NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:           All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:         Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:     Friday, August 9, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-364 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/AL/TN) - Disorderly Conduct
Conviction

In early March, Mississippi Highway Patrol investigators provided the
park with a videotape that they'd recovered as part of a felony weapons
investigation. The tape depicts a night-time felony car stop enactment
that was staged on the parkway by 18-year-old D.A. of Vicksburg,
Mississippi. D.A., who was dressed in a "deputy sheriff" tee shirt and
BDU trousers with a duty belt, staged a scenario in which he portrayed a
deputy sheriff. The videotape shows D.A. using blue lights and a siren
installed on his pickup truck to make a felony stop of another role
player's vehicle. When D.A. contacts the "violator", an "assault" and
"escape" occur, and D.A. subsequently fires a revolver containing
blanks at the fleeing "violator." D.A. and his compatriots then staged
a high-speed vehicle chase on the parkway, with speeds exceeding 85 mph.
When the "violator" pulled over and surrendered, D.A. made an arrest.
All of this took place within 300 feet of a residential area and with
other motorists traveling the parkway. Rangers investigated and
determined the identity of three juveniles and an adult - 21-year-old
Greg Collins - who assisted D.A. in the acting and filming of the
scenarios. They cooperated fully and advised that D.A. had presented
himself as a reserve Hinds County Sheriff's Department deputy. They
consequently believed his assertion that the film was related to a
criminal justice class he supposedly was taking.  On July 15th, D.A.
pled guilty to possession of a weapon, use of a weapon that endangers,
disorderly conduct, and unlawful use of blue lights. He was fined $1,250
and banned from the parkway for one year. Collins and a male juvenile
were cited for careless driving violations. During an interview, D.A.
said that he had two passions - law enforcement and the Civil War.  The
investigating ranger was Kosciusko District DR Regina Klein, with
assistance from Vicksburg NMP rangers. [Jackie Henman, ACR, NATR]

02-365 - Ozark NSR (MO) - Mass Casualty Incident

On July 30th, a school bus carrying 21 passengers and operated by park
concessionaire Current River Canoe Rental overturned on a county road
east of Akers Ferry outside the park. Park seasonal maintenance worker
Kevin Atkins reported the accident and district ranger Bill Terry and
ranger Mary Ficker responded and provided EMS and traffic control.
Eleven people were transported to Salem Hospital by four ambulances.
They were all treated and released. The rest were uninjured. The
passengers were being shuttled from Pulltite to Akers for canoe trips on
the Upper Current River. The Missouri Highway Patrol reported that the
18-year-old driver, who had a valid commercial driver's license, dropped
the front tire off the shoulder while going downhill on a curve and
overcorrected, causing the bus to turn on it's side. The bus did not
roll completely over, which prevented further injuries. [Larry Johnson,
CR, OZAR]

02-366 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (NJ/PA) - Multiple Rescues

On August 1st, J.Q., 24, and his brother C.Q., 32, both from
Jersey City, New Jersey, attempted to wade across the Delaware River
when Joael stepped into a deep hole, then panicked. His brother
attempted to save him, but got into trouble himself. Bystander Dorothy
Matter ran for help. C.Q., Senior, the men's father, pulled
Joael to safety; meanwhile, bystander B.T., an ex-lifeguard
and former Junior Olympic swimmer, pulled Cesar (junior) from the river.
B.T. then called 911 from her cell phone. Q.'s family performed
rescue breathing on C.Q., who recovered and regained consciousness. All
three men were conscious when rangers arrived, but C.Q. (senior) was
experiencing chest pains and was taken to Newton Memorial Hospital by
ambulance. [Mark Hnat, PR, DEWA]

