NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:           All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:         Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:     Sunday, August 11, 2002

*** NOTICE ***

Director Mainella has authorized the lowering of all flags to half-staff
at parks and NPS offices across the nation until further notice in
memory of Park Police officer Hakim Farthing and NPS ranger Kris Eggle.
Uniformed employees are authorized to wear black bands on their badges;
non-uniformed employees may wear black mourning devices similar to those
worn after September 11th.

INCIDENTS

02-370 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (AZ) - Follow-up: Ranger Shot and Killed

A memorial service for ranger Kris Eggle, 27, who was fatally wounded
along the United States border with Mexico within the park on Friday,
will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, August 12th, at the Ajo Calvary
Baptist Church in Ajo, Arizona. The service will be preceded by a
procession with full law enforcement escort along the ten mile route
from the town of Why to the town of Ajo. A ranger honor guard will
accompany the casket, which will be draped with an American flag with a
ranger stetson above it. The flag and hat will be presented to Kris'
parents at the end of the ceremony. Interment will take place in
Michigan later this week. The dress for the service will be Class A
summer uniform, with mourning bands on badges. Protection rangers should
wear defensive equipment. As of Sunday evening, ceremony organizers were
expecting several hundred National Park Service employees at the
service. Kris will be remembered by all who knew him for his outlook,
his professionalism, and his outstanding abilities. He was born on a
family farm in Cadillac, Michigan, and graduated as valedictorian from
the high school there in 1991. Kris was also an Eagle scout and a member
of the National Honor Society. After graduation from the University of
Michigan, he served as an SCA at Great Smokey Mountains NP, where he
tracked wild boars and bears. He then became a park ranger and worked at
Sleeping Bear Dunes NL and Canyonlands NP before moving to Organ Pipe
Cactus two years ago. Kris graduated from FLETC this year, where he was
first in his class and recipient of the Director's Award. Donations can
be made in lieu of flowers to the Ajo Calvary Baptist Church Youth
Program, c/o Calvary Baptist Church, 740 West Rocalla Avenue, Ajo, AZ
85321. Condolences should be sent to his parents. A web site with
information on Kris and services for him will be set up some time on
Monday. The web address will be posted in the Morning Report and in
InsideNPS. [Rick Jones, PIO, IMT, ORPI]

02-371 - Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD) - Follow-up: Park Police
Officer Killed

There's no further update as of yet on funeral arrangements for US Park
Police officer Hakim Farthing, 28, who was killed by a drunk driver on
Saturday morning. Additional information will likely be available some
time on Monday. [Scott Fear, PIO, USPP]

02-372 - Horseshoe Bend NMP (AL) - Rescue

Park maintenance workers rescued two men from the Tallapoosa River on
Friday, August 2nd. Jo.C., 44 and son Ju.C., 18, both of Heflin,
Alabama, had just launched their john-boat into the swift waters of the
river when they struck a rock, throwing Justin into the river. The bow
of the boat then hung up on the rocks, allowing a corner of the transom
to drop down below water level and causing the boat to quickly fill and
capsize. Both father and son managed to stay with their overturned boat
as it bounced through the rapids. Maintenance workers Bill Thornell and
Steve Vines used the park's jet-drive patrol/rescue boat and reached the
overturned boat as it continued down the river. Thornell and Vines
maneuvered the capsized boat to the river's edge and helped right it and
bail it out before towing it back through the rapids to the park boat
ramp. The quick actions of the park crew prevented further property
damage and possible loss of life, as the next take-out point on the
river is almost six miles further downstream. [Mark Lewis,
Superintendent, HOBE]

02-373 - George Washington Memorial Parkway (VA) - Rescue

A six-year-old boy fell about 40 feet from the cliff tops near one of
the overlooks in the park's Great Falls unit on the evening of Sunday,
August 4th. His family was apparently picnicking and fishing in the area
while he and some of his other siblings played. The play area they chose
was on the opposite side of the safety fence from the overlook, where
there are numerous vertical drops. The boy evidently lost his footing
and fell onto boulders below. Great Falls staff members Cheryl Bresee,
Nicky Veith, and Kevin Butler responded to the incident. The boy
sustained serious head injuries but was still conscious. County fire and
rescue personnel transported him to the north parking lot, where the
Park Police helicopter landed, picked him up, and flew him to a local
hospital. Initial reports indicated that the boy suffered skull
fractures with some internal bleeding, but that he will survive. [Jesse
Reynolds, Great Falls Unit, GWMP]

