INCIDENTS

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South Florida Parks
Hurricane Charley Moves Toward Landfall

Hurricane Charley is forecast to make landfall in south Florida this morning. Parks in its immediate path have completed preparations for Charley's arrival. Meanwhile, parks further up the Eastern seaboard are preparing for the effects of heavy to very heavy rains. According to meteorologists, a strong southwesterly flow aloft will rapidly steer remnants of Bonnie and then Charley up the East Coast today and into the weekend. Flooding rain will be a major concern as these systems drench areas from Florida black"> to New York and New England. Here are reports from parks in the storm's path:

Dry Tortugas NP — The park has closed. Preparations for the hurricane were completed on Thursday. The MV Fort Jefferson departed its mooring at Key West yesterday morning and proceeded to safe harbor at Fort Lauderdale. It was accompanied by the Coast Guard's Key West fleet. Licensed commercial transport to the park, including ferry boat and seaplane services, were also suspended.

DeSoto NM — The park's hurricane plan was put into effect yesterday. Artifacts, vehicles and expensive equipment were moved to high ground. Employees were to be released to make their personal preparations once the hurricane preparation checklist was completed. The park is closed through at least today.

Big Cypress NP — The park remains closed.

Everglades NP — The park closed to the public at 8 a.m. Thursday morning. Employees were released at noon. Employees will be sheltered at park headquarters, the Pine Island housing area, the dormitory quarters in East Everglades, and at the Comfort Inn in Naples, Florida. The park's incident management team is planning to return to work around 11 a.m. this morning. If all goes well, employees will be brought back in at 1 p.m. to begin a damage assessment and stabilization, reopen park visitor facilities, and resume administrative operations.

Biscayne NP — The park was closed to the public at noon yesterday. The closure affects all park islands — including Boca Chita, Elliot and Adams Keys — and the mainland area at Convoy Point. Park waters will remain open for vessel transit only.

Canaveral NS — The hurricane IMT met yesterday to begin preparations. The park will not open at its normal time this morning; the IMT will meet again, review information on the probable storm track, then decide by 10 a.m. whether or not to remain closed or reopen.

Fort Frederica NM — The park has begun preparing for the hurricane, which may pass directly over it early on Saturday morning. The park will likely remain open today, but will probably close tomorrow morning.

Yesterday afternoon, representatives from Southeast, Northeast and National Capital Regions, including emergency program coordinators, regional chief rangers, and the Eastern IMT, conducted a conference call to share information on preparations and coordinate responses. Preparedness efforts will continue today.
[Submitted by Bob Panko, IC, EVER; Rick Cook, PIO, EVER; Michelle Oehmichen, BISC; Charlie Fenwick, DESO; Mike Tennent, FOFR; Elizabeth Knegeris, CANA]

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Senator Kerry Visits Park

Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry visited the park on Monday, August 9th, accompanied by his wife, family members, campaign staff and a press pool. The visit was managed with an in-park incident management team. Senator Kerry and his party arrived on chartered helicopters which landed in the park at the South Rim helibase, then traveled by motorcade to the Powell Memorial on the West Rim Drive and to the El Tovar Hotel.  The entire party left the park via his campaign train at the Grand Canyon Railroad Depot. The visit lasted approximately four hours. Approximately 120 NPS personnel were assigned to the event, including 49 rangers. A six-member squad of the IMT SET team was also utilized.  Support was provided by law enforcement representatives from the US Secret Service, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Coconino County Sheriff's Office, Flagstaff Police Department, and Scottsdale Police Department. National, state, and local media covered the visit.
[Submitted by Mike Archer, IC]