02-367 - Badlands NP (SD) - Special Event

During the period from July 26th to the 28th, rangers Vincent
Littlewhiteman and Beth Kolb assisted BIA special agents, FBI agents,
and Oglala Sioux officers in staffing a checkpoint to the Badlands
Electronic Music Festival, also known as a "rave" event. The festival
was held seven miles east of the park's White River VC and two miles
north of the Palmer Creek Unit, both in the Stronghold District. An
estimated 1,500 people ranging in age from 16 to 40 attended the event.
Large quantities of drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine and
ecstasy, were seized, along with paraphernalia of all kinds. Other
violations included possession of alcohol (prohibited by tribal law),
minor possession of alcohol, possession of fireworks, and possession of
concealed weapons (two 9 millimeters and a .40 caliber pistol) and
knives. There was also a report of a robbery involving a weapon. BIA
agents made one arrest for delivery of a controlled substance. [CRO,
BADL]

02-368 - Cape Cod NS (MA) - Illegal Dumping

On July 25th, a Cape Cod resident was charged in federal court with
illegally disposing of a mercury based fungicide on National Park
Service property. M.R., 45, of Brewster was charged with
illegally disposing of a hazardous waste without a permit in violation
of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The charge alleges that
M.R. was employed as the golf course superintendent at the Chequessett
Yacht and Country Club in Wellfleet, when, on April 4, 2000, he disposed
of a four-pound bag of Calo-Gran, a mercury based fungicide, by dumping
it in a deserted location near the sixth fairway, a location which in
fact turned out to be owned by the park. The mercury based fungicide was
dumped without a permit, as federal law requires. If convicted of the
charge, M.R. faces up to five years' imprisonment, a $250,000 fine,
and three years' supervised release. [Bill Hooper, LES, CACO]

02-369 - Buffalo NR (AR) - Poaching

Ranger Sean Isham discovered a recently-killed cow elk that had been
left to decay in a remote area of the park's middle district on April
6th. The elk was pregnant and would have soon delivered. A small portion
of meat had been removed from the animal's back. A four-month
investigation by the NPS, Arkansas Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service produced evidence that led to a confession by a local
resident on July 26th. Statements indicate that the animal had been
taken at night, after which the hunters decided to leave the dead animal
in the field. State and federal charges are pending. Elk were
reintroduced into this region of the park about twenty years ago. The
herd has slowly increased in size to the point where a small hunt is now
allowed each fall. Periodic poaching continues to be a problem. [Ron
Parrish, Acting CR, BUFF]

[Additional reports pending….]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was moderate yesterday in southern California and the
Rockies and light elsewhere. None of the 210 newly-reported fires
escaped initial attack. One large fire in the east was contained.

As of yesterday, there were 21 large fires burning throughout the
country; together, they'd burned 1,166,855 acres. There have been 54,633
fires so far this year, a bit below the ten-year, year-to-date average
of 56,522 fires. The total acreage burned, however, is well ahead of the
ten-year average - 4,974,357 acres this year, as opposed to an average
of 2,306,652 acres through August 8th over the past ten years. The total
acreage for 2002 is also considerably ahead of the year-to-date acreage
for 2000, a very active fire year, in which 4,115,937 acres had burned
through August 8th.

NIFC has now been at Preparedness Level 5 (highest preparedness) for 50
days - a record as far as anyone has been able to determine. NIFC went
to PL 5 on June 21st this year, the earliest that it's ever gone to that
level. By comparison, here are the dates when NIFC went to PL 5 over the
past dozen years (it didn't get to that level every year): 1990 - August
9th; 1994 - July 30th; 1996 - September 1st; 2000 - July 28th; 2001 -
August 16th.

A contingent of divisional supervisors and aviation managers from
Australia and New Zealand arrived at NIFC yesterday. They will undergo a
two-day orientation before being assigned to fires. Canadian Type 1
crews continue to arrive at NIFC for orientation; they are being
committed to fires in the Northwest. More Canadian firefighters may be
brought in.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in 16 states (the same
states that were on yesterday's list): Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North
Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

National Resource Commitments

                   Wed      Thu    Fri     Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue     Wed     Thu
Date               7/31     8/1    8/2     8/3     8/4     8/5     8/6     8/7     8/8
                         
