INCIDENTS

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Voyageurs National Park (MN)
Conviction for Illegal PWC Operation

On August 8th, a federal magistrate found K.G. and K.W. guilty of illegally operating their personal water craft in the park and refusing the lawful order of a federal officer. The conviction stemmed from a lengthy international pursuit of the two jet skiers on the afternoon of July 15, 2002. Ranger Karl Spilde was contacted by interpretive rangers when two jet skis passed the park tour boat at the west end of the park. Spilde placed his marked patrol boat within a narrow passage ahead of the jet skis and attempted to stop K.G. and K.W., who had three young adult female passengers with them. They disregarded Spilde's orders and continued further into the park. Spilde continued his pursuit for about 30 miles and requested air support from the park aircraft. Due to the high speed of the PWC's, the jet skiers were able to reach a remote island before Spilde, drop off their passengers, and return. They passed Spilde and twice pulled ashore at cabins within Canadian waters as the park aircraft, piloted by Tom Hablett, followed them. When they saw the plane, they returned to park waters and the pursuit resumed. Although the PWC's were operated at speeds estimated to be in excess of 60 mph, the operators were nonetheless able to entertain Hablett with hand gestures as they raced along the water. The 80-mile pursuit ended when the operators pulled into a Canadian marina and moored there, preventing Spilde from contacting them. Canadian and U.S. customs officials were notified during the pursuit, but were unable to provide support. A subsequent plain clothes site visit by the chief ranger led to verification of the operators' identities and jet ski registrations. They reentered U.S. waters late that evening and were greeted by a Border Patrol agent. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. The incident remains under investigation by Canadian customs officials.
[Submitted by Jim Hummel, Chief Ranger]

Voyageurs National Park (MN)
Conviction for Assault, Terroristic Threats

A jury trial in state court stemming from an incident that took place in the park last summer has resulted in the conviction of J.T. on three felony counts of making terroristic threats and individual counts of assault on an officer, BUI, DUI, refusing an intoxilyzer and interfering with the peace process. On June 20, 2002, rangers Kevin Grossheim and Chuck Remus responded to a late night report of a man threatening to shoot a father and a grandfather with their family as they were using the public boat launch at Kabetogama Lake. J.T. engaged in drunken and threatening behavior as he attempted to drive away with his truck, towing a boat and trailer. State and local officers assisted in J.T.'s arrest and the detention of his passenger. A subsequent search of J.T.'s vehicle led to the discovery of an empty gun holster, though no weapon was found. During his arrest, J.T. assaulted Remus and threatened to kill a state DNR officer. Sentencing for J.T. has been scheduled for October. He is also facing numerous Montana state charges for illegally taking big game in Montana last year while claiming residency in both Montana and Minnesota.
[Submitted by Jim Hummel, Chief Ranger]

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Marijuana Eradication

On Wednesday, August 13th, rangers eradicated 205 marijuana plants in an unnamed creek drainage near the Hospital Rock Picnic Area in Sequoia National Park. The estimated street value of the plants is $820,000. This case is being investigated in conjunction with the much larger ongoing marijuana cultivation investigation in the park.
[Submitted by Bob Wilson, Acting Chief Ranger]

Crater Lake National Park (OR)
Suspected Pipe Bombs

On August 8th, a visitor found a device that appeared to be a pipe bomb in the Vidae Falls area. Rangers investigated and found a copper pipe, an inch and a half in diameter and 14 inches long. It was capped at both ends and sealed with grey epoxy and clear silicone, then wrapped in foil tape. The Oregon State Police bomb squad responded, blew the cap off the end, and determined that there was no explosive material inside. Two days later, visitors diving near Cleetwood Cove found three stacked cylinders that were identical to the single cylinder device found at Vidae Falls. The three cylinders were wrapped with wire. The state police bomb squad again responded, blew off the end caps, and again found no explosive material. The investigation continues.
[Submitted by Pete Reinhardt, District Ranger]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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Fire and Aviation Management
National and NPS Fire Summary - Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was again light on Tuesday. There were 207 newly-reported fires, three of which became large fires.

Fire Danger

Day	8/11	8/12	8/13	8/18	8/19	8/20
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	VX
Idaho	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Minnesota	--	--	--	VX	VX	VX
Montana	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Nevada	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
New Mexico	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	--
North Dakota	--	--	--	--	VX	VX
Oklahoma	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Oregon	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
South Dakota	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Texas	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 for gusty winds for western and southern North Dakota.

RED FLAG WARNINGS have been issued for strong gusty winds for Montana east of the Continental Divide and for winds associated with a dry cold front for a small portion of central Idaho.

