NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:           All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:         Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:     Friday, August 30, 2002

*** NOTICE ***

Please see "Operational Notes" below for an important note regarding an
extension of the uniform program closeout deadline.

INCIDENTS

02-428 - Blue Ridge Parkway (NC/TN) - Assault with Deadly Weapons

On the afternoon of August 25th, an Avery County police officer
contacted the park and reported a knife fight that had occurred the
previous evening at the Beacon Heights overlook. The police department
had learned of the fight when T.B., 47, showed up at the Cannon
Memorial Hospital in T.B. Elk with a severe laceration to his throat.
T.B. reported that he'd been attacked by D.G., 32, and that
D.G. had driven T.B. to the hospital parking lot and left him there.
T.B.'s 18-year-old son had also been at the overlook and had witnessed
the incident. Four rangers joined Avery County officers in the
investigation. D.G. was found and taken into custody and charged under
Title 18 with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit serious
bodily harm. Investigators subsequently determined that the two men had
attacked each other with knives or some other sharp weapons, so T.B.
is also being charged under the same 18 USC charge. Both were to appear
in court this past Monday. [John Garrison, LES, BLRI]

02-429 - Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP (GA/TN) - Kidnapping; Assault

On August 16th,  33-year-old S.E. of Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia,
reported having been kidnapped, then driven to the park and assaulted.
She'd waited three days to report the incident, which occurred on August
13th on the Chickamauga Battlefield. According to S.E., she was taken
into the park at gunpoint by her husband, K.E., after she
refused to assist him in cooking methamphetamine.  While inside the
park, the woman was beaten and struck on the head while on Alexander
Bridge Road, then forcibly removed from the vehicle and shot at. The
shooting was witnessed by visitors passing by, which caused S.E.'s
husband to force her back into the van and drive out of the park instead
of carrying out his stated plan to leave her in the woods after tying
her to a tree and cutting her to encourage insect bites. Once outside
the park, S.E.'s husband struck her several more times, then drove
back through the park and exited. He then forced her to stay with him
that night. The next day, while they stopped to get gas, she escaped,
but did not report the incident to authorities until she went for
medical treatment two days later. The FBI and Fort Oglethorpe Police
Department were called in to assist, and arrest warrants were obtained.
On August 17th, S.E.'s husband was located at a hotel in Fort
Oglethorpe, where he was arrested. During the arrest, pieces of a
methamphetamine lab were observed on the floor in the hotel room and a
revolver matching the description given by S.E. was also
recovered. A hazardous materials team was called in to clean up the
site. Ranger Eddy Cartaya is the lead investigator. [Sam Weddle, CR,
CHCH]

02-430 - Yosemite NP (CA) - MVA with Fatality

On the evening of Friday, August 16th, P.M., 47, of Merced,
California, died instantly when his vehicle hit a tree on South Side
Drive in Yosemite Valley in an unwitnessed collision. P.M.'s vehicle
was found on its side with the roof folded around a tree; his body was
trapped inside. Yosemite Valley structural firefighters had to cut the
roof off the car to extricate the body. Evidence indicates that alcohol
and speed were likely contributing factors. [Leslie Reynolds, PR/IC,
YOSE]

[Additional reports pending . . . ]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 4

Initial attack was heavy in the eastern Great Basin, moderate in the
Rockies and light elsewhere on Thursday. Only one of the 255
newly-reported fires has become a large fire, and another five were
contained. Some highlights from today's report:

*     The Biscuit Fire on the Siskiyou and Six Rivers NF's has burned
499,780 acres and is 90% contained. Full containment is expected
tomorrow. 
*     The Tiller Complex on the Umpqua NF (68,686) is now 85% contained.
It should be fully contained by Monday.
*     Fire activity on the three big fires burning in Arizona - Lakes
Complex (4,289 acres), Pack Rat Complex (2,500 acres), and Trick Fire
(5,470 acres) - has been moderate, permitting crews to make substantial
progress.
*     Rain fell on the Mt. Zirkel Complex fires. Just under 31,000 acres
have burned on the two fires in the complex.

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 - Maine.
*     Removed since last report - None.

