NOTICES

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Director/Deputy Directors
Flags To Be Lowered To Half Staff

The Department of the Interior has authorized the lowering of all flags to half staff, effective immediately, in commemoration of the passing of ranger Suzanne Roberts.

INCIDENTS

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Haleakala National Park (HI)
Death of Ranger Suzanne Roberts

Ranger Suzanne "Suzi" E. Roberts died Tuesday while attempting to remove rocks on the road in the Kipahulu District of Haleakala National Park on Maui. She had worked at the park since April as a law enforcement ranger. She was 36.

Roberts was on duty in the Kipahulu District and on Hana Road in the Alelele area when she noticed several rocks in the middle of the road, recently fallen from an adjacent cliff.  She parked the patrol car on a nearby access road to the Alelele beach area and walked down the main road to clear the rocks. While bending over to remove the rocks, she was hit in the upper back and head by a boulder in excess of three feet in diameter that fell from the cliff. Witnesses used the radio in her cruiser to contact the NPS Pacific Area Dispatch Center. Rangers and Maui police, ambulance and fire units arrived within 15 minutes. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. She was taken by ambulance to the Hana Medical Center. "Suzi was doing what rangers do," said her supervisor, unit manager Eric Anderson.  "She was making the place safe for others." Roberts had served as a long-time seasonal in Rocky Mountain National Park before transferring to Haleakala this spring.  "She was so energetic and full of life," Anderson said.  "She had a lot of rangering experience and a great personality. Visitors loved her. And so did we. We feel a tremendous sense of loss."

Director Mainella has authorized the wearing of black bands on badges and mourning devices on civilian clothes from today through the date of interment.[Submitted by Holly Bundock, Public Affairs Officer, Pacific West Regional Office]

Southeast Region
Hurricane Ivan, Tropical Storm Jeanne

Parks along the Gulf Coast are battened down and waiting out Ivan's passage. The Service's Eastern IMT is on standby for callout to any park(s) needing assistance, and the national and other regional teams are on call if further help should be required.

Meanwhile, reports have been received from parks further inland that are facing the prospect of very heavy rains on top of all the precipitation dropped by Hurricane Frances. And Virgin Islands NP has sent a follow-up note about Tropical Storm Jeanne:

Great Smoky Mountains NP — Forecasters are currently predicting a major rain event in the southern Appalachians, as Hurricane Ivan will likely stall over the mountains, producing rain for 48 hours or longer. Up to a foot may fall. The National Weather Service is warning that "dangerous and significant flooding" may occur, and USGS has issued a landslide warning (see yesterday's editions of InsideNPS and the Morning Report). The park management team has accordingly begun making preparations. Signs have been posted at all backcountry permit stations and all campgrounds warning visitors of the expected heavy rains and advising them to take necessary precautions. It also warns backcountry travelers that they should not expect to be rescued if stranded by high water or injured as a result of the storm.

Blue Ridge Parkway — Because of the now projected path of Hurricane Ivan into the southern Appalachians, additional sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway in western North Carolina were closed early Thursday evening. These included the sections between Bull Gap (milepost 375) near Asheville and Mount Mitchell State Park, from NC Highway 191 (mile 393) to NC 151 (mile 405) near Mount Pisgah, and from mile 412 at US Highway 276 to mile 469 at Cherokee.  Campgrounds in North Carolina will also close this afternoon. Rangers and maintenance staff will monitor storm impacts, and gated sections and closed facilities will reopen as soon as conditions permit. The anticipated high winds and the heavy rain, which may persist through Sunday, come little more than a week after the remnants of Hurricane Frances dumped up to 20 inches of rain in some sections of western North Carolina and caused major rockslides and mudslides that took out several high elevation sections of the scenic road and created continuing closures. With the previously announced and additional closings, the parkway will be closed tomorrow evening as follows: 

• Mile 317-325 from near Linville Falls to just north of NC 226 at Spruce Pine.
• Mile 344-375 from NC 80 near Marion to Bull Gap north of Asheville.
• Mile 393-405 from NC 191 south of Asheville to mile 405 at NC 151.
• Mile 412-443 from US 276 to US 23/74 near Waynesville.

The parkway across the valley at Asheville remains open, and access to the Little Switzerland community is still available from NC 226. The Pisgah Inn and restaurant will remain open, but food and guest services will be limited.  Access is to that facility is available from NC 151 and US 276. All other sections of the 469-mile parkway remain open, although other facilities and road sections will be closed if storm conditions warrant.

Natchez Trace Parkway — Ivan could have a significant impact on approximately 300 miles of the parkway today. Downed trees and power outages are expected. Park staff have made preparations, and rangers have warned campers at Rocky Springs and Jeff Busby campground of the approaching weather.

Horseshoe Bend NMP — Forecast models predict that Ivan will bring winds of 50 to 70 mph (with gusts to 80 mph) and from 6 to 12 inches of rain to the area where the park is located. Soil will become saturated, making trees susceptible to being uprooted. Widespread tree damage and damage to homes and buildings is expected. Widespread power outages are also deemed likely. Park staff completed preparations and the park closed at 1 p.m. yesterday, permitting employees time to secure their homes.

