NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:           All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:         Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:     Tuesday, August 6, 2002

*** NOTICE ***

There was no Morning Report on Monday, August 5th. Regular publication resumes today.

INCIDENTS

02-351 - White Sands NM (NM) - Missile Accident

An errant missile landed within the park's cooperative use area, which
is closed to visitors, around 8 a.m. on the morning of August 2nd. The
point of impact was about 15 miles from the main visitor area. The park
was under a scheduled closure at the time of the accident, so there was
never any danger to visitors or staff. The missile was a drone used for
targeting missions and contained a hydrazine propellant. It veered off
its intended course, so was given a self-destruct order by controllers.
The impact left a six-foot diameter crater in the ground. A hazmat crew
from White Sands Missile Range flew to the crater on August 2nd to take
air and water samples and assess the site. Test results are expected
shortly. Cleanup and rehabilitation of the site will be coordinated with
the military and the state's department of the environment. [Cliff
Spencer, CR, WHSA]

[Due to the editor's absence on a detail to NIFC and the limited time
available for keeping up with the Morning Report while on the road,
there's now a considerable backlog of incident reports. These will all
appear before the end of the week. Thanks for your patience.]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was light everywhere yesterday. Four of the 184
newly-reported fires were caught before becoming large fires. Another
two large fires were contained.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in 15 states: Alaska,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
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

                   Sun     Mon     Tue     Wed     Thu     Fri     Sat     Sun     Mon
Date               7/28    7/29    7/30    7/31    8/1     8/2     8/3     8/4     8/5
                         
Crews              682     670     703     716     592     634     647     686     589
Engines            1,024   1,089   1,205   1,468   1,117   1,099   1,095   1,199   1,028
Helicopters        175     174     187     198     174     172     161     180     177
Air Tankers        4       13      12      10      13      17      17      16      9
Overhead           5,284   5,013   4,967   5,215   4,892   4,100   3,913   4,641   4,712
Area Commands      3       3       3       3       3       2       2       1       1
Type 1 IMT         9       9       9       10      7       6       7       7       7
Type 2 IMT         11      11      10      8       7       7       7       7       6
T1/T2 S/IMT *      3       5       4       2       2       2       3       2       3
Fire Use IMT       1       1       1       0       0       0       0       0       0

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

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NIFC has issued two RED FLAG WARNINGS - the first is for dry
thunderstorms for northeast interior Alaska, the second is for strong
north winds and low relative humidity for the Seward Peninsula in
western Alaska.

Park Fire Situation

Mesa Verde NP (CO) - The 2,601-acre Long Mesa Fire was contained on
Sunday. The park remains closed, but a limited opening is planned for
August 9th. 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 (CA) - The Sour Biscuit Fire (Zone 2) has burned 44,317 acres
and is 30% contained. Residents in the communities of Gasquet and
Hiouchi have been warned that the southern edge of the fire has advanced
to within a mile of the established evacuation trigger point. The town
of Gasquet is right on the edge of the park.

Denali NP (AK) - The park has four fires burning totaling 147,680 acres.
Two of the most active are the John Hansen Lake Fire (5,200 acres) and
the Moose Lake Fire (65,236 acres).

Noatak NP (AK) - The Cottonwood Bar Fire has burned 3,660 acres in a
limited management zone. The fire, which was probably human-caused,
started in tundra and brush. The perimeter is reported to be about 50%
active. The fire burned around two structures, but both are still
intact.

Gates of the Arctic NP (AK) - The Dawn Creek Fire was last reported at
900 acres.

Big Cypress NP (FL) - Fire crews completed a 100-acre prescribed burn
over the weekend to secure two backcountry hunting camps in preparation
for a larger, 6,000- to 8,000-acre burn.

Zion NP - Firefighters contained and controlled a tenth of an acre fire
in the East Mesa area.

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

OPERATIONAL NOTES

CFR Part 3 Regulations Update - The draft revised version of Part 3 of
36 Code of Federal Regulations, which deals with boating and water use
activities, is currently open for internal comments. Comments must be
submitted to Kym Hall, the regulations program manager, on or before
October 1st. Please feel free to contact any of the Part 3 work group
members with any questions about the revisions; their names are listed
in the draft regulation, which is available electronically from either
your park superintendent or from Kym. A note on the proposed revision:
One change has caught the interest of the assistant secretary and will
likely be amended when the field comments are incorporated. The proposed
rule sets a minimum operator age at 12 years for operation of a
power-driven vessel. The assistant secretary is concerned that 12 is too
young and is asking the NPS to raise the minimum operator age closer to
15 or 16. We have not concluded which age it will be, but keep in mind
that your comments should probably reflect a recommendation of 15 or 16
rather than 12 years of age. Thanks in advance to all who take the time
to read through and comment on this project. [Kym Hall, RAD/WASO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Pinnacles NM (CA) - The park is currently advertising for a permanent
GS-025-9 protection ranger. This is a required occupancy position
located in Paicines, California. Additional information is available at
on USA Jobs - see announcement PGSO-01-155-MPP, which closes on August
22nd. Please contact Lori at 831-389-4485 x227 if you have any
questions. [Lori Frusetta, PINN]

C&O Canal NHP (MD/DC) - The park is recruiting for a vacant GS-025 5/7/9
protection ranger in its Cumberland District. Anyone interested in a
lateral transfer should call DR Dwight Dixon for details at
301-714-2236. [Dwight Dixon, CHOH]

*  *  *  *  *

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

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