NPS Morning Report - Friday, August 2, 2002



NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT


To:		All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:		Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:	Friday, August 2, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-347 - Redwood N&SP (CA) - MVA with Three Visitor Fatalities

The 76-year-old driver of a vehicle heading southbound on Highway 101
attempted to pass another vehicle on the afternoon of July 31st and
collided head-one with a northbound vehicle. The driver of the
southbound vehicle and the 79-year-old driver of the northbound vehicle
were pronounced dead at the scene. The 71-year-old female passenger of
the southbound vehicle and 78-year-old passenger of the northbound
vehicle were flown to local hospitals by Coast Guard helicopters. The
passenger of the southbound vehicle was later pronounced dead at the
hospital. Names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
[Scott Wanek, CR, REDW]

02-348 - Zion NP (UT) - MVA with Fatality

On the evening of July 19th, park dispatch heard radio traffic on the
Washington County Sheriff's Office frequency regarding a single-vehicle
rollover accident on the Kolob Canyons scenic drive. Kolob ranger Craig
Thexton was dispatched to the area, about a half-mile from the park
visitor center. He found numerous EMS and sheriff's office units on
scene, treating three people with minor injuries and one in critical
condition - 14-year-old J.N. of Cedar City, who'd been ejected
from the Isuzu Rodeo. All were taken to Valley View Medical Center in
Cedar Center; J.N. was then flown immediately to Salt Lake City
Primary Children's Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries the
following day. A joint investigation is underway. It appears that
excessive speed was a primary factor. The driver and one of the
passengers - H.R., 18, and her fiancé, H.K., 24 - said
that H.R. had overcorrected in an attempt to avoid a large rock in the
road, but investigators found no evidence of a rock at the accident
scene. The statements were recanted in follow-up interviews. The
sheriff's office is leading the investigation. Kevin Killian is the case
ranger. [Kevin Killian, PR, ZION]

02-349 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (AZ) - Drug Interdiction Incidents

A ranger found evidence of drug smuggling into the U.S. on July 6th and
tracked a group of backpackers to a wash where they were resting.
Customs officers arrived on foot, having hiked in several miles, and
provided assistance. Six of the smugglers were apprehended and 192
pounds of marijuana were seized. On July 24th, two rangers discovered
evidence that drug smugglers had backpacked another load of marijuana
into the park. They tracked the smugglers to a wash, where they found
five backpacks containing 210 pounds of marijuana hidden beneath a
creosote bush. One of the smugglers was apprehended with the help of a
Customs helicopter. [CRO, ORPI]

02-350 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Drug Trafficking Indictment

On July 15th, a federal grand jury in Casper, Wyoming, indicted
C.C. on two felony counts of 21 USC 841 for possession
of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. C.C. was
arrested by rangers on May 25th and was initially held in federal
custody. He's now in custody in Kansas on other charges. A trail in
Wyoming is  pending. SA Dan Kirschner is the case agent. [Brian Smith,
SSA, YELL]

[Additional reports pending. . . . ]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was light everywhere yesterday. All of the 145 new fires
were caught before becoming large fires. Another four large fires were
contained.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in 15 states: Arizona,
California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and
Wyoming.

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			7/24	7/25	7/26	7/27	7/28	7/29	7/30	7/31	8/1
					
Crews			674	628	658	651	682	670	703	716	592
Engines			1,078	1,012	1,021	1,040	1,024	1,089	1,205	1,468	1,117
Helicopters		197	153	175	187	175	174	187	198	174
Air Tankers		15	10	10	10	4	13	12	10	13
Overhead		4,887	4,546	4,378	4,591	5,284	5,013	4,967	5,215	4,892
Area Commands		3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Type 1 IMT		10	9	6	6	9	9	9	10	7
Type 2 IMT		15	13	14	14	11	11	10	8	7
T1/T2 S/IMT *		3	4	4	3	3	5	4	2	2
Fire Use IMT		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0

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

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NIFC has issued a RED FLAG WARNING for strong winds and low relative
humidity in central and northeast Oregon and a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for
high winds, low relative humidity and thunderstorms for south central
and southeast Montana.

