INCIDENTS

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Yosemite National Park (CA)
Rock Fall Injures Family Of Three

Around noon on Thursday, July 17th, a ranger at Glacier Point reported by radio that a large rockslide and dust plume could be seen near Panorama Cliff. A short time later, Yosemite dispatch received a cell phone call from a hiker on the John Muir Trail just below the base of Panorama Cliff, reporting that there were at least three injured hikers, including a baby. On-duty rangers responded immediately from Yosemite Valley and Little Yosemite Valley. A multiple casualty team made up of search and rescue team members, rangers from both the Valley District and Tuolumne Subdistrict, and trail and forestry crew members responded to the scene. The injured hikers were about two miles up the trail. The initial responders found R.G. and G.G. and their 21-month-old daughter in the rubble. About 250 feet of trail was covered with rocks up to four feet in diameter. R.G. reportedly had been struck in the back of the head by a basketball-sized rock. He was conscious, but extremely disoriented, and he could not see. G.G. and the baby had received minor back and leg injuries. Rudy was placed in a vacuum body splint and transported down the trail in a wheeled litter. G.G. and her daughter were transported together in another wheeled litter. The patients were met at the trailhead by ambulances. Rudy was transported to the Ahwahnee Meadow, and then flown by helicopter ambulance to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. G.G. and the infant were transported to the Yosemite Medical Clinic where they were treated and released later that day.
[Submitted by Jack Hoeflich, Valley District]

Yosemite National Park (CA)
Successful Search For Missing Hiker

On the morning of Saturday, July 6th, Tuolumne rangers took a report of a lost backpacker who had last been seen near 11,000 feet on Donahue Pass, headed into the park. H.S., 38, of Seattle, Washington, became separated from his hiking partner, Ken Mendoza, the previous day when they left the trail on a large snowfield above upper Lyell base camp. When H.S. did not catch up, Mendoza spent the remainder of the day and night looking for him with no success. On the following morning, Mendoza hiked out and reported the incident at Tuolumne. H.S. had minimal overnight gear for the elevation (nighttime temperatures in the low 30s), was inexperienced at backcountry travel, and was out of food. He also had some medical concerns. Searchers were flown into the area for containment via the park helicopter while other teams hiked in. The search continued all day and found no clues. An observer in the helicopter spotted H.S. off trail near Kuna Creek around 8 p.m. He was picked up and flown to Tuolumne Meadows. H.S. later told rangers that he had crossed the snow-covered trail and continued walking northeast along easy terrain under the belief that he would encounter the trail within a short time.
[Submitted by George Paiva, IC]

Kenai Fjords National Park (AK)
Rangers Assist On Homicide Investigation, Manhunt

On the evening of Saturday, July 19th, a local man was shot and killed at his residence about five miles north of Seward, just outside of the park. The suspect, an experienced hunter, immediately fled on foot into the adjacent heavy woods armed with a large caliber rifle. Rangers Jim Ireland and Richard Millsap responded to a mutual aid request from Alaska state troopers along with officers from the Forest Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Seward PD. The rangers and NMFS officer assumed perimeter security and control of the crime scene, allowing troopers to begin a hasty search of nearby residences and wooded areas. The rangers were released after about five hours, following the arrival of additional state officers. The intensive manhunt, which was in its third day on Monday, continues to focus on a residential subdivision about six miles north of Seward, which coincidentally includes the homes of nine park employees.
[Submitted by Jim Ireland, Chief Ranger]

Kenai Fjords National Park (AK)
Special Event: Visit by Attorney General

On Saturday, July 19th, Attorney General John Ashcroft visited the Exit Glacier area of the park. Sandy Brue, chief of interpretation, accompanied the group. The FBI coordinated security with local ranger staff. There were no incidents associated with the visit.
[Submitted by Jim Ireland, Chief Ranger]

Boston Area Parks
Special Event: Visit By Vice President's Wife

Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Cheney, visited several parks in Massachusetts with her daughter and grandchildren on July 18th and 19th. Security for the visit was coordinated by the Secret Service, with assistance from Northeast Region special agents and protection staff from both Boston NHP and Minuteman NHP. There were no incidents associated with the visit. Mrs. Cheney visited Minuteman NHP, Bunker Hill Monument, the Boston Freedom Trail, and Adams NHP.
[Submitted by Glenn Van Neil, Special Agent]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Preparedness Level 4

Initial attack on Tuesday was heavy in the Southwest, moderate in the Great Basin and light elsewhere. Eleven of the 327 newly-reported fires became project fires; another eleven were contained.

