6:30 a.m. on the
23rd. Aerial investigation of the nearby "No Name" Glacier and assessment
by a glaciologist led to a determination of the chain of events that caused
the flood. A large lateral moraine next to the glacier and about eight
miles northwest of the campground failed at its base and tumbled onto the
face of the glacier, discharging up to 767,000,000 cubic yards of soil and
ice into the terminus lake at the face.  This event resulted in the
displacement of equivalent amounts of lake water over and through the
terminal moraine and down the West Creek tributary into the Taiya River and
the park.  While the river levels did not exceed past weather-induced flood
stage levels in the valley, the sudden nature of the event, coupled with
increasing private and commercial development in and around the park,
increased the severity of its impacts. Floodwaters subsided from most NPS
lands by 4 p.m. No injuries resulted from the flooding. While minimal
damage was incurred by the park, more significant water damage was reported
by private homeowners and park neighbors. The culturally sensitive 1898
Dyea historic town site was not affected by the flood. Minor river bank
erosion was observed along the campground perimeter and a thin film of
glacial "flour" was deposited throughout the campsites and the lower mile
and a half of the Chilkoot Trail. The trailhead and campground were closed
for the day. Dyea Campground remains closed due to the silt deposit, but
it's anticipated that it will be at least partially opened by the weekend.
Quick response by park and Skagway emergency personnel prevented this event
from becoming a larger catastrophe. The Dyea Valley is a dynamic glacial
ecosystem. The park has been pursuing studies with engineered log jams to
reduce the natural erosion rate of the historic town site along the Taiya
River. The consulting glaciologist believes that there's little chance of a
similar event occurring at this glacier in the near future. [Tim Steidel,
KLGO, 7/25]

[Additional reports pending. . . . ]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was heavy yesterday in the Northwest, moderate in the
northern Rockies and eastern Great Basin, and light elsewhere. Six of the
197 new fires reported nationally became project fires - three in the
Rockies, two in the Northwest and one in the eastern Great Basin. Another
four were contained.

There was a shelter deployment on the Toolbox Complex on Wednesday. Twenty
members of a USFS contract crew deployed their shelters in a pre-made
safety zone. Eleven were taken to a hospital for evaluation; two were
treated for minor burns. All were released and returned to the fire camp.
An investigation into the incident is underway.

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

                  Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu
Date              7/17  7/18  7/19  7/20  7/21  7/22  7/23  7/24  7/25

Crews             537   500   #     516   520   568   646   674   628
Engines           928   1,030 #     1,006 1,013 1,175 1,057 1,078 1,012
Helicopters       154   147   #     144   147   153   175   197   153
Air Tankers       4     2     #     5     7     13    13    15    10
Overhead          3,610 3,951 #     4,104 4,830 4,391 4,320 4,887 4,546
Area Commands     1     2     #     2     2     2     3     3     3
Type 1 IMT        9     10    #     10    11    10    11    10    9
Type 2 IMT        19    16    #     15    14    12    14    15    13
T1/T2 S/IMT *     7     7     #     4     4     4     4     3     4
Fire Use IMT            1     2     #     1     1     1     1     1     1

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

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NIFC has issued two FIRE WEATHER WATCHES - the first for low relative
humidity and increasing north to northeast winds in southern Oregon, the
second for north winds and low humidity in northern California.

Park Fire Situation

Sequoia NP - The McNally Fire, now 57,000 acres, continues to burn actively
to the north, west and east. According to fire dispatch at the park, the
northern edge of the fire is now 15 miles away from the park's south
boundary. The intervening area is sparsely vegetated and includes several
old burns, so there aren't any concerns at present about it reaching the
park. There's no longer any smoke or ash in the park. All operations are
normal, except for the heavy commitment of resources to outside fires ?
about 30 people to the McNally Fire alone.

Yosemite NP - Lightning outbreaks over the periods from July 11th to the
13th and July 18th to the 19th started 14 new fires. Since the park has
adequate firefighting resources and doesn't have a problem with the kind of
drought conditions prevalent elsewhere in the West, the decision was made
not to suppress the fires. They are being monitored periodically, at least
weekly. Three are inactive; of the remaining 11, only one is currently of
any consequence. The Wolf Fire is located a mile and a half west of White
Wolf. It has burned 12 acres and has flame along 75% of its perimeter. A
new fire - the Deltoid Fire - was reported late yesterday. It is burning in
a suppression zone on the east side of Half Dome and has so far burned 15
acres. The Whiskeytown Fire Use Module was diverted from the monitoring of
the Wolf Fire to suppression of this fire. All park trails and facilities
remain open.

Yellowstone NP - The Broad Fire is still at 9,000 acres and is now 85%
contained. There was little fire activity yesterday. Crews continue to
construct direct attack fire lines and mop-up. Frye's Type 1 team continues
to manage the fire; 310 firefighters are assigned. Estimated cost to date
is $3.5 million.

Rocky Mountain NP - Fire activity on the Big Elk Fire, south of the park,
continues to be moderate. The fire is now 70% contained, with full
containment estimated for Saturday. The park reported a new start on
Wednesday. The Tuxedo Park Fire was caused by a tree-trimming contractor
who was clearing an electrical power line right-of-way. The contractor was
falling a large tree, and lost control of the falling operation, resulting
in the tree striking the power line. The downed charged line started a
fire. Only a tenth of an acre burned, and the fire was controlled within 30
minutes of being detected. No personal injuries occurred. Several rangers
and wildland fire units responded, as well as Estes Park Light and Power
personnel.

Glacier NP - Five fires are reported:

•     Logging Mountain Fire (North Fork) - The fire is a tenth of an acre.
The fire is being monitored in pending fire use status.
•     Threetops Fire (Middle Fork) - This is a holdover fire from the 13th
and is quarter of an acre. It is staffed by three Glacier
firefighters and four Flathead Hotshots. It is expected to be contained by
this evening.
•     Numa Flats Fire (North Fork) - The fire is about a tenth of an acre
and is staffed with four Flathead Hotshots. The fire should be
      contained by today.
•     Bowman Creek Fire (North Fork) - The fire was suppressed at a tenth
of an acre.
•     Heaven's Peak and Glacier Wall Fires (Logan Pass) - The fires were
observed with open flame (tree torches) immediately after
      lightning strikes on July 24th. Their locations have been mapped and
they are being monitored from the air. Due to heavy
      rains, the fires have not resurfaced. Steep, remote terrain makes a
ground search difficult, but two lookouts are monitoring the
      area in addition to daily fire detection flights.

Saguaro NP - All fire use restrictions were lifted in the park, effective
Tuesday.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/26; Public Affairs,
Yellowstone NP, 7/25; Michael Beasley, YOSE, 7/25; Mitch Burgard, GLAC,
7/25; Jesse Duhnkrack, ROMO, 7/25; Leslie Uhr, SAGU, 7/25]

                               *  *  *  *  *

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

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