02-431
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Major Drug Eradication Operation
Since this past June, park law enforcement officers have been involved
in an on-going investigation of marijuana cultivation on park lands.
Assistance in this investigation was provided by an interagency drug
task force. The investigation resulted in the discovery of six marijuana
gardens in the Sequoia District of the park - two in the South Fork
drainage of the Kaweah River and four in the river's East Fork drainage.
Tulare County Sheriff's Office narcotics officers discovered two more
gardens near the East Fork drainage sites just outside the park boundary
on Bureau of Land Management and Tulare County lands. Information
gathered by park law enforcement rangers during a surveillance operation
on two garden sites in the East Fork resulted in information which
associated those sites with a larger cultivation operation being run by
Mexican nationals. Numerous other garden sites in the Sierras are
associated with the same group. On August 20th, park law enforcement
officers eradicated 2,820 marijuana plants from the two South Fork
garden sites. No arrests were made and no suspects were identified. On
August 26th, an interagency operation coordinated by the park's special
agent resulted in the eradication of 17,600 marijuana plants from the
East Fork sites. An additional 3,100 plants were eradicated from
BLM/Tulare County jurisdictions. If allowed to mature, the plants from
both operations would have had a street value of just over $94 million.
The interagency operation involved 36 officers and 13 support personnel
from the park's fire and visitor management, resources management and
maintenance divisions. A California Highway Patrol helicopter provided
air support. The marijuana plants, associated debris and irrigation
hose were extricated from the garden by a California National Guard
helicopter. Participating in the operation along with park staff were
special response team members from Yosemite NP, a BLM special agent,
representatives from California DOJ, Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement
officers and county narcotic officers. The park SA was the IC on the
operation. Approximately 600 pounds of debris and a mile-and-a-half of
irrigation hose have been removed from the park sites. A semi-automatic
pistol, a rifle, shotgun ammunition and edged weapons were discovered in
the most recent operation. All gardens had campsites with evidence
indicating that the sites had been recently occupied. Officers saw two
men as they entered two of the gardens, but they fled and were able to
evade capture. Significant damage to park resources was observed at all
garden sites. Gardens were terraced on steep slopes, or individual holes
were dug for clusters of plants. Chemicals found on site included
ammonia and nitrate-based fertilizers; D-con was used to control insects
and strychnine for rodents. Food caches and associated debris were
evident. Evidence was also present that people in at least one the
camps were poaching wildlife for food. Bear scat found in the area
contained camp food. Plans are underway to rehabilitate damage to the
sites. Arrests are anticipated at a later date based on intelligence and
evidence collected by task force agents. [Al DeLaCruz, SA SEKI]
02-432
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Bear Incident
A park visitor was bitten by a bear while sleeping in his tent at a
designated backcountry campsite on the Sportsman Lake Trail in the
northwest section of the park on the evening of Friday, August 30th.
M.B. of Plano, Texas, had a two-day backcountry permit and was
staying his first night at his assigned campsite when the incident
occurred. He had set up camp and retired for the evening when he was
awakened by the bear biting him through the tent, ripping a hole through
it. M.B. screamed, frightening the bear away. Because M.B. did not
actually see the bear, it's not known whether it was a black or grizzly
bear. M.B. laid quite still for roughly an hour, listening for bear
activity, before exiting the tent. He then put his partially collapsed
tent back up and spent the remainder of the night there. At one point
during the night, he heard scratching noises near the tree where he had
hung his food. At daybreak, M.B. packed up his camp and hiked to the
Glen Creek Trailhead where his vehicle was parked. He then drove to
Mammoth Hot Springs and reported the incident to rangers. M.B.
received a puncture wound and a one-inch laceration to the right side of
his buttocks. He was treated and released from the Mammoth Hot Springs
Clinic. Strong bear warnings have been posted along the Sportsman Lake
Trail and overnight camping has been prohibited in this area. [Public
Affairs, YELL]
[Additional reports pending . . . ]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation
Preparedness Level 4
Initial attack was heavy in the Northwest, moderate in California and light elsewhere on Sunday. Three of the 159 newly-reported fires escaped initial attack and became large fires; two others were contained. Some highlights from yesterday's report:
• The Biscuit Fire on the Siskiyou and Six Rivers NF's is 92% contained. Full containment is now estimated for Friday, September 6th.
• The Curve Fire has burned 10,000 acres in the Angeles NF 30 miles north of Azusa. Extreme fire behavior has been reported, with flame lengths of up to 100 feet. Structure protection is in place for 200 homes; two residences have been lost.
