Lava Beds National Monument (CA)
Children Found Following Major SAR
K.Y. and T.E., both 11, became separated from
their school group and family in Catacombs Cave on the afternoon of May
27th. The children became lost and exhausted at the far end of the cave,
where they remained while awaiting rescue. When the children were found
26 hours after the initial report, they were cold, tired, and hungry,
but otherwise in good condition. The area where they were found is in a
remote section of cave not shown on most cave maps and beyond a small
passage not accessible to the average adult. Catacombs Cave includes
complex branches and passageways with a total traversable length of
about 6,900 feet. The ceiling height of the cave ranges from 12 feet to
less than a foot, and rough, sharp lava makes many sections extremely
difficult to access. The sound dampening nature of the lava hampered the
search and contributed to the delayed discovery time. Park and Siskiyou
County Sheriff's SAR personnel, with the assistance of local cavers,
searched the cave three times before locating the children. Over 75
people were involved in the search effort on the surface and in
Catacombs and surrounding caves. Participants from federal, state
and local agencies included CARDA dog teams, California Highway Patrol
aircraft, Modoc and Klamath County Sheriff's Office SAR teams, and
numerous cavers. The incident received significant national media
interest.
[Submitted by Terry Harris, IC/Chief Ranger]
Manassas National Battlefield Park (VA)
Driver Arrested Following Extended Pursuit
Rangers Sarah Davis-Reynolds and Darryl Trowbridge were on patrol on
the afternoon of May 22nd when they saw a man — subsequently
identified as J.F. — driving the wrong way on a one-way
road within the park and pulled him over. While they were talking with
J.F., he suddenly drove off, almost hitting the patrol vehicle and two
visitors. He then drove his vehicle off-road down a handicapped
accessible trail for about a half mile and turned onto state road, with
the rangers in pursuit. Due to traffic congestion, J.F. had to slow
down at one point, making it possible for Davis-Reynolds to approach him
on foot. When J.F. saw her, he put his vehicle in reverse, forcing
Davis-Reynolds to take evasive action to avoid being hit. The rangers
then resumed the pursuit, following J.F. out of the park. County
officers joined the chase, which continued for about ten miles along an
interstate and state highways and secondary roads. During the pursuit,
J.F. repeatedly braked hard in an effort to cause a rear-end
collision with his pursuers. J.F. was finally stopped and arrested.
Neither the rangers nor the county officers were injured, but one county
patrol vehicle was damaged when J.F. deliberately rammed it. Numerous
charges have been filed against him, including assault on an officer,
eluding and driving while intoxicated.
[Submitted by Gil Goodrich,
Chief Ranger]
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Indictment For Assault on Federal Officer
In the early morning hours of February 27th, rangers Michael Nash and
Deann Shults were providing traffic control for maintenance workers who
were removing trees from the Foothills Parkway spur following a storm.
Around 1 a.m., Nash saw a vehicle heading
directly at them at a high rate of speed and realized it was not going
to slow down. Nash jumped onto the road shoulder to avoid being hit, but
was able to obtain a partial tag and vehicle description and radio it to
Shults along with a warning to watch out. Shults was about 300 yards
down the road and around a bend with two maintenance workers, and all
three also had to take evasive action in order to avoid being hit.
Shults quickly returned to her vehicle and pursued, stopping it in
nearby Pigeon Forge. Investigation revealed that the driver, A.P.,
was under the influence (.19 BAC) and driving on a suspended
license. A.P. failed to appear in court, so a warrant was issued for
his arrest. He was picked up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and
indicted in federal court in Tennessee on May 18th on charges of assault
on a federal officer. He remains in federal custody. The trial will be
scheduled in the near future.
[Submitted by Rick Brown, District
Ranger]
Coronado National Memorial (AZ)
Sentencing on Assault Charge
On May 18th, V.M.-F., 31, was sentenced in federal
court to two years in prison and three years' supervised probation for
assaulting a federal officer. V.M-F. was arrested by rangers
last November during a drug smuggling operation in which his
confederates fled the scene. He refused to comply with orders to drop to
the ground and instead picked up a jagged, two-and-a-half pound rock and
made attempts to throw it at a ranger. The ranger drew his weapon and
ordered V.M-F. to get on the ground four times before he
complied. V.M-F. is believed to be one of several drug scouts
who were in the area prior to the eventual seizure of over 2,400 pounds
of marijuana in one of the drug corridors passing through the park.
[Submitted by Robert E. Stinson, Acting Chief Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report Highlights — Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Preparedness Level 1
NIFC reported 129 new fires yesterday, all but one dealt with via initial attack.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas and Wyoming.
