INCIDENTS

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Katmai National Park & Preserve (AK)
Investigation Underway into Illegal Killing of Bears

Rangers are investigating the illegal killing of three brown bears in the northern portion of Katmai National Preserve. The bears were discovered late last week and the criminal investigation is continuing.
On Wednesday evening, July 28th, an air taxi operator contacted park rangers to report that he had seen two bears, apparently killed illegally. Ranger Missy Epping flew to the kill site, located along Funnel Creek near Mirror Lake, and confirmed that the bears had been shot. One of the bears was an adult, lactating female which weighed about 500 pounds. The second bear was younger and smaller, perhaps two-to-three years old and 300 pounds. It is unclear at this time if the younger bear was the mother's cub. It is unclear exactly when each bear was killed, although they appear to have been shot at different times. Both were shot within a few days of their discovery on Wednesday. A team of rangers stayed in the area to further investigate the kill site, and on Saturday found the carcass of a third bear. The age and sex of the third bear are unknown at this time. Rangers and Alaska State Troopers will continue the investigation. A fourth dead bear cub was also found, but a necropsy revealed that bear died of natural causes and no gunshot wounds were found. Audubon Alaska, in cooperation with Katmai National Park, is offering rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.  Anyone with information concerning the deaths of these bears is asked to call 888-300-6794. Mirror Lake and Funnel Creek are in the far northern section of the four million acre park and preserve. The area, which is a popular sport fishing area, can be used for sport and subsistence hunting during open seasons.
[Submitted by Jane Tranel, Communications Office, Alaska Regional Office]

Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park (VA)
Fire Suppressed in Historic Structure

On the evening of August 9th, a fire ignited in a fan in the main hallway of Elwood Manor, a wood-framed structure over 200 years old that is of great historic importance to both the park's Civil War story (Union headquarters in the Battle of the Wilderness) and to area history. It was quickly brought under control and caused only minimal damage. The building's fire detection system, which is hooked to the park's radio system, alerted ranger Chuck Lochart, who was on patrol not far from Elwood. Lochart got to the building before the local fire company; at first he thought it was a false alarm, as neither flames nor smoke were visible, but he found a stand-up fan fully engulfed in flames when he opened the front door. The fire had spread to the floor and it would have been only a matter of minutes before the building would have been ablaze. Lochart extinguished the flames with bottled water that he found nearby. The fire company then removed portions of the floor and poured more water on the burned area. Even though the building is equipped with a sprinkler system, it had at that point not yet activated. Lochart's quick action likely saved the house from major damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
[Submitted by Mike Johnson, Chief Ranger] More Information...

Yosemite National Park (CA)
Weapons Arrest in West Yosemite

On Thursday evening, August 5th, rangers received a message to be on the lookout for a vehicle and a man with a rifle who was "hunting people" in the Stanislaus National Forest west of the park. The unoccupied vehicle was found in west Yosemite Valley and kept under observation. Within an hour, two men returned and rangers questioned them about weapons. The men admitted that there was a loaded rifle in the vehicle. J.D., 46, of Pinole, California, claimed ownership of the rifle. The other man with him provided information corroborating the initial Forest Service report, saying that his friend was "losing it" and had been making people pick up litter at gunpoint in a national forest campground. J.D. was arrested for possession of the loaded weapon in the vehicle, and the rifle was seized. Special agents worked with Stanislaus Forest law enforcement officers on the case and provided a photo lineup so witnesses could identify the suspect. On August 9th, the Forest Service filed state charges with the Tuolumne County district attorney following their investigation. J.D. remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing in federal district court in Fresno.
[Submitted by Dan Horner, Special Agent]

Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Rescue of Injured Hiker

R.M., 40, of Huston, Texas, sustained serious head injuries in a fall on Andrew's Glacier on Monday, August 2nd. R.M. was reportedly sliding down the glacier on a plastic trash bag when he spun out of control and hit some rocks along the edge of the ice. Park dispatch received a cell phone call reporting the accident. A park entrance station employee happened upon the scene and provided additional information via radio. Rangers began a hasty response up the trail while simultaneously arranging for a rental helicopter from Geo-Seis out of Fort Collins. SAR personnel and equipment were flown to a landing zone near the base of the glacier. They joined the rangers who came up the trail in providing advanced life support. R.M. was flown from the glacier to a hospital by a St. Anthony's Flight for Life helicopter from Denver.
[Submitted by Mark Magnuson, Chief Ranger]

Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Assist in Rescue of Injured Hiker

Larimer County Emergency Services contacted the park on July 31st and asked rangers to help with the evacuation of an injured hiker from Hells Canyon, an area in Roosevelt NF about five miles east of the park's boundary. A 45-year-old woman was hiking in the forest when a boulder weighing more than two tons dislodged and rolled ten feet downhill, striking her and coming to rest on her legs. Pneumatic air bags were employed to move the boulder enough to permit extrication. She was then littered down a tree-covered slope, transferred to an ambulance, and flown out by a Denver-based medevac helicopter. Seven rangers assisted 20 people from four other agencies in this operation.
[Submitted by Mark Magnuson, Chief Ranger]

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Burglary of Sugarlands Visitor Center

