September 11th Commemoration
President Bush has ordered all flags to be lowered to half staff
tomorrow, September 11th, in commemoration of the victims of
last year's attack on America. For the full text of the proclamation, go
to
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/09/20020904-10.html.
NPS staff: Please also see the front page of InsideNPS today for
President Bush's Patriot Day proclamation.
INCIDENTS
01-310
Saguaro National Park (AZ)
Follow-up: Resource Destruction, Resisting Arrest
On July 22nd, R.B., 42, of Tucson pled guilty in
federal district court to felony assault on a federal officer (18 USC
111) and was sentenced to five months in federal prison and a year's
supervised probation. R.B. also pled guilty to damaging government
property (18 USC 1361) for the significant damage and destruction he
inflicted on park natural resources and was ordered to pay criminal
restitution in the amount of $61,611 - a record sum - to the park. R.B.
was arrested by rangers in May, 2001, after he'd driven his vehicle
cross-country through the park and resisted arrest before being
pepper-spayed and safely handcuffed.
[Submitted by Robert E.
Stinson, District Ranger, Saguaro NP]
02-444
Cape Lookout National Seashore (NC)
Tropical Storm Gustav
02-444 - Cape Lookout NS (NC) - Tropical Storm Gustav
The park has implemented its emergency weather evacuation plan in
anticipation of the arrival of Tropical Storm Gustav. All passenger
ferry services to the islands have been terminated, and all overnight
guests and staff have been evacuated. The park is closed to visitors;
all services are shut down until further notice. Emergency preparations
were completed by 2 p.m. yesterday, at which time staff were dismissed
to attend to personal property. A tropical storm warning is in effect
for the coast from Cape Fear to Currituck Beach Light, which includes
all of the park. Wouter Ketel, the park's chief ranger, is IC.
[Submitted by Bob Vogel, Superintendent, Cape Lookout NS]
02-445
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (AZ,NV)
Drowning
On September 1st, T.D., 21, of El Mirage,
Arizona, was swimming in the lake with a friend while holding onto a
life jacket. T.D. took in a breath, released the life jacket, and
submerged. When he failed to resurface, his friend called for help. A
ranger/diver located Dinsesen in 40 feet of water within a minute of
entering the lake. He was brought to the surface and advanced life
support was begun. T.D. was then transferred by boat to a waiting
Mercy Airlife helicopter at the Calville Bay Marina. Following
consultation with physicians, T.D. was pronounced dead at the marina.
The coroner has ruled the death to have been an accidental drowning.
This is the seventh drowning in the park within the past five weeks and
the seventeenth fatality at Lake Mead this year.
[Submitted by
Paul Crawford, Special Agent, Lake Mead NRA]
02-446
Rock Creek Park (DC)
Suicide Attempt; Rescue
Interpretive ranger Ron Harvey noticed a gold Chevy Suburban parked
illegally on the creek bank near historic Peirce Mill on Thursday,
September 5th. Something about the vehicle struck him as odd,
so he contacted the Park Police. Park Police officers found a woman in
the car, smoking crack cocaine and armed with a loaded handgun. They
were able to subdue the woman, who was planning to kill herself, and
take her in for medical evaluation. Harvey's alert response may have
helped save the woman's life.
[Submitted by Laura Illige,
Chief Ranger, Rock Creek Park]
02-447
Big Cypress National Preserve (FL)
Apparent Suicide
On the morning of August 30th, rangers checked on a
vehicle which had been parked in the Burn's Lake campground for over 24
hours. A computer check of the registration came back with a "be on the
lookout" message for the driver, a man from Fort Myers, Florida. He'd
reportedly left his home with two handguns with the intent to commit
suicide. A search was begun. The pilot of the park's helicopter soon
spotted what appeared to be a man lying in the swamp about 200 yards
from the vehicle. Rangers found the man, who displayed no sings of life
and had a single gunshot wound to his chest. A handgun was lying beside
him. He was identified as the missing man.
[Submitted by J.D.
Lee, Chief Ranger, Big Cypress NP]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation
National Fire Situation
Preparedness Level 3
Initial attack was light everywhere on Sunday. Sixty new fires were reported. Only two of these became large fires; two other large fires were contained. Some highlights from Monday's report:
- The Curve Fire on the Angeles NF is now 65% contained. Full containment is expected today.
- The Kraft Spring Complex on the Custer National Forest has been fully contained at 69,900 acres.
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 - Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Washington.
- Removed since last report - None.
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
| Date |
9/1 |
9/2 |
9/3 |
9/4 |
9/5 |
9/6 |
9/7 |
9/8 |
| Crews |
444 |
305 |
307 |
333 |
281 |
263 |
223 |
188 |
| Engines |
706 |
464 |
589 |
605 |
579 |
468 |
446 |
386 |
| Helicopters |
134 |
107 |
103 |
105 |
102 |
92 |
71 |
68 |
| Air Tankers |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
| Overhead |
3,295 |
2,551 |
2,611 |
2,463 |
2,468 |
2,623 |
2,426 |
2,247 |
National Team Commitments
New deployments indicated by asterisks.
Type 1 Teams
Studebaker Curve Fire, Angeles NF, CA
Bennett Mt. Zirkel Complex, Routt NF, CO
Type 2 Teams
Hartman Thompson Creek Fire, White River NF, CO
Gardner Office Bridge Fire, Willamette NF, OR
Fire Use Management Teams
Cook Big Fish Fire, White River NF, CO/Lost Lakes Fire, Routt NF, CO
[Submitted by NICC Incident Management Situation Report, National Interagency Fire Center]
Park Fire Situation
Grand Teton NP (WY) - Rain fell on the Grassy Fire on Friday. It's being managed for resource benefits.
Yellowstone NP (WY/MT/ID) - A storm that moved in on Friday and persisted through the weekend brought between three-quarters and two inches of rain to the park. This is probably a season-ending storm.
Mount Rainier NP (WA) - The ten-acre Boulder Fire was contained on Friday. A spot fire on Seymour Peak on the eastern border of the park south of Chinook Pass was smoldering on Friday, but the peak received snow over the weekend and no smoke was reported yesterday.
Yosemite NP (CA) - Activity on the 950-acre Wolf Fire decreased over the weekend due to moist conditions, but smoke is still visible from the Tioga Road near Siesta Lake. A sport fire east of the Harden Lake Road and north of White Wolf Campground is being monitored on a regular basis. The Lukens and Morrison Fires remain at 42 and 60 acres respectively. Little activity was reported on other fires.
Glacier NP (MT) - The park received three-quarters of an inch of rain over the weekend. Both the Reach Out and Soldier Fires remain quiet, but will not be declared out until the end of the season.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP's (CA) - The Quarry Fire will be declared out shortly. The Bubbs Creek Fire has been contained at 20 acres and is in patrol status. The 1,300-acre Palisades Fire will be monitored periodically via recon flights. The Slide Fire (70 acres) and Moraine Fire (three-quarters of an acre) remain in patrol status.
[Submitted by Tina Boehle, NPS Fire Management Program Center]
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.