02-374 - Gulf Islands NS (FL/MS) - Rescue

On August 9th, three park rangers and two park lifeguards responded to a
report of a capsized sailboat within Gulf Islands National Seashore. The
vessel was spotted approximately 75 yards from shore in the Gulf of
Mexico. The two lifeguards entered the water and assisted three victims
to shore. All three suffered from exhaustion, but refused medical
treatment and transport. The boat washed close to shore and was pulled
out by NPS personnel. The park had issued a red flag warning for the
surf that day, advising everyone to stay out of the gulf.  [CRO, GUIS]

02-375 - Grand Teton NP (WY) - Rescue

D.J., 44, and R.W. were climbing the North Face of the
Grand Teton on the evening of July 15th. R.W. led a pitch in the
Guano Chimney and was belaying as D.J. followed when falling rocks hit
D.J., knocking him unconscious for about five minutes. R.W. lowered
him to a ledge and requested help via cell phone. Two park rangers were
flown in by helicopter short haul to a ledge 100 feet below the two just
before dark as a thunderstorm approached. Rangers reached them during
the storm and spent the night with the climbers in a small cave. In the
morning, another rockfall twice caused rescuers to change plans, but the
helicopter pilot and a ranger spotter were eventually able to short-haul
the four from the North Face. D.J. was found to have an inter-cranial
bleed in addition to facial fractures and lacerations. [Bill Holda,
Acting CR, GRTE]

02-376 - Olympic NP (WA) - Drowning

The body of a 17-year-old Tacoma boy was found by a research vessel in
the Pacific Ocean a half mile off-shore from La Push on the morning of
Thursday, August 8th. He had been the subject of an overnight search
after his family reported him missing the previous night. The boy was
last seen Wednesday afternoon when he left for a hike on a rocky
headland north of Second Beach. When he failed to return from his hike
by late afternoon, his family looked for several hours, then notified
authorities around 9 p.m. The boy and his family had been camping on
Second Beach, a popular park site. Personnel from the park, Coast Guard
and Clallam County SAR searched for the boy through the night. The
coroner determined that he'd drowned, but also found numerous traumatic
injuries consistent with a climbing accident - his neck was broken and
he had brain contusions, fractured ribs, a punctured lung and numerous
bruises and abrasions on his body. It's highly probable that he was
unconscious when he hit the water. [Barb Maynes/Mark O'Neill, OLYM]

02-377 - Haleakala NP (HI) - Special Event

The park and the Kipahulu 'Ohana hosted a dedication and blessing of the
Kapahu Farm in the Kipahulu area of the park on Saturday, July 27th. The
Kipahulu 'Ohana, a local, nonprofit native Hawaiian organization,
cultivates lo'i (taro patches) and other Polynesian introduced plants at
the 2.5-acre Kapahu Farm. Farming and related public cultural
demonstrations, hikes and tours are conducted by the 'Ohana through a
cooperative agreement with the park. A recently completed hale
(traditional shelter), a large pohaku (stone), and the farm were
dedicated during a ceremony that included traditional native Hawaiian
chants and speeches. An original chant, written specifically about
Kapahu, was offered by the children of the founding members of the
Kipahulu 'Ohana. Over 250 guests attended the dedication including local
media and  a state senator. [Jennifer Talken-Spaulding, PIO, HALE]

[Additional reports pending. . . . .]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was moderate in southern California yesterday and light
elsewhere. A total of 435 new starts were reported on Friday and
Saturday; of these, eight became large fires. Another nine large fires
were contained.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in eleven states:
Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Oregon,
Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The following five states included on
Friday's situation report have been removed from today's list: Alaska,
Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota. 

