INCIDENTS

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Servicewide
Operation July Fourth

Preparations continue for several major Fourth of July events in the parks. In order to manage these events and establish priorities for resources, Director Mainella has delegated authority to the national incident management team (Skip Brooks, IC) to act as an area command in the management of these events and any other serious incidents that may occur during the coming week. The area command is managing the coordination, mobilization and assignment of critical resources for scheduled events and for unplanned Type 1 or Type 2 incidents, excluding fire. Type 2 teams are in place at Mount Rushmore NM (Central Team, Sherrie Collins, IC), Independence NHP (East Team, Rick Brown, IC), and Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Pacific West Team, Felicia Probert, IC). Reports from those parks follow:

• Mount Rushmore NM — A helitack crew from Yellowstone hauled several loads of fireworks to the top of Mount Rushmore yesterday as preparations continue for Thursday night's display.
• Jefferson National Expansion Memorial — Fair Saint Louis preparatory work continues. Park staff continue putting last minute touches on the grounds, event organizers are erecting stages, and the PWR IMT is organizing equipment and training for the security entrance gates and preparing contingency plans. After last year's low attendance numbers, it's unknown whether visitation will return to the one million plus numbers of years past. It is hoped that the air shows, national musical acts and minimally-disruptive entrance security activities will entice visitors to the event, which begins on July 3rd at 3 p.m. On June 30th, a St. Louis city park ranger working as a security guard shot and critically wounded a teenager that he said was trying to steal his car. The incident did not involve NPS rangers or anyone else working at the memorial.
• Independence NHP — The Eastern IMT under Rick Brown is in place in Philadelphia for the grand opening of the National Constitution Center and related activities scheduled for this week. The ICP is set up in the Northeast Regional Office; most of the 80 plus outside resources are scheduled to check in on July 1st. The first major event of the week will be the "All American Evening on the Mall" on July 2nd. On July 3rd, the "National Constitution Convention Invitation Ball" is scheduled along with fireworks. July 4th will feature the opening ceremonies for the new National Constitution Center, the Liberty Medal presentation to Supreme Court Justice O'Conner, and the "Let Freedom Ring" ceremony and speech by Justice Scalia. Dignitaries scheduled to attend include both of Pennsylvania's senators, Governor Rendel, Philadelphia Mayor Street, Supreme Court Justices O'Conner, Scalia, and Breyer, and Director Mainella. Entertainment will be provided by Richard Dreyfus and Ray Charles. The IMT is working with joint task force in the Philadelphia FBI office to gather intelligence on anticipated protest activities. The current prediction is for close to 4,000 protestors representing several organizations including the Circle of Islam, pro- and anti-abortion rights groups, MOVE, A.N.S.W.E.R, Green Peace, and Act Up.

Daily updates on the operation will appear in the Morning Report and InsideNPS through July 7th.

[Submitted by Bill Halainen, IO, ACT; Al Nash, IO, Central IMT; Peter Givens, IO, Eastern IMT; Pat Grediagin, Plans, Pacific West IMT]

Yosemite National Park (CA)
Rescue of Injured Concession Employee

On the afternoon of Tuesday, June 24th, dispatch received a 911cell phone call from K.K., a 20-year old new concession employee who had been in the park only a few days. K.K. reported that she was hiking by herself, had fallen near Hidden Falls, and had likely broken her leg. She told the dispatcher that she was wet, cold, and in a great deal of pain. Hidden Falls is located about a mile and a half up Tenaya Canyon from Mirror Lake. Most of that distance can be covered on a well-maintained trail, but the final half mile is over a rough, unmaintained social trail. A ten-person rescue team was sent and arrived on scene about 4:30 p.m. K.K. had a broken femur and her pain was immediately reduced when a traction splint was applied. She was packaged in a vacuum body splint, placed in a litter, and carried to an open area. Because of K.K.'s condition and the rough terrain, the litter was lifted out of the canyon on the hoist of a California Highway Patrol helicopter. K.K. was flown to Ahwahnee Meadow in Yosemite Valley where she was reloaded inside the CHP helicopter and then flown to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto for further treatment.
[Submitted by Jack Hoeflich, Field Team Leader]

