INCIDENTS

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02-457
Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL,MS)
Tropical Storm Hanna

Tropical Storm Hanna made landfall near Mobile on the morning of Saturday, September 14, with sustained winds of 50 mph and gusts reaching 65 mph. Over two inches of rain fell. Preliminary damage assessments were made that afternoon. Damage seems to be concentrated in the Florida district, with most of it inflicted on roofs and roads. A park contract aircraft attempted a recon flight on Saturday afternoon, but was diverted to assist Escambia County with the report of a double drowning on the park's boundary. Patrol rangers also assisted the county and Coast Guard with the associated search. One 18-year-old male is still missing, but his brother survived. Most park units reopened yesterday; Fort Pickens will open today after road repairs are completed. A detailed damage assessment, including costs, should be completed by late today.
[Submitted by Chief Rangers Office, Gulf Islands NS]

02-458
Yosemite National Park (CA)
Structural Fires

Yosemite Valley firefighters were dispatched to investigate a report of smoke in the women's restroom at the Huff House concession employee housing area near Curry Village on September 8. This is a temporary housing area set up after the 1997 flood to house concession employees. The first units to arrive confirmed that smoke was issuing from the building. Yosemite Concession Services Engine 7 was first to arrive and deployed a single line into the structure. NPS Engine 5 supplied a secondary line and started overhaul. The fire was contained to the area directly underneath a hot water heater. The water heater had malfunctioned, causing excessive heat to build at the base and burning a hole through the linoleum and plywood floor. No other damage occurred. Just after 5 a.m. on September 12, park dispatch received a 911 report of a tent on fire at Tuolumne Lodge. Local rangers were contacted and a structural engine dispatched from Yosemite Valley. The tent was unoccupied at the time, but the neighboring tent was not. The occupants of the neighboring tent were alerted to the fire by the sound of an aerosol container exploding and were able to escape without injury. Concession employees laid hose from the nearest fire hydrant and began attacking the fire. Before water could be applied, however, the neighboring tent caught fire. The fire was knocked down before the first NPS unit arrived. The two tents and contents were a total loss. The tents housed four concession employees who worked at the lodge. Most of the occupants had their summer savings and paychecks stored in metal cans within the tents. Loss was conservatively calculated at $4,000 for the two tents and about $10,000 for the contents. The cause is still under investigation.
[Submitted by Aaron J. Fritzer, Valley Station Captain, Yosemite NP]

02-459
Big Cypress National Preserve (FL)
Terrorism Alert

On Friday, September 13, I-75 in southwest Florida - popularly known as "Alligator Alley" - was closed from the western boundary of the park to Naples. The closure stemmed from a report of possible terrorism threats and the subsequent investigation of the occupants of vehicles associated with the threats. Traffic was rerouted through the park on the Tamiami Trail during the incident. The threats proved unfounded.
[Submitted by J.D. Lee, Chief Ranger, Big Cypress NP]

02-460
Natural Bridges National Monument (UT)
Rescue

On the afternoon of September 12, a park visitor reported having seen "two elderly hikers stuck in a flashflood" at the bottom of White Canyon. They were last seen "standing chest deep" in a swift current in the vicinity of Sipapu Bridge. The park had received over one inch of precipitation since 8 a.m. that morning and was experiencing heavy monsoon storm cells and lightening strikes at the time of the report. A rescue team led by chief ranger Ralph Jones entered White Canyon approximately ten minutes later, while maintenance chief Larry Turk remained on the canyon rim in order to maintain line-of-sight radio communications. Flood conditions forced Jones' team to traverse high-angle rock above the riverbed while searching for the hikers. Jones located the pair - two German nationals in their early 60's - on the opposite side of the river, approximately a quarter mile downstream from Sipapu Bridge. They were wet and cold, but otherwise in fair condition. Rangers were able to extricate the husband by fording floodwaters and roping up for the climb out of White Canyon. His wife was much weaker, however, and had to ford the river three times in order to reach easier terrain upstream. When she began having trouble negotiating wet slickrock with her footwear, a park rescuer swapped out her own hiking boots for the woman's tennis shoes. After safely returning to the Sipapu Bridge parking lot, the two non-English speaking visitors profusely thanked their rescuers with hugs and handshakes. Park visitors are cautioned to avoid trails linking the canyons' bridges during periods of precipitation. Due to language barriers, the couple had missed both verbal and signed information to that effect. The incident has prompted staff to evaluate additional strategies for improving cross-cultural communication.
[Submitted by Greg Dudgeon, Superintendent, Natural Bridges NM]

02-461
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (OH)
Employee Drug Arrest

On July 18, rangers Mike Wilson and Mike Fuller cited park seasonal maintenance employee C.M. for possession and use of marijuana while on duty. Wilson and Fuller were conducting surveillance of a parking lot where a string of car clouts had occurred when they saw C.M. indulging in the illicit drug. A subsequent search of his NPS dorm room lead to the discovery of drug paraphernalia and several firearms. His employment was subsequently terminated.
[Submitted by Dale Silvis, District Ranger, Cuyahoga Valley NP]

02-462
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (OH)
Drug Arrest

Rangers Mike Fuller and Mike Wilson issued 15 drug- and alcohol-related citations and made one arrest for possession of cocaine during the Ozzy Osbourne rock festival held at a nearby outdoor amphitheater. Several bags of marijuana were seized along with drug scales, pipes and other paraphernalia. During the cocaine arrest, a videotape was seized which showed those arrested making a drug buy en route to the park.
[Submitted by Dale Silvis, District Ranger, Cuyahoga Valley NP]

02-463
Castillo De San Marcos National Monument (FL)
Special Event: Visit by Attorney General

02-463 - Castillo de San Marcos NM (FL) - Special Event: Visit by Attorney General

On Sunday, September 8, Attorney General John Ashcroft and his wife Janet visited and toured the park. Security was provided by the FBI.
[Submitted by Gordie Wilson, Superintendent, Castillo de San Marcos NM]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 2

The preparedness level has done down one step. Preparedness Level 3 drops to Preparedness Level 2 when all large fires are contained. Initial attack resources are again available. Geographic area crew availability is at or above the 50% level. No red flag conditions are forecast for the next 24 hours and large fire areas are expected to receive wetting showers with associated higher humidity and lower temperatures.

Initial attack was light everywhere on Sunday. Only one of the 108 newly-reported fires escaped initial attack. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in the following states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

National Resource Commitments

Day	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Date	9/8	9/9	9/10	9/11	9/12	9/13	9/14	9/15
Crews	188	142	148	175	114	103	99	91
Engines	386	315	406	250	196	175	243	202
Helicopters	68	50	62	66	62	46	44	47
Air Tankers	5	3	7	4	2	0	2	1
Overhead	2,247	2,002	1,720	1,701	1,615	1,025	1,330	1,251

National Team Commitments

State	Type Team	Team IC	Fire/Location	Acres 9/14	Acres 9/15	Percent Contain	Est. Full Contain
WA	ST	Johnson/ Barnett	Ewe Neck, Washington State	------	100	85	9/17
WA	FUMT	Cones	Quarts Mountain Complex, Okanogan NF	------	4,922	0	UNK

Park Fire Situation

No reports today.

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.