INCIDENTS

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02-467
White Sands National Monument (NM)
Follow-up on Search for Missing Visitor

On Saturday, September 21, two hikers discovered the body of a man tentatively identified as that of K.F., 29, a Japanese citizen who became lost in the park on September 9 or 10. He was found just over a mile southeast of Dunes Drive and nearly two miles south of his vehicle and the primary search area. The state medical investigator will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death and verify his identity. A fanny pack with various documents in K.F.'s name was found nearby. There was no evidence of foul play in the area where his remains were found.
[Submitted by Cliff Spencer, Chief Ranger, White Sands NM]

02-486
Kenai Fjords National Park (AK)
Search and Rescue

On Thursday, September 19, B.F., a contract researcher studying black bears on the park coast, became stranded on a rocky beach in the north end of Aialik Bay approximately 35 air miles southwest of Seward. B.F., working alone, had anchored his 18-foot, rigid-hulled inflatable boat off shore and climbed an adjacent ridge to retrieve a radio collar. Sustained winds of 30 knots, gusting to 45 knots, caused the boat to break free of its anchor and wash ashore on a nearby rocky ledge. The park's 53-foot vessel, the Serac, was in Aialik Bay to meet with B.F. and conduct other work. B.F. was determined to be overdue in late afternoon after he failed to meet the Serac and repeated attempts at radio contact failed. B.F. had failed to file a float plan, so the search area of about 100 square miles included all of Aialik Bay, a 19-mile-long fjord with numerous bays and coves. A local air service was utilized to overfly the search area and quickly located the stranded vessel. The Serac responded immediately to the location, and a crew of five went ashore and helped B.F. pull the boat off of the rocks and into the heavy surf, still driven by gusting 30- to 40-knot winds. Without this response, it is likely that the boat would have been significantly damaged or destroyed and B.F., working alone to free the vessel, could have been seriously injured as the surging incoming tide and wind driven waves pushed it into the rocks. Several violations of park safety and boating policy have been noted and will be addressed with B.F. and his employer.
[Submitted by Jim Ireland, Chief Ranger, Kenai Fjords NP]

02-487
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (TX)
Vacant House Burned by Arsonists

A vacant house on park property was vandalized and set on fire around midnight on Saturday, September 21. The building was a complete loss. The house had been purchased by a house moving company and was being prepared for removal from the property. Two men - an adult and a juvenile - were arrested by officers from the joint city-county gang unit as they fled from the area. Officers discovered a significant amount of blood on the outside of their vehicle and two purses on the vehicle's back seat, causing them to conclude that the fire might have been set to cover up a murder. The men claimed that the purses belonged to two runaway females who'd already fled and that the blood was from another person who'd cut himself while breaking out windows in the house. Arson investigators were eventually able to determine that there were no bodies in the building. The mayor of San Antonio was with the members of the recently created gang unit when the arrests took place, so media interest was significant. Both men admitted to setting the fire and remain in custody.
[Submitted by Dan Steed, Chief Ranger, San Antonio Missions NHP]

02-488
Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
Climber Killed by Falling Rock

A party of four climbers was ascending Disappointment Cleaver on Mount Rainier early on Monday morning when a falling rock struck and killed the last member of the rope team. The team was led by J.W. of Seattle, an experienced climber who is well-known in the climbing community. The stricken climber, E.H. of Duluth, Minnesota, was a double amputee who had successfully climbed Mount McKinley and was training for a bid on Everest. J.W. notified the park of the fatality by cell phone at 6:16 a.m. A helicopter transported climbing rangers Nick Giguere and Jeremy Shank to the top of Disappointment Cleaver. They climbed down to the accident scene at 11,750 feet to assist with retrieval of the dead climber. The body was flown off of the mountain by helicopter around noon. The surviving members of the climbing party climbed down to Camp Muir, the high camp at 10,200 feet, and were transported off of the mountain by helicopter.
[Submitted by Lee Taylor, Public Information Officer, Mount Rainier NP]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 2

Initial attack was again light in all areas on Monday. Sixty-seven new fires were reported; all but two were contained by initial attack.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in the following states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

National Resource Commitments

Day	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon
Date	9/16	9/17	9/18	9/19	9/20	9/21	9/22	9/23
Crews	88	96	87	116	83	83	76	126
Engines	192	173	217	315	183	178	174	242
Helicopters	50	35	40	33	23	23	36	41
Air Tankers	5	0	0	0	1	0	2	5
Overhead	1,046	1,013	955	969	615	494	554	853

National Team Commitments

State	Type Team	Team IC	Fire/Location	Acres 9/22	Acres 9/23	Percent Contain	Est. Full Contain
CA	T1	Raley	Williams Fire, Angeles NF	750	4,339	12	UNK

Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site (ND)
Park Fire Situation

On September 19, firefighters successfully completed the 179-acre North Prairie Rx Fire. The project goal was to enhance the prairie environment by reducing non-native vegetation, retarding the growth of woody vegetation, and reducing the buildup of thatch. A backing fire was used to effectively burn off these fuels. The North Prairie contains the finest stand of native prairie in the park and was last burned in 1997. This fire should further improve the habitat. Doug Alexander of MWRO was the burn boss; firefighters came from Knife River, Theodore Roosevelt NP, the Black Hills fire use module, Audubon NWR, the Nature Conservancy's Cross Ranch Nature Preserve, and Stanton VFD. This was the third prescribed fire in the park in the past twelve months.
[Submitted by Terry O'Halloran, Acting Superintendent, Knife River Indian Villages NHS]

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.