Servicewide
Operation July Fourth
Preparations continue for several major Fourth of July events in the parks. Overseeing the events under a delegation of authority from the director is Skip Brooks' national incident management team. The team 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 — Groundwork for the park's Independence Day celebration is in its final stages. The majority of additional personnel who will be supporting the operation arrived yesterday and preparations are kicking into high gear. Local media interest has been high; regional television and print media visited the fireworks launching area on the top of Mount Rushmore yesterday. Extensive briefings will be held over the next couple days to familiarize all personnel and cooperating partners with operational plans. A lockdown of the entire park will occur at midnight on July 2nd so that security equipment can be installed. The park will reopen at 7 a.m. on the morning of July 3rd.
- Jefferson National Expansion Memorial — The Pacific West IMT under Felicia Probert is in place in St. Louis in preparation for Fair St. Louis 2003: A Salute to Freedom. The ICP is located in the new park maintenance facility. Most of the expected 230 outside personnel staffing the event checked in on July 1st. Ten dog teams have been ordered to assist at entrance checkpoints. Checkpoint security training is scheduled for July 2nd. The fair opens on July 3rd with concerts by the Beach Boys and Brad Paisley. July 4th will feature performances by Pat Benatar and Michael McDonald and the Veiled Prophet parade through downtown St. Louis during the afternoon. On July 5th, there will be concerts by Jo Dee Messina and the Isley Brothers. The fair will provide air shows, patriotic band concerts, and evening fireworks on all three days. The IMT is working jointly with park staff, the St. Louis Police Department and Fair St. Louis organizers to provide a safe and orderly environment for the public to enjoy Fair St. Louis 2003.
- Independence NHP — The 80 plus personnel who will staff this event checked in yesterday and attended a major briefing that took place at 1 p.m. All agencies associated with the grand opening of the National Constitution Center and related July 4th events participated in the briefing. The incident command post operated out of the Northeast Regional Office through yesterday, but will probably move to the Free Quaker Meeting House sometime during the day today to be closer to the major scheduled activities. The list of dignitaries scheduled to attend has not changed and includes both of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senators; Governor Rendel; Philadelphia Mayor Street; U.S. Supreme Court Justices O'Conner, Scalia, and Breyer; and Director Mainela. Entertainment will be provided by Richard Dreyfus and Ray Charles. A joint news conference was held with city officials yesterday afternoon.
Daily updates on the operation will appear in the Morning Report and
InsideNPS through July 7th.
[Submitted by Bill Halainen, IO, Area
Command Team; Shauna Dyas, IO, Pacific West IMT; Rick Jones, IO, Central
IMT; Peter Givens, IO, Eastern IMT]
Grand Teton National Park (WY)
Climbing Fatality in Garnet Canyon
On Saturday, June 21st, a search effort involving more than 36
searchers from Grand Teton National Park, Teton County Search and
Rescue, Exum Mountain Guides and two interagency helicopters culminated
in the discovery of the body of missing 23-year-old climber N.B.
of Stevensville, Michigan. N.B. had been reported missing on Friday,
June 20th, at 9:30 p.m. by her traveling companion, D.H., of
Walled Lake, Michigan. The two had been camping and hiking together in
the park for four days before deciding to climb the Middle Teton via the
Southwest Couloir on Friday. At the base of the Middle Teton, the two
separated when N.B. went to explore a waterfall near Spalding Falls.
D.H. continued into the South Fork of Garnet Canyon, where he
joined two other mountaineers. After climbing the Middle Teton,
D.H. returned over the same route to look for N.B.. When a storm
front moved in, D.H. hiked out of the canyon, returned to the
campsite at the Jenny Lake campground, and reported N.B. missing to
park dispatch. Two park rangers equipped with rescue and medical gear
hiked up Garnet Canyon to the place where N.B. was last seen and
searched for her all night. At first light on Saturday, the park
launched a major search effort. At 5 p.m., one of the search teams
located N.B.'s body in the South Fork of Garnet Canyon at the base of a
steep, snow-filled gully. N.B. fell approximately 800 feet from the
crest of the East Ridge of Middle Teton and died of massive trauma from
the fall. Dan Burgette was the incident commander. This marks the
first mountain fatality in the park this year.