Fire Danger

Day	7/18	7/19	7/20	7/21	7/22	7/23
Alaska	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	VX
Idaho	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Montana	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	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	VX
Texas	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Utah	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Washington	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Wyoming	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX

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

Fire Weather Watches and Warnings

FIRE WEATHER WATCHES have been issued today for:

• Increasing winds, low humidity and isolated thunderstorms in northern Idaho and western Montana.
• Wind and low relative humidity in southeast and northeast Washington and the Columbia Basin from late this afternoon through this evening.

National Resource Commitments

Day	7/17	7/18	7/19	7/20	7/21	7/22	7/23
Crews	406	381	394	449	502	536	535
Engines	608	745	801	814	1,034	1,085	881
Helicopters	127	103	142	155	176	164	176
Air Tankers	3	1	3	3	2	3	4
Overhead	3,126	3,080	3,050	3,212	2,952	3,159	3,528

National Team Commitments

New team commitments or changes in teams are indicated in bold face.

State	Type Team	Team IC	Fire/Location	Acres	Percent Contain	Est Full Contain
AZ	T1	---	Kinishba Fire Fort Apache Agency	24,250	90%	7/26
WA	T1 ST	Anderson/ Furlong/ Ghormley	Fawn Peak Complex Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	54,891	35%	UNK
MT	T1	Bennett	Wedge Canyon Fire Flathead NF	4,250	5%	UNK
MT	T1	Frye	Frog Pond Fire Bitterroot NF	4,000	0%	UNK
ID	T1	Martin	Cramer Fire Salmon-Cahllis NF	1,000	0%	UNK
ID	T1	Sexton	Hot Creek Fire Boise NF	4,000	0%	UNK
CA	ST1	Henson	Parkhill Fire San Luis Obispo	1,200	100%	CND
CA	ST1	Marshall/ Joseph	Coyote Fire Monta Vista Unit	18,705	90%	7/23
CA	T2	Wendt	Smoke Fire N. Cal. District, BLM	3,500	0%	UNK
CO	T2	Saleen	Maverick Fire West Slope Center, BLM	150	0%	UNK
CO	T2	Saleen	JB Fire West Slope Center, BLM	1,007	60%	7/24
MT	T2	Swope	Big Creek Fire Bitterroot NF	916	0%	UNK
ID	T2	Muir	Crystal Creek Fire Salmon-Challis NF	1,000	0%	UNK
CA	T2	Hefner	Chilcoot Complex Tahoe NF	700	0%	7/24
AZ	T2	Rios	Blue River Complex Apache-Sitgreaves NF	18,537	70%	UNK
CO	T2	Perkins	Bolt Fire Southern Ute Reservation	1,830	42%	7/27
MT	T2	Chrisman	Hidden Lake Fire Beaverhead/Deerlodge NF	1,000	0%	UNK
ID	T2	Benes	Slims Fire Nez Perce NF	750	10%	UNK
MT	T2	Gray	Missouri Breaks Complex Miles City FO, BLM	117,400	30%	7/28
WY	T2	Kearney	Big Spring Fire Casper FO, BLM	1,400	30%	7/26
WY	T2	Domanski	Deep Lake Fire Shoshone NF	6,020	22%	UNK
CO	T2	Sczepanik	Balcony House Complex Mesa Verde NP	2,600	20%	7/24
WY	T2	Broyles	East Table Fire Bridger-Teton NF	3,595	100%	CND
ID	T2	Kechter	Blackwall Fire Salmon-Challis NF	3,175	10%	UNK
ID	T2	Van Bruggen	Tobias Fire Salmon-Challis NF	13,845	100%	CND
NM	T2	Philbin	Molina Complex Santa Fe NF	7,240	85%	7/23
NM	T2	Bateman	Spruce Complex Gila NF	8,360	NR	UNK
WY	T2	Mullenix	Gramm Complex Medicine Bow NF	920	100%	CND
OR	T2 ST	Gardner Labhart	Clark Fire Willamette NF	3,200	25%	7/27
WA	ST	Jennings/Perry	McGinnis Flats Fire Colville Agency	2,173	50%	7/24
WA	ST	Holloway/Reed	Watts Road State Land	1,064	60%	7/24
UT	FUM	Fay/ Hickerson	Timber Top Complex Zion NP	100	N/A	N/A
MT	FUM	Cook	Trapper Creek Complex Glacier NP	4,300	0%	9/5
NM	FUM	Cones	Dry Lake Complex Gila NF	93,500	N/A	N/A
NM	FUM	Cones	Turnbo Fire Gila NF	17,000	NR	UNK