Pipe Spring National Monument (AZ)
Storms Damage Park

Severe thunderstorms during the afternoons of August 5th and 6th caused damage to historic structures in the park and NPS facilities on the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation. On Thursday, August 5th, the park received a half inch of wind-driven rain in 20 minutes. Moisture penetrated one wall of the masonry of the historic Winsor Castle and caused interior plaster damage in two rooms. On Friday, just over an inch of rain fell, virtually all of it in less than an hour. The NPS operates a culinary water system on Kaibab Paiute Reservation lands north of the park. In that vicinity, it has been informally reported that two and three-quarters inches of rain fell in approximately 30 minutes. Lightning associated with the storm knocked out the well pump for the water system. A six-foot-high wall of water moved down a wash between the NPS well and storage tank and undermined and separated a section of waterline. The well pump will have to be replaced and waterline realigned. Emergency repairs are being planned. 
[Submitted by John W. Hiscock, Superintendent]

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Three Rescued From Mt. Whitney

On July 31st, the park received word that a 50-year-old woman was experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath at about 13,500 feet near Mt. Whitney. Park medic Dave Walton and helicopter crew manager Carrie Vernon flew to the site in the parks' helicopter, piloted by Larry Bartel. While Walton was treating the woman, four other visitors approached Vernon, complaining of a variety of altitude-related ailments. With little daylight flight time remaining, a quick assessment was made and the woman and two additional patients were loaded into the helicopter and flown to a medical facility. Typically 200 people climb the 14,496-foot Mt. Whitney each day — not uncommonly in some state of unpreparedness. Although the summit is located in Sequoia NP, most people reach it via a Forest Service trail.
[Submitted by Pat Grediagin, District Ranger, Sequoia District]

Grand Teton National Park (WY)
Three Rescues in One Day

Rangers dealt with three SAR operations over the course of Monday, August 9th:

J.W., 50, of Southampton, Pennsylvania, was evacuated by helicopter from Fox Creek pass around noon after sustaining injuries to his ankle and knee in a fall. J.W. was hiking the Teton Crest trail with his wife and four companions on Sunday, August 8th, when he lost his footing on some loose rocks, twisting his ankle and knee. The group setup camp near the point where the accident took place. A physician who was hiking in the area examined J.W.'s injuries, then continued hiking until she encountered a backcountry ranger and reported the accident. The ranger found the party, assessed J.W.'s injuries, then called interagency dispatch to report the accident. Due his injuries, the lack of horses for evacuation and the party's distance from the trailhead, rangers decided to use the park's contract helicopter. J.W. and his wife were flown to Lupine Meadows and then proceeded on to St. John's Medical Center.

J.L., 49, of Seattle, Washington, was hiking by himself, carrying a heavy pack filled with photography equipment, when he caught his leg between two boulders near the shore of Surprise Lake and injured his lower leg. A passing hiker used a cell phone to call interagency dispatch at 4:30 p.m. A helicopter flew two rangers to an LZ near Amphitheater Lake; the rangers hiked from there to J.L.'s location and provided him with medical care. Four more rangers were flown to the landing zone with a rescue litter. The six rangers then carried him back, flew him to Lupine Meadows, and transported him to St. John's Medical Center.

A.M., 32, of Greenville, South Carolina, sprained her knee when she slipped on a boulder during an ascent to Lower Saddle with Exum Mountain Guides on August 8th. She was able to ascend to Lower Saddle with assistance, but could not climb the Grand Teton with the rest of her group. The group descended on Monday afternoon. Guides placed a cell phone call from just above Garnet Canyon Meadows at 4:30 p.m., asking for help from rangers. An off-duty ranger who had been climbing in the area helped transport A.M. through the boulder field above the Platforms to a point where a park wrangler with a horse could meet them. The evacuation concluded around 9:30 p.m.
[Submitted by Public Affairs]

Cape Hatteras National Seashore (NC)
Drowning Near Hatteras Village

On August 8th, D.M., 49, of Towanda, Pennsylvania, was swimming in the ocean with his daughter and niece when one of the girls lost an unleashed flotation device. D.M. went to retrieve it and got caught in a rip current. Bystanders went to his aid, but he was underwater for about two minutes before they found him and brought him to shore. CPR was begun on the beach, and responding Dare County paramedics provided advanced life support. D.M. was taken to Hatteras Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Ranger Joe Meekins is investigating.
[Submitted by Paul Stevens, Law Enforcement Specialist]