National Resource Commitments

Day	8/10	8/11	8/12	8/13	8/18	8/19	8/20
Crews	245	233	309	368	507	503	541
Engines	422	488	769	763	954	1,005	1,065
Helicopters	106	136	161	144	171	169	157
Air Tankers	0	2	6	1	0	2	0
Overhead	2,118	2,177	2,608	3,227	4,738	4,799	4,643

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
MT	ACT	Mann	Flathead NF/Glacier NP Fires	---	---	---
MT	ACT	Greenhoe	Lolo NF/Bitterroot NF Fires	---	---	---
MT	ACT	Rounsaville	Montana Fires	---	---	---
MT	ACT	Ribar	Montana Fires	---	---	---
OR	T1	Anderson	Bear Butte Fire Deschutes NF	1,000	0	UNK
OR	T1	Anderson	Booth Fire Deschutes NF	1,200	0	UNK
MT	T1	Ferguson	Robert Fire Flathead NF/Glacier NP	43,057	45	9/20
MT	T1	Ferguson Hart	Trapper Creek Complex Glacier NP	24,862	65	9/5
MT	T1	Hart	Wedge Canyon Fire Flathead NF	41,196	60	9/15
MT	T1	Vail	Crazy Horse Fire Flathead NF	9,926	18	UNK
ID	T1	Oltrogge	Rough Draw Complex Gallatin NF	2,075	5	UNK
ID	T1	Martin	Canyon Creek Fire Boise NF	5,475	75	8/22
ID	T1	Frye	Beaver Lake Complex Clearwater NF	15,367	30	UNK
MT	T1	Bennett	Mineral/Primm Fire State Lands	14,000	5	UNK
MT	T1	Humphrey	Cathedral Peak Fire Custer NF	1,065	5	UNK
MT	T1	Studebaker	Lincoln Complex Helena NF	11,080	5	UNK
MT	T1	Gelobter	Black Mountain 2 State Lands	6,526	45	8/25
ID	T2	Rios	Slims Complex Nez Perce NF	12,250	65	8/25
ID	T2	--	Milepost 59 Fire State Lands	6,300	55	8/19
WY	T2	Gardner	East Fire Yellowstone NP	15,800	14	UNK
MT	T2	Berndt	Strawberry Complex Lolo NF	1,300	65	UNK
MT	T2	Walker	E. Montana Complex Miles City FO, BLM	16,100	63	UNK
MT	T2	Sczepanik	Windmill Complex Crow Agency	29,480	55	8/25
MT	T2	Hendricks	Burnt Ridge Complex Lewis and Clark NF	788	29	UNK
MT	T2	Blume	Winslow Fire State Lands	9,000	10	UNK
ID	T2	Muir	Withington Fire Salmon-Challis NF	10,500	65	8/21
MT	T2	Hoff	Boles Meadow Fire State Lands	3,825	75	8/22
MT	T2	Sandman	Cooney Ridge Complex State Lands	16,500	10	9/15
ID	T2	Van Bruggen	North Fork Lick Fire Payette NF	6,003	10	UNK
ID	T2	Saleen	South Fork Fire Boise NF	5,855	70	8/23
WY	T2	Mullinex	N. Bighorn Complex Bighorn NF	8,200	50	8/22
MT	T2	Swope	Cherry Creek Fire Lolo NF	4,000	60	UNK
MT	T2	Benes	Fish Creek Fire Lolo NF	10,400	0	UNK
MT	T2	Larsen	Hobble Fire State Lands	38,900	85	8/24
MT	T2	Philbin	Gold 1 Fire Bitterroot NF	6,668	10	UNK
OR	ST	Thorpe	Hagelstein Fire State Land	422	60	UNK
WA	ST	Jennings/Perry	Togo Mountain Fire Colville NF	4,495	20	UNK
WA	ST	Holloway Reed	Black Canyon Fire State Land	2,280	95	8/20
ID	FUM	Cones	Cayuse Lake Complex Clearwater NF	7,609	0	UNK
ID	FUM	Cones	Clear/Nez Complex Clearwater NF	7,570	NR	NR
ID	FUM	Bonefeld	Frank Church Fire Payette NF	9,778	N/A	N/A

PARK FIRE SITUATION

Glacier NP

An area command team (Mann) is coordinating the Type 1 teams assigned to the Robert, Trapper Creek Complex, and Wedge Canyon Fires. Fires received some wind yesterday, but all lines held. There was lots of lightning with the cold front passage, so there may be some problems with holdover fires.