Fire and Aviation Management
NPS Fire Summary - Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Mesa Verde National Park

Balcony House Complex (2,550 acres) — Crews made excellent progress yesterday as they continued working farther into the interior of the fire, extinguishing all burning material. Firefighters began rehabilitating fire lines by constructing water bars and scattering brush to decrease potential for soil erosion. The park and BIA are in the process of putting together an emergency stabilization/rehabilitation team to evaluate post-fire needs. The park is open to the public.

Yellowstone National Park

Boundary Fire — Smokejumpers knocked the fire down on Monday night. Ten crewmembers from the Hiawatha NF crew were flown in to assist. Firefighters got a line around the main fire and all spot fires.

Pumice Fire — A Type 3 IC and nine firefighters hiked in to the fire and completed the mop-up yesterday. They found five or six smokes in the main part of the fire and one smoke in one of the spot fires. The area was gridded for any possible spot fires not already detected. The firefighters then left. The fire will be patrolled.

Amethyst Fire (315 acres) — Crews worked hard yesterday and were able to get a line around the hottest areas on the southwest flank. They estimate that about 90% of the fire has been contained, with the hottest areas lined, and that the remainder of the lower fire area will be lined today.

Arnica Fire (0.1 acre) — Contained.

Fan Fire (3 acres) — The fire was not flown yesterday. Lookouts are keeping an eye on it.

Glacier National Park

Trapper Fire (3,660 acres) — Wayne Cook's fire use management team took over management of this fire and the next two fires yesterday. The three will be identified in future reports as the Mountain Man Complex. The decrease in acreage on this fire is due to better mapping. Structure protection was installed yesterday at Granite Park Chalet.

Wolf Gun Fire (500 acres) — The fire was active, with short uphill runs. It has not crossed Anaconda Creek.

Paul Bunyan Fire (350 acres) — The fire remains inactive due to limited fuels.

Wedge Canyon Fire (4,500 acres) — This fire is still burning on the Flathead National Forest, but is expected to burn into the park. Structure protection has been installed at two ranger stations (Kishenehn and Kintla).

Zion National Park

Timber Top Complex (100 acres) — Both fires have dropped off of their respective mesas and should be burning into slick rock granite. Only minimal activity was reported yesterday. Members of the fire use module hiked up some slot canyons to evaluate ground fuels and help with assessing trigger points.

Altar of Sacrifice Complex — The fire is now a complex. Fires will be put in confinement and a WFSA will be done. One of the fires is in a draw along the cliff face and inaccessible. The second is on top of the mesa in light fuels.

North Fork Fire (0.1 acre) — Contained.

Johnson Fire (0.1 acre) — Contained.

Sammy Canyon Fire — Burning in a large juniper tree. The fire was staffed yesterday.

Grand Canyon National Park

Basin Fire (0.5 acre) — This is being managed for resource benefits.