[Submitted by Bill
Holda, Acting Chief Ranger]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Assist with Violent Person
Park dispatch received numerous 911 calls on the morning of June 19th
reporting a domestic violence incident in progress in Cooke City,
Montana, just outside of the park's northeast entrance. According to the
reports, a man armed with a knife had — among other things —
slashed tires on the victim's vehicle and threatened violence against
any responding officers. Four North District rangers and the chief
ranger responded from distances as far as 50 miles away. They were armed
with rifles, a taser and a shotgun loaded with beanbag rounds. Working
as a team, they assisted the sole Park County deputy in taking the man
into custody without incident. He was booked on multiple state charges,
including domestic violence and criminal damage.
[Submitted by Brian
Smith, Supervisory Special Agent]
Fire Island National Seashore (NY)
Boating Safety Enforcement Operation
Over this past weekend, seven agencies participated in a joint
boating safety enforcement operation in Suffolk County waterways,
including park waters. This multi-agency effort enabled the law
enforcement community to maximize its efforts in promoting boating
safety. Participating in the operation were the Suffolk County Marine
Bureau, New York State Park Police, New York State Environmental
Conservation Marine Police, United States Coast Guard, Islip Harbor
Police, Babylon Bay constable and the National Park Service. A total of
431 recreational vessels were inspected and 229 violations were issued.
Voyages of 12 vessels were terminated for failure to have required basic
safety equipment and one person was arrested for boating while
intoxicated.
[Submitted by Wayne Valentine, Chief Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Wednesday, July 2, 2003
Preparedness Level 3
Initial attack was moderate in California and the northern Rockies Areas and light elsewhere. Overall, 153 new fires were reported, including four new large fires — two in the Northwest, one in the Rocky Mountains, and two in northern California. Four large fires were contained, all in California.
Fire Danger
|
Day |
6/27 |
6/28 |
6/29 |
6/30 |
7/1 |
7/2 |
|
Alaska |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Arizona |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
California |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Colorado |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Hawaii |
-- |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Idaho |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
VX |
|
Montana |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
VX |
|
Nevada |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
New Mexico |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
-- |
|
Oklahoma |
VX |
VX |
VX |
-- |
VX |
-- |
|
Oregon |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Texas |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
-- |
|
Utah |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Washington |
-- |
-- |
VX |
-- |
VX |
VX |
|
Wyoming |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
VX |
VH — Very high
EX — Extreme
VX — Very high to extreme
Fire Weather Watches and Warnings
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been issued for winds and low relative humidity for portions of southeast Idaho.
A RED FLAG WARNING has been issued for winds and low relative humidity for southwest Utah.
National Resource Commitments
|
Day |
6/26 |
6/27 |
6/28 |
6/29 |
6/30 |
7/1 |
7/2 |
|
Crews |
155 |
157 |
172 |
177 |
149 |
221 |
197 |
|
Engines |
163 |
246 |
228 |
194 |
205 |
427 |
410 |
|
Helicopters |
48 |
60 |
39 |
43 |
64 |
77 |
60 |
|
Air Tankers |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Overhead |
1,686 |
1,716 |
1,163 |
1,159 |
1,178 |
1,889 |
1,160 |
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 |
41,500 |
70% |
UNK |
|
CA |
CDF |
Kerrigan |
Tejon Fire Kern County |
1,155 |
100% |
CND |
|
NM |
T2 |
Mullinex |
Jenny Fire Gila NF |
6,520 |
80% |
UNK |
|
OR |
T2 |
Hoff |
Davis Fire Deschutes NF |
16,100 |
50% |
7/5 |
|
CA |
T2 |
Wendt |
Friday Fire Six Rivers NF |
485 |
95% |
UNK |
|
UT |
T2 |
Suwyn |
Apex Fire State Lands |
28,500 |
35% |
7/7 |
|
WA |
T2 |
Jennings |
Fawn Peak/Sweet Grass Okanogan/Wenatchee NF |
105 |
0% |
UNK |
|
NM |
FUM |
Duncan |
Dry Lakes Complex Gila NF |
43,400 |
0% |
UNK |
|
AZ |
FUM |
Cook |
Powell Fire Grand Canyon NP |
2,835 |
0% |
UNK |
|
UT |
FUM |
Bonefeld |
Woodenshoe Fire Manti-LaSal NF |
925 |
0% |
UNK |
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.