INCIDENTS

---

Joshua Tree National Park (CA)
Follow-up on Flood Closures

The park will be reopening some of the facilities closed due to flood damage later this week. Mud and debris are being cleared from the Indian Cove Campground and the Rattlesnake Canyon Day Use Area, and both should reopen on Friday. Keys Ranch Road will also open that day, with a public guided tour of the historic Desert Queen Ranch offered that afternoon. Temporary closures are still in effect in some places:

• Route 11, Pinto Basin Road, from White Tank Campground to Cottonwood Visitor Center (there's also no access to Old Dale and Black Eagle Mine Roads from the park); and
• Covington Flats Road, including the road to Upper Covington Backcountry Board, the road to Lower Covington day use area, and the road to Eureka Peak.

Many areas in the park received from three to five inches of rain last week. The Pinto Basin Road (Park Route 11) was one of the worst damaged areas. Heavy rains caused severe damage and undercutting of the road in places, and six miles of road were covered with mud and debris. A 400-foot section of road through Wilson Canyon will require complete reconstruction. The Pinto Basin Road is expected to re-open in two weeks. The visitor centers in 29 Palms and Cottonwood remain open, as do seven campgrounds and ten nature trails. The scenic drive through the Wonderland of Rocks area and the Keys View Overlook are also open to visitor traffic. Visitors are reminded to use extreme care when traveling flood-prone areas and to never enter washes when water is running. Temporary road closures are in place for public safety. For current information on park road and travel conditions, visitors can call 760-367-5500.
[Submitted by Joe Zarki, Public Information Officer]

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (PA)
Arrest for Burglary and Theft

On the evening of August 16th, rangers Mike Croll and Joe Hinkes stopped a vehicle for speeding in the park's New Jersey District. The driver, R.T. Jr. was uncooperative. He was found to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs and placed under arrest. While Croll and Hinkes were dealing with R.T., passenger J.N. took the car keys and placed them in his pocket. The rangers repeatedly asked J.N. to surrender the keys, but J.N. would not comply. They accordingly arrested him for interference. During the arrest, J.N. fought with the rangers, who employed a combination of strikes to the common peroneal with their knees and OC spray to effect the arrest (J.N. later admitted to being under the influence of alcohol and crack cocaine). During the initial contact, Croll and Hinkes had seen a Sentry combination safe in plain view in the vehicle. Neither R.T. nor J.N. could explain the presence of the safe. Ranger Jeremy Murphy impounded the vehicle while Croll and Hinkes transported the two men to jail. During the trip, R.T. and J.N. kicked out the lexan partition in the prisoner cage. With the assistance of additional rangers, their feet were secured and they continued on to jail. On August 17th, Croll and Hinkes were notified that several buildings in historic Millbrook Village had been broken into — for the third time this year. One of the items immediately identified as stolen was a Sentry combination safe. The two rangers were also able to match footprints left on the doors that were kicked in to gain entry to the buildings with the footprints left on the lexan partition of the prisoner cage. The Millbrook Village crime scene was secured, then processed the following day with the assistance of the Warren County prosecutor's office. Representatives from that office agreed to prosecute R.T. and J.N. for the burglary and theft in addition to their prosecution on federal charges. NPS rangers in the state of New Jersey are classified as peace officers and thus have the ability to charge suspects with first, second or third degree crimes throughout the state. Croll and Hinkes secured state arrest warrants for R.T. and J.N. and transferred custody of the two men from the jail in Pike County (PA) to the jail in Warren County (NJ), where they are each being held on $50,000 cash bail. Among other items seized from the vehicle were several antique quilts, articles of clothing, and pictures with NPS inventory numbers on them, as well as a large baseball card collection. There was also a letter from an antique dealer to R.T. thanking him for the recent sale of a historic letter and information from the Internet regarding historic documents. The investigation is continuing with the assistance of park SA Bob VanNortwick and Warren County detectives.
[Submitted by Phil Selleck, Chief Ranger]

Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Three Mountain Rescues

Rangers were involved in three rescue operations between August 16th and the 24th:

• On August 16th, off-duty ranger Ryan Schuster encountered a solo climber who had sustained a significant head injury while climbing solo on Arrowhead Peak. R.H. of Denver, Colorado, had fallen fifty feet while scrambling on fourth class terrain. Ranger-paramedic John Beh was flown to the scene in an air ambulance helicopter out of Denver; Beh and the flight nurse assisted Schuster and his climbing partner in treating R.H.'s injuries and moving him to the helicopter. R.H. was flown to a Denver area hospital for definitive care.
• The park communications center received a report of an injured climber on the east face of Longs Peak on the afternoon of August 21st. M.T., 43 of Boulder, Colorado, had taken a fall while leading Pervertical Sanctuary on the Diamond face, sustaining a lower leg fracture. M.T. was assisted down to Mills Glacier at the base of the east face by his climbing partner. Rangers hiked to the scene and, after splinting M.T.'s leg, assisted him approximately a mile down steep talus and around Chasm Lake. M.T. was flown from Chasm Meadows by a Geo-Seis contract helicopter from Ft. Collins, Colorado. He was then transported by private vehicle to an area hospital. M.T. and his partner are credited with a significant effort to self-rescue off the east face and then move assisted across difficult terrain.
• On August 24th, a ham radio operator contacted the park communications center to report an injured mountaineer on Mt. Meeker. J.A., 62 of Ft. Collins, Colorado, was climbing the Loft route between Meeker and Longs Peak when she was struck in the back by a football-sized boulder that had been dislodged from above by another climber. J.A. experienced severe back and rib pain with shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. Longs Peak ranger Mark Ronca was in the Mt. Meeker cirque at the time and witnessed the rock fall. After obtaining emergency equipment from a cache at Chasm Lake, Ronca climbed to the scene. Inclement weather and the absence of timely helicopter support required that additional rescue personnel respond from the trailhead, a distance of 5.5 miles and a 3,000' elevation gain. An eight person technical rescue team, supported by ten others, secured J.A. in a litter and raised her approximately 100 feet up a face. J.A. was then carried to a helicopter landing zone located in a saddle between Meeker and Longs. A short break in the weather allowed an air ambulance helicopter from Denver time to retrieve J.A. from the Loft, thus avoiding an overnight stay on the mountain. She was flown to Poudre Valley Hospital in Ft. Collins.

[Submitted by Mark Magnuson, Acting Chief Ranger]

Chickasaw National Recreation Area (OK)
Near Drowning Results in Fatality

M.M., 42, of Wynnewood, Oklahoma, went swimming in Veterans Lake on the evening of August 16th. She was seen wading along the shore around 6 p.m., then later seen offshore floating face down and immobile in water that was deeper than her height. Witnesses believe that M.M. was underwater for one to three minutes before she was pulled from the lake by her husband, who reportedly was successful in reviving his wife via CPR. A bystander called 911 and rangers arrived within minutes. They found M.M. out of the water and breathing and cared for her until local EMS arrived. M.M. was taken to a local hospital for further care, then transferred to Norman Regional Hospital. On August 23rd, M.M. expired. An autopsy was to be conducted to determine the cause of death.
[Submitted by Luis Krug, Park Ranger]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

---

Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Report - Thursday, September 4, 2003

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was again light nationwide, with only 151 new fires reported. Three of these became large fires. Two area command teams have been demobilized.