El Malpais National Monument

Twin Fire (0.5 acre) — Contained. Firefighters will hike in to the fire in a couple of days to check it and rehabilitate control lines.

Lost Woman Fire (0.1 acre) — The fire is burning in rough lava a mile south of Lost Woman crater. The park is reviewing management options.

Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve

Cleveland Gulch Fire (4 acres) — The fires is smoldering and creeping, with little spread expected over the next few days. The park planned to take suppression action yesterday and have it contained by today.

Dinosaur National Monument

Peterson Fire (150 acres) — The fires is burning in pinyon-juniper and poses no current threats.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Ferguson Fire (0.1 acre) — Burning within the boundary of the 1977 Ferguson Fire. Although small, it has the potential to grow larger and burn until late in the season.

Clover Fire (0.1 acre) — Burning within the boundary of the 1997 Wuksachi Fire. This also has the potential to grow larter.

Silliman Fire (0.1 acre) — This human-caused fire is burning along the Silliman Creek trail just over two miles from Lodgepole.

Wolverton Fire (0.1 acre) — Lightning-caused, burning a quarter mile east of Lodgepole Market.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

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Fee Management Program
Recreation Pass Programs Brochure

A new Federal Recreation Pass Programs brochure is now available.  The brochure was developed by an interagency team and is in .pdf format for sites to download and print locally. There are two sides to the brochure and it is designed as a self-mailer so that parks can send pass information to visitors.  Both sides of the brochure as well as folding instructions can be found on the following website: http://inside.nps.gov/programs/programcustommenu.cfm?menuid=1297&div=87&prog=501

The brochure will be printed and distributed according to the orders that parks placed earlier this year with their Regional Fee Coordinators.  Since that process will take some time, you are welcome to print copies locally for immediate use.[Submitted by Jane Anderson, jane_anderson@nps.gov, 202-513-7087] More Information...

PARKS AND PEOPLE

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NPS Office at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
NPRI-304 Graduates From FLETC

National Park Ranger Integrated Training Program Class 304 (NPRI-304) graduated from FLETC on July 3rd. Immediately prior to the graduation ceremonies, the graduating class placed a wreath at the FLETC's Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Associate Director Visitor and Resource Protection Karen Taylor-Goodrich was the keynote speaker, and assisted with the presentation of graduation certificates and credentials. As the ninth class to receive training under the six day work-week program, the rangers established some very high standards for subsequent classes, with superior individual and group achievements. Ranger Todd W. Bruno (YOSE) was the top driver with a perfect 300 score, while seven other rangers also received a perfect 300 score. Rangers Scott L. Larson (JEFF) and Dionne K. Pegeder (MORA) received the Distinguished Fitness Award, while rangers Joel D. Barnett (WHSA), Kelsey L. Cassidy (PEFO), Gavin Chappel (NATR), Harlan J. Drinkwater (GUIS), Janet Duckworth (ROMO), Gary Landry (EVER) and David Schneider (GRTE) earned the Fitness Award (equivalent to scoring above 95%) on the PEB. Drinkwater was the high firearms expert with a perfect 300, and he was joined by nine other rangers who qualified as expert shooters. Larson was the class scholar with an outstanding 97.22 FLETC academic average. He was joined by three other rangers who scored above 95% in the FLETC academic portion. Ranger W. Russell Hughes (CACO) received the class nomination for the FLETC Director's Award as the outstanding ranger of the class. Larson received the NPS Director's Award, which recognizes the graduating student who achieved the highest overall average in all integrated training phases without remediating any practical exercises. His final overall average was an amazing 99.529. A total of eleven rangers scored above 95% in the overall scoring, while the entire class finished with an overall average above 90%. The overall class average was an outstanding 94.78824, which ranks NPRI-304 as the class with the second highest overall class average among all NPRI classes (with NPRI-304 added in, the overall average of all NPRI classes combined is an outstanding 93.996%). Congratulations to NPRI-304 on a job well done. NPRI-305 is now at FLETC and NPRI-307 begins on July 29th.
[Submitted by Don Usher, NPS/FLETC]

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.