Antietam National Battlefield (MD)
Park AO Seriously Injured in Accident
Administrative officer Dave Blackbun was en route to a budget meeting
in NCRO in a government vehicle late on the afternoon of Thursday,
August 12th, when it was hit head-on by a 1999 Ford Ranger being driven
by 21-year-old Patrick Quin of Brunswick, Maryland. According to the
initial report from the Maryland State Police, Quin's vehicle crossed
the center line of the road and hit Blackburn's 1999 Dodge Caravan.
Blackburn was taken to Washington County Hospital, where he was
stabilized and his ruptured spleen was removed. On Friday, he was taken
to the University of Maryland Shock-Trauma Unit in Baltimore for
treatment of a broken femur, fractured arm, hairline fracture of the
hip, abrasions, and a head injury of unknown extent. Dave retired as a
captain from the Park Police and served as a law enforcement ranger at
Antietam until 1996, when he became the park's AO. Additional updates
will be provided as they are made available.
[Submitted by Ed
Wenschhof, Chief Ranger]
Devils Tower National Monument (WY)
Motorcycle Rally Brings Record Visitation
The park set a record for visitation during this year's 64th annual
Black Hills Motorcycle Rally, a week-long event held in nearby Sturgis,
South Dakota. A total of 13,889 bikes and autos entered the park during
a seven day stretch from August 8th to August 14th, nearly five percent
higher than any previous year. Wednesday, August 11th, was the busiest
day in the park's 98 year history, with 3,346 bikes and autos entering
the park. Operations during this period were managed under ICS and were
supported by rangers from Rocky Mountain NP, Mount Rushmore NM and
Little Bighorn Battlefield NM and by 26 volunteers. Rangers dealt with
several minor EMS incidents and motor vehicle accidents. In addition,
they apprehended and arrested a paraglider on the morning of August 9th.
C.H., 27, of Austria, was charged with multiple violations
for launching a paraglider from the top of the tower. The brief, seven
minute flight received considerable attention from rally participants
and local communities.
[Submitted by Scott Brown, Chief Ranger]
Dry Tortugas National Park (FL)
Eastern IMT Assists Park in Hurricane Cleanup
On Thursday, August 19th, the Eastern Incident Management Team (Bob
Panko, IC) began setting up its command post in Key West to support
cleanup efforts following Hurricane Charley. The incident commander,
operations section chief and site manager met at Fort Jefferson to
identify tasks and resources required to reopen the park and prevent
cultural resource damage from possible additional storms this hurricane
season. More resources will arrive on Friday.
[Submitted by Barb
Stewart, PIO, Eastern IMT]
Dry Tortugas National Park (FL)
Fatal Plane Crash
On the afternoon of Saturday, August 14th, two park employees saw a
small, single engine plane crash just outside the main channel near
Garden Key. The park's staff was heavily involved with cleanup efforts
from the direct hit of Hurricane Charley when rangers received the
report of the downed aircraft. By the time they arrived on scene,
research employees had four people in life jackets on the surface of the
water. All four survivors were able to swim from the wreck and received
only minor injuries in the accident, but they reported that a fifth
person was still on board the plane. The aircraft sank intact within
minutes of hitting the water. The fifth passenger had reportedly been
tied in to his seat while taking photographs of the fort. The plane was
chartered out of Marathon, Florida, to provide an aerial platform for a
filming crew. Rangers made surface sweeps with boats and with masks and
snorkels, but were unable to find the plane due to the murky waters left
from the passage of Hurricane Charley. The Coast Guard provided
transportation for a team of US Army Special Forces underwater
operations divers, who were also unsuccessful in their attempts to
locate the airplane due to the poor visibility. Search efforts
continued on Sunday. Special Forces divers found the aircraft that same
day in approximately 36 feet of water, at which time the body was
recovered from the wreckage. The victim was identified as N.F.,
a cameraman and cinematographer who was best known for his
work on the "Blair Witch Project." The joint investigation into the
incident by the National Park Service, Federal Aviation Administration
and the National Transportation Safety Board continues.
[Submitted by
Danica Bloom, Park Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Friday, August 20, 2004
Preparedness Level 3
Initial attack was moderate in the Northwest and Rockies yesterday. There were 177 newly-reported fires. Five became large fires; another two large fires were contained.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
Weather Forecast
A ridge of high pressure remains over the West with an upper low off the California coast. Thunderstorms will be scattered from the Sierra and Cascades eastward to the Rockies. High pressure will continue over central and northern Alaska.
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
{||inc|http://data2.itc.nps.gov/fire/includes/bill_table.cfm||}
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/Incident and Location |
8/18 |
8/20 |
% Con |
Est Con |
|
WA |
USFS |
1 |
Anderson |
Fischer Fire, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
8,519 |
15,855 |
30 |
UNK |
|
AK |
BLM |
1 |
Frye |
Central Complex, Upper Yukon Zone |
324,000 |
400,000 |
20 |
UNK |
|
FL |
FEMA |
1 |
Ferguson |
Hurricane Charley recovery |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
WA |
USFS |
1 |
Lohrey |
Williams Butte Complex, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
----- |
800 |
5 |
UNK |
|
CA |
State |
1 |
Lutts * |
French Fire, Shasta-Trinity Unit |
9,623 |
12,237 |
75 |
8/20 |
|
ID |
USFS |
2 |
Broyles |
Bear Spring Fire, Salmon-Challis NF |
930 |
1,005 |
72 |
8/23 |
|
WA |
USFS |
2 |
Furlong/ |
Pot Peak Complex, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
47,470 |
47,470 |
85 |
UNK |
|
WA |
State |
2 |
Holloway/ |
Highlands Complex, Northeast Washington |
----- |
545 |
NR |
UNK |
|
AK |
State |
2 |
Jandt |
Taylor Highway Complex, Tok Area Forestry |
1,152,093 |
1,167,833 |
NR |
UNK |
|
WA |
USFS |
2 |
Larsen |
Dirty Face Peak Fire, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
295 |
295 |
85 |
8/22 |
|
OR |
USFS |
2 |
Paul |
Grassy Fire, Fremont NF |
4,700 |
4,217 |
100 |
CND |
|
OR |
NPS |
2 |
West |
Bybee Complex, Crater Lake NP @ |
135 |
82 |
75 |
8/21 |
|
ID |
USFS |
2 |
Whalen |
North Star Butte Fire, Payette NF |
1,030 |
1,030 |
60 |
8/22 |
|
ID |
USFS |
FU |
Cones |
Porter Fire, Salmon-Challis NF |
2,911 |
2,911 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
WA |
USFS |
FU |
Cook |
Freezeout Complex, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
826 |
838 |
17 |
UNK |
|
OR |
USFS |
FU |
Hall |
Jim White Ridge, Wallowa-Whitman NF |
521 |
521 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
OR |
USFS |
FU |
Hall |
Hazel 2, Wallowa-Whitman NF |
345 |
345 |
N/A |
N/A |
* California state CDF IMT
# Washington state IMT
@ Reduction in acreage due to more accurate mapping
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
|
Date |
8/14 |
8/15 |
8/16 |
8/17 |
8/18 |
8/19 |
8/20 |
|
|
|||||||
|
Crews |
317 |
530 |
314 |
438 |
325 |
295 |
316 |
|
Engines |
648 |
709 |
741 |
741 |
711 |
573 |
639 |
|
Helicopters |
128 |
150 |
144 |
174 |
160 |
139 |
135 |
|
Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
|
Overhead |
1,658 |
2,257 |
2,030 |
2,360 |
2,529 |
2,509 |
2,806 |
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.