Tuskegee Institute NHS/Tuskegee Airmen NHS/Selma to Montgomery NHT — All three areas will be officially closed on Thursday and Friday, though emergency staff will be available. Power and water outages are expected. Staff were released at 1 p.m. on Wednesday to make personal preparations for the storm.

Virgin Islands NP — The park was closed yesterday due to the proximity of Tropical Storm Jeanne. The storm passed just south of St. Croix and was headed for Puerto Rico at the time of the report. Employees deemed essential reported to work to monitor the situation and respond as needed.  

Reports from Ken Garvin, FMO, SERO; Paul Thomas, IO, VIIS; Jim Northup, Chief Ranger, GRSM; Mark Lewis, Superintendent, HOBE; Catherine Farmer Light, Superintendent, SEMO, and Acting Superintendent, TUIN/TUAI; Phil Noblitt, PAO, BLRI; Wendell Simpson, Superintendent, NATR.

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Thursday, September 16, 2004

Preparedness Level 2

Initial attack was light, with 48 new fires reported. One became a large fire.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported yesterday in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

Weather Forecast

Gusty northeast winds will continue over northern California. Cool, unsettled weather will also continue over the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies with dry weather over the rest of the West. Hurricane Ivan will move across the Gulf of Mexico with landfall expected Thursday morning.

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/Incident and Location	9/15	9/16	% Con	Est Con
FL	FEMA	ACT	Mann	Hurricanes Frances/Ivan, Orlando	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	ACT	Williams-Rhodes	Hurricane Ivan, Atlanta, GA	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Anderson #	Hurricane Ivan	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Bennett #	Hurricane Ivan	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Ferguson #	Hurricane Ivan	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Kearney	Hurricanes Frances/Ivan, NAS Jacksonville	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Lohrey #	Hurricane Ivan	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Oltrogge	Hurricanes Frances/Ivan, Maxwell AFB, AL	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Sexton #	Hurricane Ivan	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Vail	Hurricanes Frances/Ivan, Orlando	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Wilcox #	Hurricane Ivan	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
CA	USFS	T1	Gelobter	Tuolumne Fire, Stanislaus NF	700	800	90	9/17
CA	State	T1	Henson *	Old Highway Fire, Merced-Mariposa Unit	1,413	1,347	100	CND

* State team
# On order

National Resource Commitments

Day	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu
Date	9/10	9/11	9/12	9/13	9/14	9/15	9/16
Crews	110	47	22	87	143	88	33
Engines	217	65	48	202	286	116	69
Helicopters	36	26	14	28	42	18	10
Air Tankers	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Overhead	1,234	922	213	352	485	358	331

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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Law Enforcement and Emergency Services
Openings on Incident Management Program Steering Committee

The National Park Service is seeking candidates to fill four positions on its Incident Management Program Steering Committee, which is charged with providing overall guidance and direction to the incident management program. The committee will be very active in coming months in formulating a new Director's Order and Reference Manual, providing input and guidance on funding needs, establishing a training program, and many other related matters. The four openings on the 11-person committee are in the following categories:

A regional chief ranger

A regional incident management team incident commander

A field representative from the eastern United States (any area east of the Mississippi River).

A park superintendent.

Candidates must have a strong interest in incident management and have approval from their supervisors. Committee members will be required to attend one or two meetings each year and contribute time to work group projects, as directed by the committee as a whole. The term is for three years. The committee's charter and action plan are posted at (http://inside.nps.gov/programs/programcustommenu.cfm?menuid=2798&div=45&prog=179).

If you're interested, please send a message with the following information to Don Coelho, Chief of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, with a copy to Skip Miller, acting National Emergency Services Coordinator

Identify the position which you are interested in filling.

Provide basic contact information, including name, current title and grade, telephone and fax numbers, and the park address.

Briefly describe your past and current ICS experience and responsibilities.

Provide any other information that will help the committee to assess your ability to help the NPS improve its incident management program.

Nominations must be submitted by October 15th.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

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Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site (NY)
GS-11 Park Architect

Dates: 08/06/2004 - 10/01/2004

The person selected will serve as the park architect. This involves conducting architectural investigations and assessments, preparing plans and specifications; and, acting as project supervisor in support of preservation, restoration and construction projects at the Vanderbilt Mansion NHS, the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt NHS and the Eleanor Roosevelt NHS all in Hyde Park, New York. This is a three year term appointment at the GS-11 level; the salary is $52,650. If you know of someone outside the service who may be interested, please share it with them. Call 845-229-1524, between 7AM and 3:30 PM eastern time, with any area or function-specific questions. See vacancy announcement DEU MD 04-09 ROVA.
[Submitted by Henry Van Brookhoven, henry_van_brookhoven@nps.gov, 845-229-1524] More Information...

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.