Yosemite National Park (CA)
Fatal Motorcycle Accident

Rangers and fire personnel responded to a head-on motorcycle — bus accident on Highway 140 shortly after 1 p.m. on August 7th and were on scene within minutes. A Sun-Diego Tours bus with 45 persons on board was traveling uphill (eastbound) when the motorcycle, driven by M.W.G., 38, of Oceanside, California, collided with the left front of the bus. M.W.G. was pronounced dead at the scene. Evidence at the scene indicated that the bus was well inside its lane when the collision occurred. Witnesses on the bus said that M.W.G. was traveling at a high rate of speed and was in the uphill lane when they first saw him, and that just before impact the motorcycle leaned hard in a vain attempt to miss the bus. Marijuana was found scattered at the scene and in M.W.G.'s possession. It is unknown at this time if marijuana use was a contributing factor in the collision. An autopsy will be conducted. El Portal station captain Bernard Spielman was incident commander.[Submitted by Steve Yu, Criminal Investigator]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Friday, August 13, 2004

Preparedness Level 3

Initial attack was moderate throughout California and the Great Basin and light elsewhere. Five of the 196 newly-reported fires became large fires; two 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

Thunderstorms will develop along the Sierra, in the Great Basin and in the Northwest today as monsoonal moisture is drawn up from the south. Some of the thunderstorms are expected to be dry today, especially in northern Nevada and southern Utah. Very warm and dry conditions will be in place over the Northern Rockies. In Alaska, conditions will be windy and dry early. However, a frontal system will provide some light rainfall overnight tonight in east central sections of the state. In the Gulf of Mexico, Charley will continue to strengthen and is expected to move over the Florida Keys and onto the Florida west coast today.

Warnings and Watches

A RED FLAG WARNING has been posted today for dry lightning in southwest Idaho and southwest Utah.

A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been issued today for strong winds in portions of interior Alaska, and for dry lightning in portions of northern and northeastern Nevada.

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	8/11	8/13	% Con	Est Con
CA	State	1	Chuchel *	Bear Fire, Shasta-Trinity Unit	-----	7,500	50	8/15
WA	State	2	Berndt/ Andring #	Mud Lake Fire, Southeast Washington	-----	3,500	60	UNK
WA	USFS	2	Furlong/ Gormley	Pot Peak Complex, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	46,970	46,970	85	UNK
AK	State	2	Jandt	Taylor Highway Complex, Tok Area Forestry	959,158	1,015,129	15	UNK
WA	USFS	2	Jennings/ Perry #	Freezeout Fire, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	596	666	17	UNK
WA	USFS	2	Jennings/ Perry #	Mebee Pass, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	-----	189	0	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	375	1,330	30	UNK
CA	USFS	2	Rios	Early Fire, Stanislaus NF	1,250	1,670	85	8/15
MN	NPS	FU	Bird	Section 33 Fire, Voyageurs NP	1,435	1,435	N/A	N/A
ID	USFS	FU	Cones	Porter Fire, Salmon-Challis NF	-----	450	N/A	N/A
WA	USFS	FU	Weldon	Rattlesnake Peak Fire, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	576	576	N/A	N/A

* California state CDF IMT

# Washington state IMT

% A transfer of command to Frye's Type 1 IMT will occur today

@ Anderson's Type 1 IMT is on order

National Resource Commitments

Day	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
Date	8/7	8/8	8/9	8/10	8/11	8/12	8/13
Crews	126	131	207	185	223	229	234
Engines	292	321	474	474	315	487	497
Helicopters	74	73	88	101	100	142	110
Air Tankers	2	0	2	2	0	2	4
Overhead	992	847	1,005	1,317	1,311	1,456	1,342

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

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.