Fire Danger

Day	8/23	8/24	9/1	9/2	9/3	9/4
Alaska	VX	VX	--	--	--	--
Arizona	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
California	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Colorado	VX	VX	--	--	VX	VX
Hawaii	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	--
Idaho	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Minnesota	VX	VX	--	--	--	--
Montana	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Nevada	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
New Mexico	VX	--	--	VX	--	--
North Dakota	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Oklahoma	VX	VX	--	VX	--	--
Oregon	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
South Dakota	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	--
Texas	VX	VX	--	VX	--	--
Washington	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Wyoming	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX

VX = Very high to extreme danger

National Resource Commitments

Day	8/22	8/23	8/24	9/1	9/2	9/3	9/4
Crews	550	588	570	471	470	406	327
Engines	1,226	1,139	1,112	773	793	690	668
Helicopters	174	161	199	162	161	159	148
Air Tankers	2	0	2	0	0	1	3
Overhead	5,170	5,607	6,006	4,350	4,416	4,144	3,827

National Team Commitments

Teams are listed alphabetically by type. New team commitments or changes in teams (as of this report) 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	Ribar	Montana Fires	---	---	---
OR	T1	Anderson	B&B Complex Deschutes NF	61,962	40	UNK
MT	T1	Cable	Robert Fire Flathead NF/Glacier NP	52,083	70	10/1
MT	T1	Cable	Middle Fork Complex Glacier NP	7,583	5	10/1
MT	T1	Cable	Rampage Complex Glacier NP	16,246	0	10/1
MT	T1 T2	Cable Saleen	Trapper Creek Complex Glacier NP	19,107	65	10/1
MT	T1	Mortier	Blackfoot Lake Complex Flathead NF	20,053	7	9/30
MT	T1	Stam	Fish Creek Complex Lolo NF	34,754	50	9/28
MT	T2	Benes	Cathedral Peak Complex Custer NF	2,778	22	10/1
MT	T2	Broyles	Mineral/Primm Fire State Lands	22,542	75	9/20
ID	T2	Brunner	Beaver Lake Complex Clearwater NF	24,495	60	UNK
MT	T2	Chrisman	Crazy Horse Fire Flathead NF	11,100	80	9/15
MT	T2	Hoff	Lincoln Complex Helena NF	37,812	76	10/1
MT	T2	Kechter	Cooney Ridge Fire State Lands	24,825	56	10/15
MT	T2	Larsen	Burnt Ridge/Sheep Camp Complex Lewis and Clark NF	2,930	95	9/4
MT	T2	Saleen	Wedge Canyon Fire Flathead NF	51,117	81	9/15
MT	T2	Swope	Gold 1 Fire Bitterroot NF	8,296	85	9/10
MT	T2	Walker	Rathbone Fire Gallatin NF	3,010	90	9/15
CA	T2	Wendt	Cod Complex Tahoe NF	500	10	UNK
ID	FUM	Clark	Middle Fork Complex Salmon-Challis NF	27,596	NR	UNK
ID	FUM	Cones	Cayuse Lake Complex Clearwater NF	13,065	N/A	N/A
ID	FUM	Cones	Clear/Nez Complex Clearwater NF	10,533	N/A	N/A

PARK FIRE SITUATION

Glacier NP

The Northwest Montana Area Command Team (Rex Mann) is coordinating management of the Robert Fire, Trapper Creek Complex and Wedge Canyon Complex. Cable's Type 1 IMT is managing the Robert Fire, Middle Fork Complex, Trapper Creek Complex, Beta Lake - Doris Ridge Complex and the Rampage Complex. Saleen's Type 2 IMT is managing the Wedge Canyon Complex. A significant smoke inversion grounded air operations on Tuesday and Wednesday. Conditions are not expected to change until some time today, when a cooler weather pattern arrives. This pattern brings with it a chance of increased winds and possible moisture early next week.