Glacier National Park
Search in Progress for Missing Man

Rangers are investigating the whereabouts of a missing person after finding an abandoned 1998 dark blue GMC truck at the Rocky Point trailhead on the west shore of Lake McDonald. Truck owner L.T.K., 40, of Dorr, Michigan, is now reported as 'missing' by the sheriff's department in his home county. Rangers are seeking information or clues regarding L.T.K.'s whereabouts. He is described as 'tall and slender' at 6'1" tall, weighs approximately 150 to 160 pounds, has brown hair and eyes, and wears glasses. When last seen by family members, his hair was mid-shoulder length and worn in a ponytail and he was clean-shaven. L.T.K. reportedly smokes 'Swisher Sweets' cigars and may have been wearing black steel-toed work boots. No other information is known regarding his whereabouts or what he was wearing. The first verified report of the abandoned dual-wheeled truck was documented by park rangers during the third week of June. Once it was ascertained that the vehicle remained unattended overnight, rangers began monitoring daily. The truck was impounded by rangers on Monday, June 23rd. At that time, the vehicle's owner was identified and rangers made contact with relatives and authorities in Michigan to glean possible clues as to L.T.K.'s whereabouts. A park entrance receipt was located in the vehicle dated May 29, 2003, but no evidence or leads have been found as to L.T.K.'s activities or whereabouts between May 29th and mid-June. During the initial investigation, rangers determined that L.T.K. did not have a backcountry permit or camping equipment in the vehicle and that there were no records of him lodging recently in or near the park. L.T.K. is not known to have any summertime outdoor interests, nor was his travel itinerary known by any family members. While the investigation continues, rangers have been searching in the immediate area and on trails in the vicinity. On Friday, June 27th, a land-certified search dog team was brought into the Rocky Point area through cooperation with the Flathead County Sheriff's Office and Flathead County Search and Rescue. On Sunday, June 29th, a water-certified search dog team (two dogs and two handlers) from the Missoula County Sheriff's Office assisted rangers in searching the Lake McDonald area without providing any leads. A 'missing person' poster is been prepared and will be posted on park trailheads in the general vicinity of the Rocky Point trailhead and distributed elsewhere around the park.
[Submitted by Amy Vanderbilt, PIO]

Badlands National Park (SD)
Rescue of Heart Attack Victim

During the earlier afternoon of June 19th, rangers Mark Gorman, Aaron Kaye and Scott Lopez responded to a report of a park visitor experiencing severe chest pain, shortness of breath and numbness running down his left arm. They found him lying on a couch inside a mobile home parked in front of the Cedar Pass Lodge. Communication was established with the Rapid City Regional Hospital through the county sheriff's department, and a life flight helicopter from Rapid City was requested. The rangers provided emergency medical care, administered nitroglycerin tablets, and monitored his heart condition with he park's portable automatic external defibrillator (AED). Additional help arrived and secured a landing site for the responding life flight helicopter. With support from personnel from the Kadoka Ambulance Service, the man was secured to a backboard and prepared for the flight. The helicopter arrived a short time later and the patient was transported to the Rapid City Regional Hospital. ER staff told family members that he would not have survived if it had not been for the rapid intervention of park employees and for the life flight transport. He remains unstable and will require heart surgery.
[Submitted by Mark Gorman, District Ranger, Cedar Pass District]

Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Rescue of Heart Attack Victim

On June 18th, rangers responded to a report of a 66-year-old male hiker with chest pain near the Tower area. Advanced cardiac life support was begun and he was transported to Lake Clinic by NPS ambulance. While en route, he suddenly went into full cardiac arrest. Ranger-medics Matt Vandzura and Collette Daigle-Berg were able to successfully defibrillate and resuscitate the man, only to have him go into full arrest again approximately 300 yards farther down the road. Vandzura and Daigle-Berg again successfully defibrillated and resuscitated him. They were assisted by rangers Mike Cole and Boone Vandzura. The trip to the clinic then continued. The man regained consciousness as he was being loaded on a medevac helicopter for a flight to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. He remains hospitalized but appears to be making a full recovery.
[Submitted by Rick Obernesser, Chief Ranger]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Tuesday, July 1, 2003