• The Commissary Fire, located 20 miles north of Kemmerer, Wyoming, has exhibited extreme fire behavior, with 200-foot flames, fire whirls and spotting up to a half mile ahead of the front. A Type 2 team is assigned. Two subdivisions and a number of homes and cabins have been evacuated.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in the following states:
• Continued from last report - Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
• Added since last report - None.
• Removed since last report - New Mexico.
National Resource Commitments
Day Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Date 8/25 8/26 8/27 8/28 8/29 8/30 8/31 9/1
================================================================
Crews 399 374 386 366 335 367 361 444
Engines 746 583 648 678 548 538 574 706
Helicopters 146 130 143 143 128 148 120 134
Air Tankers 1 1 1 3 2 1 0 3
Overhead 3,891 3,542 3,787 3,889 3,536 3,526 2,967 3,295
National Team Commitments
Area Command Teams
Williams-Rhodes Biscuit Fire, Siskiyou/Six Rivers NR's, OR
Type 1 Teams
Studebaker Curve Fire, Angeles NF, CA
Dash Biscuit Fire, Siskiyou/Six Rivers NF's, OR
Lohrey Tiller Complex and Apple Fire, Umpqua NF, OR
Bennett Mt. Zirkel Complex, Routt NF, CO
Humphrey Pack Rat Complex, Coconino NF, AZ
Hefner Lakes Complex, Santa Fe NF, NM
Gelobter Mt. Zirkel Complex, Routt NF, CO
Type 2 Teams
Dietrich Lytle Fire, San Bernadino NF, CA
Sandman Commissary Ridge Fire, BLM Rock Springs District, WY
Sisk Pass Creek Fire, Shoshone NF, WY
Suwyn Johnson Fire, Fishlake NF, UT
Swope Kraft Spring Fire, Custer NF, MT
Gray Bull Elk Fire, Crow Agency, BIA, MT
State Teams
Furlong/Gormley Biscuit Fire, Siskiyou/Six Rivers NF's, OR
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
Park Fire Situation
Yellowstone NP (WY/MT/ID) - The Pebble and Daly Fires have been declared out. None of the park's six wildland use fires - five small fires, all under an acre, and the 3,600-acre Phlox Fire - have shown any significant activity.
Mount Rainier NP (WA) - The 10-acre Boulder Fire was still active on Sunday. The Cold Basin Fire was contained at two acres and the Eleanor Fire controlled at ten acres.
Glacier NP (MT) - The park has three small fires, none of which are showing any activity following a recent rainfall.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP's (CA) - The Bridge Fire, which was started by an escaped campfire, has been suppressed. The wildland fire use Palisade Fire has burned 1,160 acres. Heavy smoke is expected when the fire burns into a large pocket (50 to 100 acres) of old blow-down. The 70-acre Slide Fire and quarter-acre Moraine Fire are also being managed for wildland fire use. The Bubbs Creek and Quarry Fires are in patrol status. Four miles of the John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail remain closed, but hikers are being allowed to pass through with a firefighter escort when fire activity is low.
Yosemite NP (CA) - The park is managing six wildland fire use fires that have so far burned 907 acres. Two other fires, each less than two acres, have shown little activity and are being monitored.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Uniform Program Ordering Problems
Due to problems with the uniform contractor's web site, the date for ordering uniforms has been extended through Wednesday, September 4th. The web site will be closed down for the remainder of the year as of that date. Even though the contractor has had severed difficulties with its web site over the past week, please try this method of ordering first. Their internet address is www.uniformsolutions.com/lma (that's an "L" in "lma", not a "1"). If this fails, you can either fax in an order to 1-877-662-5328 or call customer service at 1-800-448-7968 from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT. Ordering can also be done by email at lmaorders@vfc.com. Faxed or emailed orders must be done on an order form which, unfortunately, can't be attached to the Morning Report. Please contact your regional uniform coordinator to obtain an email copy of the form(the file is named NPS FY02.xls). [RAD/WASO]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Pu'uhonua o Honaunau NHP (HI)
The park is interested in filling a PFT GS-9 vacancy for a protection ranger holding a Type I law enforcement commission, either via a direct GS-9 lateral reassignment or the timely promotion of a GS-7 to the GS-9 full performance level at the appropriate time. The person in this position will be duty stationed at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (PUHO) along the southern Kona coast of the "Big Island" of Hawaii, but on any given work day she/he may be involved in the day-to-day operations at Kaloko-Honokohau NHP (KAHO) along the northern Kona coast. Opportunities abound for immersion into the many facets of this multicultural melting pot. Along with so many positives, "Paradise" has its challenges. If interested in the details about the position, the parks, the cost of living, etc., call Les Inafuku, chief ranger, at 808-329-6881 ext. 205 at KAHO, or leave a message at 808-328-2326 at PUHO. [AO, PUHO)
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.