• Robert Fire — The fire has burned 52,083 acres and is 70% contained. Full containment is expected by October 1st. Due to the inversion, the fire was pretty inactive yesterday. When there is fire growth, it continues to burn parallel to the Going to the Sun Highway.
• Wedge Canyon Complex — The fire has burned 50,249 acres and is 76% contained. Full containment is expected by September 15th. The Wedge Canyon Complex includes the Wolf Gun and Paul Bunyan Fires. The Wedge Fire has burned 49,129 acres. The IMT is reassessing Division C and working on some new strategies/tactics. They are looking at some direct attack alternatives and assessing what resources are needed and what kind of weather is required. Structure protection remains in place. There currently are no road closures on this fire. The Wolf Gun Fire has burned 9,100 acres and is 50% contained. The Wolf Gun continues its daily growth. This fire is being monitored exclusively by air with no ongoing suppression actions. The Paul Bunyan Fire has burned (300 acres) and is being monitored.
• Rampage Complex — The fire has burned 15,783 acres and is 0% contained. Full containment is not expected until October 1st. The Rampage Complex consists of the Riverview 1 (28 acres), Riverview 2 (274 acres) and the Double Mountain (15,481 acres) Fires. Firefighters were busy yesterday with checking actions and cold trailing on the Rampage. No other changes from yesterday's report. All backcountry trails and the backcountry campground at Upper Two Medicine and Two Medicine Lakes have been closed because of potential fire danger. The Fish Creek, Avalanche and Big Creek Campgrounds remain closed.
• Trapper Creek Complex — The fire has burned 18,883 acres and is 65% contained. Full containment is expected by September 5th. The fire is being monitored by ground and by air when weather permits. Smoldering and creeping with short duration upslope runs were observed yesterday.
• Middle Fork Complex —The Middle Fork Complex is 6,360 acres with 0% containment. It includes the Belton (905 acres), Center (1,712 acres) and the Harrison (3,743 acres) Fires. Crews made good progress on the Belton fire and continued to minimize the threat to West Glacier.

Yellowstone NP

The East Entrance Road is now open 24 hours a day, with no stopping along a 16-mile stretch of the road. Highway 191 remains open with reduced speeds and pilot car escorts through the area affected by the fire. Backcountry trails currently closed due to fire activity include the Turbid Lake, Jones Pass, Ninemile, Avalanche Peak, Pelican Valley to Mist Pass, Pitchstone Plateau, Beula Lake and Union Falls Trails, and the west ends of Bighorn, Fawn Pass, Fan Creek, Sportsman Lake, Daly, and Black Butte trails.

• East Fire Complex —Most of the planned fireline on the East Fire Complex has been constructed and good progress is being made on rehabilitation. The incident is now being managed a Type III team. Mop-up and rehab are progressing. The East Fire is approximately 18,052 acres and continues to burn high on the north side of the Crow Creek drainage in the vicinity of Silvertip Peak. The fire will be monitored for growth from the air until a season-ending weather event. Good progress is being made in all divisions as crews are mopping up along the firelines. Engine crews are continuing to patrol the East Entrance Road, mopping up and removing newly fallen trees. The Grizzly Fire is approximately 4,458 acres. Crews are continuing efforts to mop up and secure the roadside burnout.
• Rathbone Fire — Closures were deemed possible yesterday along Highway 191 due to increased fire activity along the highway. Walker's Type 2 IMT is managing the fire.
• Union Fire — This fire is around 800 acres in size. It will continue to be monitored from the air.

Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs

The parks have received scattered rain showers with widespread lightning. Up to a half inch of rain was measured in some places, but the duration was short. The fires are in pretty exposed locations and will dry out quickly.

• Williams Fire — The fire has burned 857 acres. The Saguaro fire use module is monitoring the fire. Trail closures remain in effect. Fire managers from the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service are working together to manage the Williams Fire.
• Giant Fire — The 40-acre fire is burning to the north and is being monitoring daily because of high visitation. There are two trail closures in effect near the Giant Fire: the Huckleberry Meadow Trail between the Alta Trail and Squatter's Cabin, and the Alta Trail between Soldier's Trail and the bedrock mortars.
• West Kern Fire — The fire has burned 250 acres in a very remote area at about 8,000 ft. elevation northwest of the Kern Canyon Ranger Station. It will be monitored by air.

Mount Rainier NP

Due to fires, the Northern Loop Trail is closed between the Carbon River and the West Fork of the White River. An area closure is in effect beginning north of the Wonderland Trail to the northern park boundary between Carbon River and the West Fork of the White River. The Wonderland Trail remains open.