Crews              716     592     634     647     686     589     566     548     566
Engines            1,468   1,117   1,099   1,095   1,199   1,028   874     906     865
Helicopters        198     174     172     161     180     177     153     160     158
Air Tankers        10      13      17      17      16      9       10      4       4
Overhead           5,215   4,892   4,100   3,913   4,641   4,712   3,838   4,385   3,989
Area Commands      3       3       2       2       1       1       1       2       2
Type 1 IMT         10      7       6       7       7       6       6       5       5
Type 2 IMT         8       7       7       7       7       6       6       5       5
T1/T2 S/IMT *      2       2       2       3       2       3       3       2       2
Fire Use IMT       0       0       0       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 the following for today:

A RED FLAG WARNING for poor relative humidity recovery and gusty northeast winds.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for low relative humidity and high dispersion indices for the inland 
counties of northwest Florida from noon until sunset.

Park Fire Situation

Redwood NP (CA) - The Florence Fire (Zone 2) is now 24,327 acres with
60% containment. (The Florence and Sour Biscuit Fires have joined. This
management action recognized the many hot spots between the two fires.
What used to be the Sour Biscuit Zone 2 will now be called Florence Fire
Zone 2). A red flag warning for low humidity and moderate winds is still
in place over the region. The humidity could be as low as 20% with
sustained winds between 5 and 15 mph. Gasquet and Hiouchi residents are
still preparing for a possible evacuation if fire activity increases on
the southern edge of the fire. For more information:
www.r5.fs.fed.us/sixrivers/incident/biscuit

Dinosaur NM (CO) - Lightning caused two single-tree fires Wednesday
night. Both fires burned out naturally and no suppression actions were
taken. One fire was located at the Island Park overlook. The second
fire, the Quick Fire, was on the Red Rock allotment of Mantle's
property.

Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - Park firefighters are working today
on a 15-acre lightning-caused fire. No structures are threatened.

Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP's (CA) - Yesterday, the park helicopter
responded to suppress an escaped campfire that burned a tenth of an acre
at Big Five Lakes. Earlier this week, Mineral King area firefighters
suppressed another tenth of an acre escaped campfire at Cold Springs
campground. The wildland fire use Slide Fire will be flown again soon to
assess spread. The McNalley Fire on the Sequoia National Forest is now
115,791 acres and 55% contained. For more information:
www.r5.fs.fed.us/sequoia/incident/mcnalley.html

Denali NP (AK) - The Moose Lake Fire is 69,038 acres. Half of this
acreage is inside the park. The John Hansen Lake Fire, which is only
barely inside the park, is now 20,000 acres. An infrared flight revealed
the acreage increase of approximately 14,000 acres.

Noatak NP (AK) - The Cottonwood Bar Fire grew to 4,070 acres in a
limited management zone. Aircraft flew the fire on Wednesday. The fire
was 40% active with numerous hot spots. This fire is not staffed.

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

For additional information on all fires, check the following web sites:

*     Map of fire locations - http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/firemap.html 
*     Details on all current major fires - http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf 
*     Fire news and fire year in perspective - http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html. 

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

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Biscayne NP (FL) - The park is seeking a highly motivated, full
performance, level one commissioned GS-9 ranger for a lateral transfer.
They are seeking an aggressive, self-sufficient person who has the
ability to work with little or no supervision. He/she may be involved in
an array of duties in EMS, SAR, and law enforcement, including, patrols
conducted utilizing a variety of boats, vehicles and bicycles. Common
enforcement activities include fisheries enforcement, boating safety,
boating under the influence of drugs and or alcohol enforcement,
commercial and recreational poaching of a large variety of resources,
marine and terrestrial cultural resources enforcement, and drug and
illegal immigrant smuggling/interdiction. EMS skills at the EMT level
are preferred but not necessarily a deal breaker. She/he will be
assigned a 22-foot Mako patrol vessel, powered by a 250 horsepower
outboard motor and equipped with radar, chart plotter and GPS. He/she
will be responsible for the use, care and maintenance of the boat. Park
housing is available. The person will be on duty during weekends,
holidays, and all hours of the day and night. Those interested in the
position are asked to contact chief ranger Holly Rife, supervisory park
ranger Thomas Rutledge or law enforcement specialist David Pharo at
305-230-1144.  [David Pharo, BISC]

*  *  *  *  *

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

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