Wedge Canyon Fire (41,196 acres; 60% contained) — Mop-up and patrol continue. Helicopters are making water drops on the southeastern portion of the fire within the park. Paul's Type 2 team will take over from Hart's Type 1 team today. Resource commitments as of yesterday (Tuesday's figure in parentheses):

• Firefighters/overhead — 603 (642)
• Crews — 9 (9)
• Engines — 18 (29)
• Helicopters — 3 (3)

Robert Fire (43,057 acres; 45% containment) — Fair overnight humidity levels have reduced but not eliminated the risk of spotting, major runs and large perimeter growth. Steep terrain is still a concern for safety and line construction. Poor visibility and smoke inversions are hampering the use of aircraft. Crews will continue to work on containing spot fires and slopovers within 200 to 300 feet of control lines along the northeast and west sides. Increased winds and a return to dry conditions may cause an increase in the size of the fire. Resource commitments as of yesterday (Tuesday's figure in parentheses):

• Firefighters/overhead — 725 (734)
• Crews — 17 (18)
• Engines — 30 (30)
• Helicopters — 5 (5)

Trapper Creek Complex (24,862 acres; 65% containment) — The fire has not been very active and has remained within its perimeter for several days. Monitoring continues. Resource commitments as of yesterday (Tuesday's figure in parentheses):

• Firefighters/overhead — 25 (25)
• Crews — 1 (1)
• Engines — 2 (2)
• Helicopters — 0 (0)

Yellowstone NP

East Fire (15,800 acres; 14%) — Gardner's Type 2 team is assigned. Suppression efforts are focused on the east side of the fire near Sylvan Lake. Fire crews began burnouts yesterday near the lake to secure a fire line from Sylvan Pass to the upper reaches of Crow Creek Valley in an attempt to halt the fire's eastward spread. Because of remoteness and difficult access, firefighters will be spiked to a camp in the upper reaches of the creek. Structure protection is in place at Fishing Bridge. The East Entrance Road remains closed as crews clear dangerous snags falling on the road. Several trails are also closed. Resource commitments as of yesterday (Tuesday's figure in parentheses):

• Firefighters/overhead — 602 (444)
• Crews — 16 (12)
• Engines — 12 (8)
• Helicopters — 5 (5)

Grizzly Fire (435 acres) — The fire is expected to increase in size. No firefighters have been assigned to it because of unsafe conditions caused by erratic winds and continuous, tinder-dry fuels.

Tyson Fire (149 acres) — The north flanks has been secured and the fire is now 60% contained.

Union Fire (84 acres) — The fire is spreading slowly to the north into a previously burned area.

Other Park Fires

Fire operations elsewhere in the system include:

• Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP — The park reports three lightning fires. Since all of them started while rain was falling, little activity is anticipated.
• Curecanti NRA — A Forest Service vehicle parked at an interagency compound started a grass fire. The vehicle was destroyed and about a tenth of an acre of land burned before being suppressed by Gunnison VFD.
• Grand Canyon NP — Little new activity on current wildland fire use fires is reported.
• Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP — The Williams Fire has burned 400 acres. Seven fire monitors are on scene to map the perimeter and observe behavior and spread. The fire may spread into the Jennie Lakes Wilderness in Sequoia NF.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

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Servicewide
A&E Documentary on "The Danger in U.S. Parks"

At 5 p.m. (EDT/PDT) on Saturday, August 23rd, the Arts and Entertainment Channel (A&E) will carry a show called "The Danger in U.S. Parks." The show is described as follows on the A&E web site:

"A look at how drug producers are setting up marijuana fields and methamphetamine labs in U.S. forests and park lands. Because of U.S. asset-forfeiture laws, the drug manufacturers can insulate their property from government seizure in the parks."

PARKS AND PEOPLE

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Yosemite National Park (CA)
GS-7/9 Park Ranger

The park is seeking a qualified GS-7/9 protection ranger interested in an immediate lateral transfer to Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy area. The ranger selected will work in a challenging and diverse environment encompassing an extremely rugged wilderness and a complex frontcountry. Duties include daily law enforcement patrols by vehicle, foot, horse and boat and provision of all emergency services, including site security for the City of San Francisco's dam and water infrastructure, EMS, search and rescue, and structural and wildland fire protection. Candidates should have or be able to attain experience and skills in wilderness patrol, winter travel and survival, motorboat operation, EMS (park medic training may be available), and stock experience (mounted training opportunities may be available). SAR, fire and ICS experience are a plus, with training opportunities in these fields available. Candidates must be energetic, fit, and able to work in a busy and diverse, year-round, multi-faceted protection and emergency services operation. This is a permanent, STF position. Interested candidates must currently hold a level I law enforcement commission or possess a level II commission and meet all qualifications to attend FLETC basic training, including a current LBI, RM-57 health clearance, and current (within six months) PEB results. The furlough is projected to be two weeks annually. Occupancy is required and park housing is available. Please forward resumes by e-mail (preferred) or fax to 209-379-1927. For more information contact Greg Lawler, Canyon Ranch Subdistrict Ranger, or Lee Buschkowsky, Hetch Hetchy Area Ranger, both at 209-379-1928.
[Submitted by Greg Lawler]

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.