National Resource Commitments

                   Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue     Wed     Thu     Fri     Sat
Date               8/3     8/4     8/5     8/6     8/7     8/8     8/9     8/10
                         
Crews              647     686     589     566     548     566     564     561
Engines            1,095   1,199   1,028   874     906     865     876     820
Helicopters        161     180     177     153     160     158     164     160
Air Tankers        17      16       9      10      4       4       3       2
Overhead           3,913   4,641   4,712   3,838   4,385   3,989   3,741   3,667
Area Commands      2       1       1       1       2       2       1       1
Type 1 IMT         7       7       6       6       5       5       5       4
Type 2 IMT         7       7       6       6       5       5       5       5
T1/T2 S/IMT *      3       2       3       3       2       2       2       2
Fire Use IMT       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 FIRE WEATHER WATCH for strong northeast winds and low relative humidity for portions 
of southwest Oregon.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for increasing west winds for southern and central Wyoming.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for strong winds and low relative humidity across the Bridger-
Teton National Forest.

Park Fire Situation 

Yosemite NP (CA) - The Wolf Complex, which consists of the Wolf, Lukens,
Morrison, and Marshall Fires, is burning a mile west of White Wolf. The
complex, which had burned 149 acres as of yesterday, is being managed
for resource benefits. Firefighters are constructing lines and creating
defensible space around structures.

Redwood N&SP (CA) - The Florence Fire (Zone 2) is now 28,388 acres with
75% containment. A name change took place last night at midnight - all
segments of the Florence and Sour Biscuit fires are now being referred
to as the Biscuit Fire. The town of Gasquet was evacuated on Saturday.
The fire remains on the northeast side of the North Fork of the Smith
River. Fire line is now in place around the east, south and west
portions of fire. Roads and services are still open in the park. For
more information: www.r5.fs.fed.us/sixrivers/incident/biscuit

Dinosaur NM (CO) - The Iron Mine Draw Fire is in a single tree with low
spread potential. This fire is under a confinement strategy and will be
monitored.

El Malpais NM (NM) - Due to moisture received continually during the
week, the Long Fire has been turned over from the fire use manager to
the park fire specialist. Little activity has been observed. The fire
has burned 380 acres.

Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - A squad of firefighters is still
working on a 15-acre lightning-caused fire.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP's (CA) - The parks are still managing three
fire use projects the Slide, Moraine and Fallen Moon Fires. The latter
two will probably be called out soon. The McNalley Fire on the Sequoia
National Forest is now 117,447 acres and 70% contained. For more
information on McNally: www.r5.fs.fed.us/sequoia/incident/mcnalley.htm

Denali NP (AK) - The Moose Lake Fire is at 105,281 acres and was
receiving steady drizzle yesterday. It was less than 5% active. The John
Hansen Lake fire, which was not monitored on Saturday, is only barely
inside the park. It's still listed at 20,000 acres.

Noatak NP (AK) - The Cottonwood Bar Fire has burned 4,070 acres. The
fire was not monitored on Saturday due to a low cloud ceiling and is not
staffed.

Gates of the Arctic NP (AK) - The Dawn Creek Fire remains at 2,563
acres. The fire was not monitored. There are six additional fires
burning in the vicinity of the park totaling approximately 32,000 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

Rocky Mountain NP (CO) - The park has established a new position for a
GS-12 wildlife biologist in the park's Division of Resource Management
and Research. The person selected will serve as the chief of the Branch
of Wildlife Management as the senior advisor to park management on
issues related to wildlife biology. She/he will be responsible for
program management and supervision of staff biologists in the branch.
The park is faced with numerous wildlife management challenges,
including a growing elk herd that migrates well beyond park boundaries,
the presence of chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, the need to
manage a fishery program for recreational use, and the preservation of
native fish species. Close coordination with adjacent landowners and
federal and state agencies is an important aspect of the job. This
position is open to federal employees (announcement DD 150256,  USA Jobs
control number VV0988 FO) and to the general public (announcement DD
150252, USA Jobs control number VV0897 FO). The closing date for the
position is August 28th. Further information can be obtained from the
park's administrative office at 970 586-1215. [Kyle Patterson, ROMO]

*  *  *  *  *

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

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