NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, August 27, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-417 - Cape Hatteras NS (NC) - Lightning Fatality and Multiple
Injuries

A group of about ten friends and relatives illegally drove a pickup
truck over a dune and became stuck on a beach closed to vehicular
traffic near Oceanside Turnout late on the evening of August 24th. When
a particularly violent thunderstorm with high winds, torrential rains,
and frequent lightning strikes to the ground approached, five of them
returned on foot to the turnout, while four or five men remained behind
to extricate the truck. Before the group could return with the truck,
the group in the pullout was struck by lightning, killing H.H.,
26, and injuring A.H., 26, J.J., 20, L.L.,
18, and D.E., 21, all from Virginia. Passersby notified
Dare County, which dispatched emergency services to the location. Dare
County deputy Greg Wilson arrived first and assisted passersby in
transporting the victims to Hatteras Clinic, approximately five minutes
away. Ranger Gary Henson, responding from Buxton, was slowed to five
miles-per-hour by blinding rain and numerous lightning strikes hitting
the ground and trees within sight of his vehicle. Henson drove to the
clinic, where he was joined by the Dare County sheriff, a state trooper,
members of the Hatteras Island Rescue Service, and two Dare County EMS
units. Heather Hewitt was pronounced dead at the clinic and the other
victims were transported by ambulance to hospitals in Virginia. [Jeff
Cob, CR, CAHA]

02-418 - Mount Rushmore NM (SD) - Special Event: 75th Anniversary

An event was held in the park on August 17th to commemorate the 75th
anniversary of the beginning of work on the Mount Rushmore sculptures.
The original ceremony was held on August 10, 1927, with President Calvin
Coolidge delivering the address. This year's commemoration included a
talk by Congressman John Thune, a keynote address by Secretary of
Interior Gale Norton, and a dramatic portrayal of the 1927 ceremony.
About 3,000 people attended the program. The park's staff was assisted
by the Midwest Region special events team. There were no serious
incidents. [Mike Pflaum, CR, MORA]

02-419 - Boston NHP (MA) - Narcotics Arrest

On Saturday, August 16th, a ranger on patrol at Bunker Hill National
Monument came across a man who was preparing to inject heroin. The
ranger attempted to arrest him for possession of narcotics, but he
violently resisted the attempt to detain him. After a brief struggle,
additional rangers and Boston police arrived on scene and placed him in
custody. Rangers recovered both cocaine and heroin from the scene. The
man has been charged with several CFR violations and the U.S. Attorneys
Office is considering 18 USC 111 (assault on a federal officer) charges
due to his extensive criminal history. Historically, the Bunker Hill
monument has been a popular hangout for people with illegal drugs.
[Glenn Van Neil, SA, BOST]

02-420 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Possible Suicide

On the afternoon of August 18th, rangers received a report of a body
below Glacier Bridge. The 47-year-old victim was from Yelm, Washington.
There's a high probability that she committed suicide. Her death
occurred at least 24 to 48 hours before the body was discovered. The
investigation continues. [Patti Wold, PIO, MORA]

[Additional reports pending . . . ]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was heavy in the Northwest on Monday but light elsewhere.
Two of the 227 newly- reported fires became large fires; another four
large fires were contained.

Some highlights from today's report:

*   The Biscuit Fire on the Siskiyou and Six Rivers NF's has now burned
500,023 acres (up about 6,000 acres since yesterday) and is 90%
contained (no change from yesterday). Full containment is forecast for
Saturday.

*   The 150,420 McNally Fire on the Sequoia and Inyo NF's is now 93%
contained; full containment is predicted for Thursday.

*   A Type 1 team (Hefner) has been ordered for the Lakes Fire, which
has burned 3,000 acres in ponderosa pine and grass about 15 miles north
of Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico. Extreme fire behavior is reported.
Residents of Seven Springs and Thompson Ridge and visitors to Fenton
Lake State Park have been evacuated.

*   There are two large fires in Arizona - the 1,210-acre Pack Rat Fire
(Humphrey's Type 1 team assigned) on the Coconino National Forest and
the 3,795-acre Trick Fire (Broyles' Type 2 team assigned) on the Kaibab
National Forest. Both have been characterized by very active fire
behavior.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in the following states:

*   Continued from last report - Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho,
Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon,
South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. 
*   Added since last report - New Mexico.
*   Removed since last report - None.

National Resource Commitments

Day             Mon     Tue     Wed     Thu     Fri     Sat     Sun     Mon
Date            8/19    8/20    8/21    8/22    8/23    8/24    8/25    8/26
================================================================================
                    
Crews           520     538     532     567     449     435     399     374
Engines         965     1,040   959     936     773     772     746     583
Helicopters     179     162     150     157     138     147     146     130
Air Tankers     2       0       1       1       0       0       1       1
Overhead        4,465   4,660   4,591   4,699   4,142   4,006   3,891   3,542
Area Commands   1       3       3       3       2       2       2       2
Type 1 IMT      7       8       7       7       7       5       6       7
Type 2 IMT      10      8       7       7       8       8       9       8
T1/T2 S/IMT *   6       5       3       0       0       0       0       0
Fire Use IMT    3       2       3       3       3       3       3       3
    
* Type 1 and Type 2 state incident management teams
# Information not available

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NICC has posted two RED FLAG WARNINGS for today - the first for gusty
northeast winds and poor overnight relative humidity recovery for
southwestern Oregon, the second for gusty north to northeast winds, low
relative humidity and poor overnight relative humidity recovery for the
northern Sacramento Valley and surrounding foothills and the Tahoe and
Eldorado National Forests.

Park Fire Situation

Yellowstone NP (WY/MT/ID) - The Signal, Big Thumb and Columbine Fires
have all been declared out. Scattered smoke and two to three-foot flames
have been reported along the northwest flank of the Phlox Fire.

Dinosaur NM (CO) - No activity has been reported on the five small fires
under confinement strategy that are currently being monitored.

Glacier NP (MT) - The Continental and Soldier Fires, each a tenth of an
acre, are smoldering.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP's (CA) - The 35-acre Slide Fire is still
active and is being managed for wildland fire use along with another
quarter-acre fire.

Yosemite NP (CA) - The Wolf Complex is being managed for wildland fire
use, as are several other smaller fires.

Additional Information

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; Judy Chetwin, Fire
Information Desk, NIFC]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Golden Spike NHS (UT) - The park currently has an opening for a term
GS-025-5/7 park ranger (protection). The vacancy announcement is listed
on USA Jobs as IMDE-02-78. The closing date is September 10th. This is a
great opportunity for any seasonal ranger looking for year-round work
starting this fall. This is a BAER position with primary duties
involving ARPA protection. In addition to protection duties, the ranger
hired for this position will also be involved with wildland fire
management and prescribed burn operations, informal interpretation, fee
collection, natural and cultural resources management, and EMS. Golden
Spike is a 2,735-acre historic site that receives an average of 48,000
visitors per year.  Housing and most amenities are available in the
nearby communities of Brigham City (pop. 15,600) and Tremonton (pop.
4,300), both about 30 miles from the park.  The Ogden/Layton area, 21
miles from Brigham City, has a combined population of over 200,000 and a
full range of amenities. For more information, contact Laura Chavers at
Denver Regional Personnel Office at 303-987- 6681, or the park's
administrative officer, Jan Seckel, at 435-471-2209, ext. 10. [Rick
Wilson, GOSP]

*  *  *  *  *

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

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