• Mt. Rainier Complex — The complex consists of three fires, the Panther fire (contained at 56 acres) is smoldering in 500 year old old-growth, with 2-3 foot duff layers; Chenuis fire contained at 1 acre, and the Redstone Fire burning in mature timber with heavy down woody material interspersed with rock openings. The Redstone Fire doubled in size to 110 acres over the last 24 hours and is spotting near the Northern Loop Trail. This fire is being managed under a confinement strategy using natural barriers to check the fire's spread.

North Cascades NP

The park is managing seven Wildland Fire Use fires as the NOCA Complex. Fire activity on the Mineral Park fire in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie NF continues to impact the park with smoke. About 2,000 acres of fire are being managed in a modified suppression strategy. One fire is threatening the closure of a park road but all roads in the park complex remain open for visitor use.

• NOCA Complex — The complex is approximately 904 acres with fires ranging from 0.1 acre to 650 acres in size, burning in remote areas with natural barriers to fire spread, such as rocky cliffs. The Big Beaver Fire located approximately 16 miles northwest of the town of Diablo in the 39-mile drainage, a tributary of the Big Beaver drainage is now at 650 acres. Fire managers are monitoring the fire and watching trigger points to the east of the fire near Ross Lake. The Big Beaver Trail was closed because of concerns about long range spotting.
• Klawatti Fire — The 20-acre fire has burned into cliffs and is not expected to grow.
• Tricouni Fire — The fire has burned 204 acres. It has also burned into cliffs and is not expected to grow.

Yosemite NP

The park has a number of fires burning, all but one complex small:

• Kibbie Complex — The complex was active from Sunday through Tuesday and is now in excess of 900 acres. The fire received rain and heavy cloud cover yesterday, so activity should be lower until it dries outs. An agreement is still in place to share this fire across agency boundaries. USFS and NPS monitors are in place to protect the Sachse Spring cabin and record fire weather and behavior. Complaints about smoke have been minimal. The main fire in the six-fire complex is the Son of Kibbie (SOK) Fire. It has burned 850 acres, about 700 of that total within the park. The trail between the Kibbie Lake Junction, (East of Kibbie Lake near its entrance to Yosemite National Park) and Styx Pass (near its exit of Yosemite National park) along the Kibbie Ridge, and the trail between Lake Eleanor and Kibbie Lake are closed because of fire activity in the area.

Detailed reports on two of these NPS fire complexes appear below....

Glacier National Park
Wedge Canyon Complex (Wedge Canyon Fire and Wolf Gun Fire) (Wildland Fire,External Fire)

Over 50% of the fire is located in Glacier National Park, while the other portion is on the Flathead National Forest. Steep terrain, thick trees as well as dead and down trees challenge firefighters on the fire.

The Wolf Gun Fire is the other active part of the Wedge Canyon Complex. It is currently in patrol status, though it is a suppression fire. (full report)

Status
Camas Creek Road is closed from both directions; North Fork Road is closed beyond Polebridge community.
Acreage: 51,249 acres.
Resources Committed:

• 220 Firefighters (crews)
• 9 Helicopters
• 26 Engines
• 617 Total Personnel

Estimated containment date: September 15, 2003 [Submitted by Tina Boehle, tina_boehle@nps.gov, 801-413-0525]

North Cascades National Park (WA)
North Cascades National Park Service Complex (Wildland Fire,Wildland Fire Use)