A person or persons broke into the Sugarlands Visitor Center around 2 a.m. on August 5th, smashed open two plastic donation boxes, and stole about $450 in cash from them. Entry was gained by breaking a three by four foot thermapane window near the entrance door. A hammer-like object was then employed to break open the two boxes. When maintenance worker Billy Lindsey report for work at 4 a.m., he discovered the damaged window and also found that all the lights to the building were off. Investigating rangers determined that the power to the building had been turned off at the main power shutoff located outside the building and that the phone cable coming into the building had been cut. There are no suspects in the incident at this time. Ranger Heath Soehn and special agent Jeff Carlisle are investigating the incident. 
[Submitted by Rick Brown, District Ranger]

Natchez Trace Parkway (AL,MS,TN)
Pursuit Ends in Motor Vehicle Accident

Ranger Carmelo Ortiz saw a car traveling in excess of 75 mph on the parkway near milepost 262 just after 1:30 a.m.on Sunday, August 8th. Ortiz attempted to stop it, but the driver — subsequently identified as David Westmoreland, 25, of Shannon, Mississippi — fled, exiting the parkway onto local roads. The pursuit ended approximately three minutes and three miles away when Westmoreland failed to negotiate a curve and struck a house. Ortiz and ranger Andy Atkins arrested Westmoreland after having to use pepper spray on him to curb his interest in fighting them. His passenger — T.S., 22, of Fulton, Mississippi — had to be extricated from the vehicle. The resident of the house, who was awakened by the rangers, was not injured; the house's foundation was damaged. Westmoreland and T.S. were taken to North Mississippi Medical Center for evaluation. They were released later in the morning, then taken to the county jail. Westmoreland faces numerous charges, including speeding and possible felony DUI. The assistant U.S. attorney and magistrate are being consulted to determine if a new state law that went into effect on July 1st applies in this case. The law contains misdemeanor and felony provisions for fleeing or eluding a law enforcement officer in a motor vehicle.  T.S. also faces charges. Ortiz is the case ranger.
[Submitted by Charles Cuvelier, Chief Ranger]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Preparedness Level 3

Initial activity was light everywhere on Tuesday. Only two of the 204 newly-reported fires escaped initial attack and became large fires; five other large fires were contained.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Weather Forecast

A strong ridge of high pressure will continue to bring hot and dry weather conditions to most of the West. However, as moisture increases on the south edge of the high, a few thundershowers are possible in the southern Great Basin and along the southern Sierra Mountains. Warm and mainly dry weather is expected for the central and eastern interior of Alaska, with a few isolated thunderstorms. In the Gulf of Mexico, tropical storm Bonnie may reach minimal hurricane status this afternoon before it moves onshore early on Thursday.

Warnings and Watches

No warnings or watches have been issued for today.

NPS Fires

For a brief supplemental narrative on each fire, click on the bar with the arrow. Internal NPS readers can link directly to full reports on each fire by clicking on the notepad icon; public readers of the Morning Report can obtain similar information by going to http://www.nps.gov/fire/news

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National/State Team Commitments

Newly listed fires (on this report) appear below in boldface. Changes in the status of a fire (type of team, change from a fire to a complex, etc.) are also noted in boldface.

Fires are sorted by type of team; teams are listed in alphabetical order within each type by the IC's last name.

State	Agency	Team	IC	Fire and Location	8/10	8/11	% Con	Est Con
CA	State	1	Heil *	Calaveras Complex, Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit	4,411	4,411	100	CND
MT	USFS	2	Carlson	Capri Lake Fire, Bitterroot NF	155	155	100	CND
WA	USFS	2	Furlong/ Gormley	Pot Peak Complex, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	49,970	46,970	85	UNK
AK	State	2	Jandt	Taylor Highway Complex, Tok Area Forestry	842,402	959,158	15	UNK
WA	USFS	2	Jennings/ Perry #	Freezeout Fire, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	586	596	17	UNK
AK	BLM	2	Morcom	Central Complex, Upper Yukon Zone	260,000	260,000	NR	UNK
WA	USFS	2	Reed/ Holloway #	Fischer Fire, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	250	375	0	UNK
CA	USFS	2	Rios	Early Fire, Stanislaus NF	-----	1,250	75	8/15
WA	USFS	FU	Bonefeld	Rattlesnake Peak Fire, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	738	576	N/A	N/A
MN	NPS	FU	Bird	Section 33 Fire, Voyageurs NP	1,435	1,435	N/A	N/A

* CDF Type 1 IMT

# Washington State IMT

National Resource Commitments

Day	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed
Date	8/5	8/6	8/7	8/8	8/9	8/10	8/11
Crews	154	122	126	131	207	185	223
Engines	365	202	292	321	474	474	315
Helicopters	93	83	74	73	88	101	100
Air Tankers	0	2	2	0	2	2	0
Overhead	1,536	1,130	992	847	1,005	1,317	1,311

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 NPS Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) and on park fires can be found at:

FAM — http://www.nps.gov/fire
Park fires — http://www.nps.gov/fire/news

OPERATIONAL NOTES

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Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (LA)
Sig Armorer Training

The park will be hosting a two-day Sig armorer class on Wednesday, October 13th, and Thursday, October 14th. The tuition is $350. Registration is being handled directly through Sig Arms — call them at 603-679-2003 or email them at sigarmsacademy@sigarms.com. Local lodging is available at $55/night. For more information, contact Leigh Zahm at 504-589-2330 x 17.
[Submitted by Leigh Zahm, Supervisory Park Ranger]

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.