Preparedness Level 3

The preparedness level has gone up one step. Preparedness Level 3 goes into effect when the following conditions are met: Two or more geographic areas experiencing incidents requiring a major commitment of national resources. Additional resources are being ordered and mobilized through NICC. Incident management teams are committed in two or more areas, or 275 crews are committed nationally.

Initial attack was moderate in California and the northern Rockies and light elsewhere, with 156 new fires reported. Five new large fires were reported — four in southern California and one in the Northwest. Five large fires were contained — three in southern California and one each in the Northwest and Southwest.

Fire Danger

Day	6/26	6/27	6/28	6/29	6/30	7/1
Alaska	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Arizona	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
California	--	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Colorado	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Hawaii	--	--	VX	VX	VX	VX
Idaho	--	--	--	--	--	VX
Montana	--	--	--	--	--	VX
Nevada	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
New Mexico	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Oklahoma	VX	VX	VX	VX	--	VX
Oregon	--	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Texas	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Utah	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Washington	--	--	--	VX	--	VX
Wyomong	--	--	--	--	--	VX

VH — Very high
EX — Extreme
VX — Very high to extreme

Fire Weather Watches and Warnings

FIRE WEATHER WATCHES have been issued for strong winds and low relative humidity in portions of southeastern Idaho and for dry lightning and low relative humidity in portions of northern Idaho and western Montana.

RED FLAG WARNINGS have been issued for strong winds and low relative humidity for west-central and southwestern Utah and portions of southwestern Idaho and for strong southwest winds and low relative humidity in north central Nevada.

National Resource Commitments

Day	6/25	6/26	6/27	6/28	6/29	6/30	7/1
Crews	130	155	157	172	177	149	221
Engines	110	163	246	228	194	205	427
Helicopters	46	48	60	39	43	64	77
Air Tankers	0	1	1	1	2	1	1
Overhead	1,571	1,686	1,716	1,163	1,159	1,178	1,889

National Team Commitments

New team commitments indicated in bold face.

State	Type Team	Team IC	Fire/Location	Acres	Percent Contain	Est Full Contain
AZ	T1	Kvale	Aspen Fire Coronado NF	40,500	65%	UNK
CA	CDF	Kerrigan	Tejon Fire Kern County	1,200	70%	7/1
AZ	T2	Raley	Helen 2 Fire Saguaro NP	3,498	100%	CND
NM	T2	Mullinex	Jenny Fire Gila NF	6,400	70%	UNK
OR	T2	Hoff	Davis Fire Deschutes NF	14,000	40%	7/5
CA	T2	Wendt	Friday Fire Six Rivers NF	485	90%	7/1
UT	T2	Suwyn	Apex Fire State Lands	22,000	0%	UNK
NM	T2	Bradley	Seco Fire Gila NF	5,300	25%	UNK
NM	FUM	Duncan	Dry Lakes Complex Gila NF	39,020	0%	UNK
AZ	FUM	Cook	Powell Fire Grand Canyon NP	2,440	0%	UNK
UT	FUM	Bonefeld	Woodenshoe Fire Manti-LaSal NF	750	0%	UNK

Saguaro National Park (AZ)
Helen 2 Fire (Wildland Fire)

On Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., dry lightning strikes ignited the Helen #2 Fire located in the Rincon Mountains north of Helen's Dome and west of Spud Rock. The fire is at an elevation of 7,300 - 8,400 feet and is burning on the ground in oak/pine and mixed coniferous forests (full report)
Demobilization of firefighters has begun. Hand line rehabilitation continues on all divisions of the fire. No major injuries have occurred.
Status
Trailheads Closed: Douglas Spring Trailhead and Parking Lot (at the east end of Speedway Blvd) will be closed due to helicopter support operations. However, the Douglas Spring Trail will be open up to the Douglas Spring Campground and can be accessed from the Wildhorse Trailhead. Trails Closed: Douglas Spring Trail from Douglas Spring Campground south Turkey Creek Trail Trails Partially Closed: Manning Camp Trail east of Grass Shack Campground Cow Head Saddle Trail east of Cow Head Saddle Heartbreak Ridge/Arizona Trail north of Rincon Creek Trail Italian Springs Trail south of the Forest Service boundary Campgrounds Closed: Manning Camp Campground Spud Rock Spring Campground
Acreage: 3,500
Resources Committed: 4 Type II Helicopters 2 Type III Helicopter 13 Hotshot crews 4 Hand crews Total of 591 personnel on scene
Estimated containment date: Estimated 7/1/2003[Submitted by Chuck Scott, chuck_scott@nps.gov, 520 733-5130]

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Atwood Prescribed Fire (Prescribed Fire Treatment)

A helicopter and hand-held drip torches will be used to ignite the burn over approximately 7 days. Ignitions will begin at the top of the segment and work down to the road. (full report)
Currently, fire crews are using a helicopter to ignite the interior portion of the Atwood Prescribed Fire. By the end of the day (June 30), approximately 1,800 acres will be complete. Mangers plan to finish igniting the burn unit tomorrow. Firefighters will remain on scene at least through the end of the holiday weekend for mop-up and patrol.
Status
The Mineral King Road will remain open, but might have short delays. The trail from Atwell Mill to Paradise Peak will be closed. The Atwell Mill Campground will be open.
Acreage: 1,800 acres (out of 2,450 total)
Resources Committed: Fire crews at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks appreciate the assistance they are receiving from other California national parks and national forests. Fire personnel and equipment from Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Yosemite National Park, and the Inyo National Forest are (or have been) assigned to the Atwood project.
Estimated containment date: Possibly by July 1, 2003[Submitted by Jody Lyle, jody_lyle@nps.gov, (559) 565-3703]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

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Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site (NY)
GS-5/7/9 Protection Ranger

The park has an immediate opening for a lateral reassignment to a permanent full-time GS-5/7/9 protection ranger position. This is a 6(c) position and requires a Level I or II law enforcement commission. Government housing is not currently available, but may be within the next year to 18 months. ROVA is made up of three parks — Vanderbilt Mansion NHS, Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, and the Home of Franklin Roosevelt NHS — encompassing over 1,000 acres in Hyde Park. The parks are within the New York City pay scale area. Primary duties include vehicle and bike patrol, building security, and trail patrol. A major new visitor center is due to open this fall in conjunction with the FDR Presidential Library. For further information, contact chief ranger Bruce Edmonston at 845-229-9380 or personnel officer Deanna Kette at 845-229-9115. Fax applications can be sent to 845-229-9381
[Submitted by Bruce Edmonston, Chief Ranger]

Intermountain Region
GS-6 Space Management Assistant

Dates: 06/24/2003 - 07/14/2003

Space Management Assistant (OA) GS -6

ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAM CENTER (APC)

This position is located in Lakewood, Colorado. The incumbent serves as the Space Management Assistant responsible for providing administrative and office support. Duties include the following: CONFERENCE CENTER Responsible for scheduling and coordinating the Denver NPS Conference Center events; BUILDING MANAGEMENT: Assists with building management by notifying lessor of maintenance or building problems as required; and OFFICE SUPPORT: Receives telephone calls and visitors to the office, answering routine or nontechnical inquiries personally, based on own knowledge or information available in the office records, and referring other matters to the supervisor or appropriate staff specialist.

This job is being advertised under both merit promotion (HRF 03-072 MPP) and all sources (HRF 03-073 DEU). It is a permanent, full-time Government housing is not available. Please go to www.usajobs.opm.gov to view the full vacancy announcement. If you'd like more information or have questions, please feel free to contact Space Management (303) 969-2771.
[Submitted by Susan Speakman] More Information...

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.