Warnings and Watches
No watches or warnings have been posted for today.
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
|
Date |
5/27 |
5/28 |
5/29 |
5/30 |
5/31 |
6/1 |
6/2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crews |
46 |
43 |
38 |
36 |
35 |
36 |
36 |
|
Engines |
100 |
86 |
102 |
85 |
53 |
57 |
85 |
|
Helicopters |
13 |
22 |
22 |
21 |
15 |
12 |
13 |
|
Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Overhead |
475 |
570 |
526 |
534 |
499 |
473 |
364 |
National/State Team Commitments
Newly listed fires (on this report) appear below in boldface. Fires are sorted by type of team; teams are listed in alphabetical order within each type by the IC's last name. Asterisks indicate state teams.
|
State |
Type |
Team IC |
Fire/Location |
Acres |
Acres |
Percent |
Est Full |
|
| |||||||
|
NM |
T2 |
Bateman |
Peppin Fire |
31,500 |
33,500 |
45 |
UNK |
|
FL |
T2 * |
Jones |
Road 1 Fire |
2,500 |
3,000 |
60 |
UNK |
|
AZ |
T2 |
Kvale |
KP Fire |
15,181 |
15,181 |
90 |
NR |
Further Information
This report is meant to present just highlights of the current fire situation. Two other NIFC sites provide much greater detail:
Full NIFC Situation Report (PDF file) — http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
National Fire News — http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
Information on the NPS Fire Management Program Center (FMPC) and on park fires can be found at:
FMPC — http://www.nps.gov/fire
Park fires — http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
OPERATIONAL NOTES
NPS Office at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
First FTEP Trainees Graduate
The concept of a fully-trained, professionally-competent, multi-skilled law enforcement ranger came closer to fruition in mid-May with the culmination of the first 12-week field training evaluation program (FTEP) by 20 students from NPRI-401.
The FTEP is an extension of the basic ranger training conducted at FLETC. The program has been judged a success by the trainees, their field training rangers, the field training leads, their supervisors and park management in the host parks. The hard work, long hours, dedication and commitment by the FTEP training rangers and leads is the reason for the program's success and ensures its continuation. Each of these people has agreed to assume the role of mentor, coach, teacher/trainer, counselor, role model, evaluator and supervisor.
Without the support of management in the host parks, the reality of a truly complete, competency-based training program would not have been met. Thanks to everyone involved for helping make this happen, particularly at the host parks:
Assateague Island
Badlands/Mount Rushmore
Blue Ridge
Buffalo
Delaware Water Gap
Everglades
Glen Canyon
Golden Gate
Grand Canyon
Great Smokies
Lake Mead
Mammoth Cave
Natchez Trace
New River
Ozark
Rocky Mountain
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Zion
[Submitted by Tom Cherry]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (CT,GA,MA,MD,ME,NC,NH,NJ,NY,PA,TN,VA,VT,WV)
GS-025-11 Senior Park Ranger
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail has an opening for a GS-11 senior park ranger. Applications will be accepted through June 8th. The person selected will be duty stationed at Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, and will report to the chief ranger in Harpers Ferry. The Appalachian Trail is one of the most complex units in the National Park Service. The ranger in this position will be responsible for law enforcement for NPS lands administered by the Appalachian Trail Park Office and will work closely with the Appalachian Trail Conference and its trail management volunteers. For more information, contact Robert Gray at 304-535-6171.
[Submitted by Robert Gray, Chief Ranger]
United States Park Police
Park Police Officer Receives DWI Enforcement Award
During Police Week, 2004 a joint USPP-NPS reception was held at the US Park Police Aviation Unit for the families of fallen NPS Rangers and US Park Police Officers.
Representatives from the Eggles, McClures, Preston's and Farthings were in attendance. The annual "Farthing Award" for excellence in DWI enforcement was presented during the reception to Officer Anthony Giannino for his work during 2003.
During the year, Officer Giannino was out for one month in EMT training and two months due to an injury sustained while subduing a violent suspect, yet Officer Giannino still managed to make 62 DWI arrests, 24 other traffic arrests and wrote 531 traffic citations during the year.
Director Fran Mainella and Acting Chief Dwight Pettiford presented Officer Giannino with the award, sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Police. Also honored were the first and second runner up, Officers Simeon Klebaner and Andrew Murphy.
The presentations were followed by remarks from Corporal Joe Farthing (Hakim's uncle) of the Pennsylvania State Police.
All three officers are assigned to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, where Officer Hakim Farthing was killed in the line of duty by a drunk driver on August 10, 2002.
[Submitted by Commander, Planning and Development Unit]
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.