Fire personnel continue to monitor eight, lightning-caused fires in the park. The current most active fire is Big Beaver. These fires are burning in remote, fire use areas with natural barriers to fire spread, and are being allowed to play their natural role in the ecosystem. An ninth fire, Colonial, which is 0.25 acre in size, is being suppressed due to its location near visitor services. (full report)
Big Beaver (1,018 acres) was active making downslope and upslope runs and torching. No further spotting. A new 2 acre fire, No Name, was discovered 9/03 at 1830. Considered a possible wildland fire use candidate, the fire is currently backing downhill on a west aspect, with some downhill spread due to rolling logs.
Status
Park managers have closed a seven-mile section of the Big Beaver trail from its beginning at Ross Lake, extending northwest to the National Park/Recreation Area Boundary near the mouth of McMillan Creek.
Acreage: North Cascades National Park Complex: 1,232 Total Acres North Unit fires: Big Beaver (1,018 acres), Skymo Ridge (.25 acres, No Name (2 acres) South Unit fires: Tricouni (204 acres), Klawatti (18 acres), Little Devil (.5 acre), Marble Creek (.1 acre), Hidden Lake Peak (.5 acre)
Resources Committed: Aircraft: 4 helicopters; Personnel: NPS=10, USFS=3, WA Dept. of Natural Resources=4
Estimated containment date: unknown[Submitted by Michelle Fidler, michelle_fidler@nps.gov, 360-873-4590 x7193]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

---

Fire and Aviation Management
Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Reprint on Driver Safety

Our Driving Responsibility is a reprinted collection of articles on driving and some very useful tools for everyone related to driving safety.

To aid firefighters, supervisors and managers during an extended fire season, the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center is publishing a special reprint edition. Articles on Driving Safety, Tools of the Trade — Best Practices for Driving During Wildland Fires, Driving — A Shared Responsibility, Supervising Vehicle Operators, and Vehicle Operations and Accident Response are contained in this newsletter.

With the upcoming Labor Day weekend and thousands of firefighters driving to and from incidents around the country, we need to stop and remind each other about the
significant responsibility we take on once we sit behind the wheel or in the passenger seat of a vehicle.

As of August 25, there have been six reported motor vehicle accidents involving 23 firefighters in 2003. Twelve firefighters died and one was injured in these accidents.
In 2002, nine firefighters died and 26 were injured in vehicle accidents.

Based on Predictive Services' projections, there are three to four weeks of continuing hot and dry weather ahead. Many fire personnel feel the stress and fatigue that comes this time of year. The wildland fire community has continued with a strong, professional effort and commitment to manage the wildland fires across the United States. Cumulative fatigue should be addressed for all our personnel, including ourselves, as the 2003 fire season continues.

All agencies and cooperators at all levels of the fire organization are encouraged to use these articles as "tools to teach with." Please ensure that this special edition is widely distributed in fire camps and at home units


[Submitted by Paula Nasiatka, pnasiatka@fs.fed.us, 520-670-6414 x121] More Information...

Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail (IA,ID,IL,KS,MO,MT,ND,NE,OR,SD,WA)
Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Training Academy

Dates: 10/06/2003 - 10/10/2003
Times: 9 to 5 pm for each course
Location: Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Great Falls, Montana

The Lewis and Clark NHT Interpretive Center at Great Falls, Montana is offering five days of training for visitor services.  Each day is a seperate course or the entire week can be taken as a complete set.  Course titles are:

Lewis & Clark In a Nutshell, Mon, October 6, 2003
The Many Missions of Lewis & Clark, Tues,October 7, 2003
19th Century Indian Cultures, Wed, October 8, 2003
The Natural World Met by the Expedition, Thurs, October 9, 2003
Serving & Speaking to the Lewis & Clark Visitor, Fri, October 10, 2003

These courses are sponosred and produced by the USDA Forsest Service.
[Submitted by Sue Buchel , sbuchel@fs.fed.us, 406-727-8733] More Information...

PARKS AND PEOPLE

---

GS-025-5/7/9 Lateral Reassignment

The park has an opening for a lateral reassignment for a GS-5/7/9 protection ranger in the North District in the Little River Area. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the system. This position is in an area with a high-intensity frontcountry operation. The person selected will gain extensive experience in frontcountry law enforcement, wildland fire, SAR, EMS, and resource protection. If you are interested in a lateral transfer, please contact Michael Nash, supervisor for the Little River Area, by email before Monday, September 8th.
[Submitted by Michael Nash]

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.