National Resource Commitments

Day                Thu     Fri     Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue     Wed     Thu
Date               8/22    8/23    8/24    8/25    8/26    8/27    8/28    8/29
====================================================================================
                         
Crews              567     449     435     399     374     386     366     335
Engines            936     773     772     746     583     648     678     548
Helicopters        157     138     147     146     130     143     143     128
Air Tankers        1       0       0       1       1       1       3       2
Overhead           4,699   4,142   4,006   3,891   3,542   3,787   3,889   3,536

National Team Commitments

Area Command Teams

Chesley            Large fires on the Umpqua NF, OR
Williams-Rhodes    Biscuit Fire, Siskiyou/Six Rivers NR's, OR

Type 1 Teams

Frye               Biscuit Fire, Siskiyou/Six Rivers NF's, OR
Vail               Biscuit Fire, Siskiyou/Six Rivers NF's, OR
Melton             Tiller Complex, Umpqua NF, OR
Hefner             Lakes Complex, Santa Fe NF, NM
Humphrey           Pack Rat Complex, Coconino NF, AZ
Gelobter           Mt. Zirkel Complex, Routt NF, CO
Bennett            On order for Mt. Zirkel Complex, Routt NF, CO

Type 2 Teams

Broyles             Trick Fire, Kaibab NF, AZ
Morcom              Biscuit Fire, Siskiyou/Six Rivers NF's, OR
Carlson             Apple Fire, Umpqua NF, OR
Sisk                Pass Creek Fire, Shoshone NF, WY
Suwyn               Johnson Fire, Fishlake NF, UT
Van Bruggen         Cottonwood Fire, Fishlake NF, UT

Fire Use Management Teams

Cones               Quartz Mountain Complex, Okanogan NF, WA
Cook                Big Fish Fire, White River NF, CO/Lost Lakes Fire, Routt NF, CO
Zimmerman           Frank Church Complex, Salmon-Challis NF, ID

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for gusty northeast winds and low
relative humidity for southwestern Oregon tonight.

Park Fire Situation

Yellowstone NP (WY/MT/ID) - The park is managing five small fires for
wildland fire use. Rain fell on the Phlox and Flat Mountain Fires and
neither is now showing any activity.

Grand Teton NP (WY) - A new, single-tree lightning start was suppressed
Wednesday north of the Jenny Lake loop road.

Bandelier NM (NM) - A strong lightning storm on Wednesday afternoon
produced three smokes. Only one fire - the Helmet Fire - was found, and
it was contained at a quarter acre.

Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Three new six- to seven-acre fires have been
reported in remote locations. Initial suppression actions have been
taken by smokejumpers.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP's (CA) - The park is managing three wildland
fire use fires that have collectively burned about 200 acres. Three
other fires have been contained.

Yosemite NP (CA) - The park is managing six wildland fire use fires that
have so far burned 772 acres. Two other fires, each less than two acres,
have shown little activity and are being monitored.

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; Warren Bielenberg, Fire
Information Desk, NIFC]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Important Uniform Program Information - The contracting officer for the
NPS uniform contract has sent out the following note: "Due to unforeseen
difficulties, the uniform website for ordering uniform components is not
in service. The notification to employees identifies the last day to
order uniform components is August 31, 2002. We are aware of everyone's
frustration in not being able to access the website. We are actively
working on alternative solutions to ordering for the end of this fiscal
year. As soon as alternative procedures have been established they will
be forwarded to you. Again, we are aware of your concerns so please be
patient. We will have solutions and information for you later today." It
appears that the ordering period will be extended through next
Wednesday, but no final determination has been made yet. Stay tuned for
further details. [Dennis Burnett, RAD/WASO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/TN/AL) - The park is seeking three motivated
people to join a team of rangers who collectively patrol 444 miles of
parkway through three states, various ecosystems, and significant
cultural resource areas.  Vacancy announcement (NATR-02-20) has been
issued for three GS-5/7/9 law enforcement rangers and closes September
5th. One position is located in the Meriwether Lewis District
approximately 70 miles from Nashville, Tennessee. The remaining two
positions are in the Ridgeland District near the state capital of
Jackson, Mississippi. All three positions offer an interesting variety
of front-line law enforcement experiences and job duties that reflect
the rich natural and cultural heritage of the area. Rangers at the park
investigate wildlife and ARPA related crimes, serve as wildland
firefighters, provide emergency medical services, patrol a national
scenic trail and multiple use trails, and provide for public safety at a
variety of special events held up and down the parkway. [Jackie Henman,
ACR, NATR]

*  *  *  *  *

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

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