Park Fire Situation

Mesa Verde NP

Although the NICC intelligence summary on Wednesday morning reported
that the Long Mesa Fire had grown by only a few acres, the incident
management team yesterday morning reported that the growth was actually
a thousand acres. The following was extracted from an article by Brian
Newsome in a late Thursday edition of the Durango Herald:

"The Long Mesa Fire grew almost 1,000 acres Wednesday, officials
announced Thursday morning. The fire grew to 3,300 acres, moving
northeast into areas burned by the 2000 Bircher Fire and 1996 Chapin 5
Fire through an area known as the School Section Canyon. More than 350
people have been assigned to the fire, which was started by lightning
and exploded Monday. Seventeen archaeologists were working with fire
crews to identify and protect archaeological sites and items. The park
is closed to the public. Traci Bowen, a fire information officer, said
the fire was still active on its southwest corner near Spruce Tree
House, the park's third-largest cliff dwelling and one of the most
popular. Fire crews were stationed to protect structures and
archaeological sites within or around the fire. The south end of the
fire, near Cliff Palace, the park's largest cliff dwelling, and Balcony
House, an-other cliff dwelling, was not active, Bowen said. Firefighters
were 'mopping up,' a term for clearing debris and suppressing hot spots,
and removing snags (unstable or damaged trees). Fire-mitigation efforts,
such as thinning out trees, that were done before the fire have helped
control the fire in the south, she said. Park headquarters - which
includes offices, homes, a museum and maintenance structures - was still
threatened. Firefighters hoped to keep the fire from moving north to the
Far View area, home to the park's visitor center."

The park has put out the following self-explanatory message regarding
the victims of the fire:

"Two Mesa Verde National Park families lost their homes and belongings
to the Long Mesa fire of 2002. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jim
Perry and his family, and to Linda Martin. Jim is the park's plumber and
lives with his wife, Arlene and son Calvin, age 6. Linda has been the
interpretive ranger in the park for almost 30 years. To assist them, a
fund has been established with the Mesa Verde Museum Association. Anyone
from the community, the park, Aramark Mesa Verde, the Museum
Association, the National Park Service, or anyone in the wildland fire
community is welcome to contribute. Make checks or money orders payable
to the Museum Association and send to: Mesa Verde Museum Association, PO
Box 8, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 80330; ATTN: Mesa Verde Family Fund.
Your donation will  be shared with each family, or, you can direct your
donation to either individual by marking their name. The park will soon
obtain a list of needs from each family and then share it once
developed. Questions can be directed to Patty Trap or Elaine Simo at
970-564-1626. Thanks for your consideration and care."

Redwood NP

The Sour Biscuit Fire (Zone 2) is now 19,513 acres, with 5% containment.
There are 144 personnel assigned. According the chief park ranger, there
hasn't been much change in the last day. Fire resources (hand crews and
helicopters) are currently cleaning up a slopover from yesterday in the
upper part of the Copper Creek drainage between the fire and the park.
There was little growth today on the south and southwest sections of the
fire. The park is considered to be secure due to a major vegetation
change between it and the fire. Some ash and smoke are present in
Crescent City (park headquarters) but these conditions diminish in the
southern areas of the park. For more information:
www.r5.fs.fed.us/sixrivers/incident/biscuit. Originally believed to be a
spot fire from Sour Biscuit, the Shelly Fire is now considered a
separate fire caused by a downed power line. This fire is 850 acres, 50%
contained, and located 20 miles northeast of the park.  The Sour Biscuit
Zone 2 IMT is also managing the Shelly Fire. Road closures remain in
effect on Highway 199, but the public can access all park facilities
except the Hiouchi Visitor Center and the Little Bald Hills Trail. For
more information: www.r5.fs.fed.us/sixrivers/incident/shelly.

El Malpais NP

According to the park FMO, the lightning-caused Lost Fire gained at
least another 100 acres on Thursday,  bringing the total acreage to
nearly 300 acres. This wildland fire use project is being managed for
resource benefit. Fire use manager Bill Adams arrived in the park
yesterday and flew the fire with the park superintendent. The maximum
manageable area (MMA) is approximately 3,300 acres. Fire spread is
constrained by lava flows on the west and south sides of the fire.
Moving less than 66 feet per hour, flame lengths are approximately six
inches.  All park facilities remain open. The Lost Fire is the first
wildland fire use project for El Malpais. This action is the result of
the newly approved joint fire management plan with BLM.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report; Jody Lyle, Fire Information
Desk, NIFC]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

WASO Office of International Affairs - The office is currently seeking
an individual interested in a temporary promotion as a GS-13
international cooperation specialist. The position, which is intended to
last three years (but may be made permanent without further
competition), may be ideal for an NPS employee in a field position
interested in gaining some experience in Washington and in international
conservation issues. The person in this position will focus primarily on
domestic and international aspects of the World Heritage Convention;
she/he will advise the assistant secretary and Federal interagency
committee on World Heritage matters, and coordinate Federal interagency,
state, local, and private participation. He/she will also assist with
the administration, coordination, and management of ongoing bilateral
and multilateral international programs in which the National Park
Service is involved and conduct evaluations of these programs. Programs
involve regular communications, information exchange, and exchange of
specialist personnel for cooperative projects. For more information on
the Office of International Affairs, visit their website at
http://www.nps.gov/oia. The contact person is Jim Charleton,
202-565-1280/James_Charleton@nps.gov. [Jonathan Putnam, OIA/WASO]

*  *  *  *  *

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

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