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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, September 22, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Yosemite NP Man Arrested For Starting Wildland Fire Just after midnight on the morning of Saturday, September 16th, a ranger contacted a man who was walking up the El Portal road, wearing a backpack and carrying a plastic bag of beer on ice in his hand. The man, who had not yet started to drink the beer, said that he was walking to Yosemite Valley. The ranger warned him that camping was only allowed in designated campgrounds and the man continued up the road. At about 5 a.m., park dispatch received a report of a wildland fire along the El Portal road. It quickly grew to three-and-a-half acres and was aggressively attacked by NPS, Forest Service and California Division of Forestry firefighters. A special agent was called in to investigate the fire, and dispatch broadcast a lookout for the man that the ranger had contacted along the road. About 45 minutes after the lookout went out, another ranger found the man, identified as 42-year-old W.R., walking along a road in Yosemite Valley. He had second-degree burns on his face and hands and immediately admitted to starting the fire. W.R. said that he had gone up into the woods and camped about a half mile from the point where the ranger had talked to him. He built a small fire, which escaped when he fell asleep. He said that the explosion of one of his beer cans woke him up and that fire was by then all around him. He got burned while trying to extinguish the fire with his sleeping bag. He was arrested and remains detained for a felony violation of 18 USC 1855 (setting timber afire) and for 36 CFR violations (illegal camping and lighting an illegal fire). Recovery of the cost of the suppression of the fire will be sought. [Dan Horner, Special Agent] Denali NP&P Two Moose Poachers Apprehended On the evening of Sunday, September 17th, a local hunter reported the presence of a possible hunting camp in the northeast corner of the park, where hunting is prohibited. The park pilot conducted an overflight of the area, located the camp, and observed a moose kill site approximately two miles inside the park boundary. Aerial observations suggested that the hunters had illegally used ATV's to access the area. Three rangers flew to the site by helicopter early on Monday morning and apprehended two hunters - 54 year-old D.N. of Anderson, Alaska, and 22 year-old R.M. of Nenana, Alaska. The rangers seized a 43-inch bull moose (43 inches is the measurement of the maximum width between the bull's antlers) along with weapons and other evidence. To prevent further resource damage, one of the hunters' two ATV's was sling-loaded to a point outside the park boundary. Activation at the kill site of the hunters' own GPS receiver showed that they were well inside the park. Misdemeanor Lacey Act and other charges against the two are pending. [Pete Armington, Chief Ranger] Cape Hatteras NS Kayaking Accident Ends With Probable Drowning On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 19th, J.C., 35, of Green Castle, Pennsylvania, who was renting a cottage with four friends a mile north of the Avon fishing pier, borrowed a kayak from a neighbor and launched it into the ocean. While his friends watched from the cottage's deck, he paddled out about 50 yards, then flipped the kayak. They saw him holding onto the kayak and headed down to the beach to help him out. When they got there, they found the kayak, but there was no sign of J.C. One of them made a 911 call and reported the accident. Rangers and Dare County rescue personnel responded and the Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter. A search was conducted until dusk, then resumed again the following day. No sign of J.C. has been found, and he's presumed to have drowned. Rangers John McCutcheon and David Carter investigated this incident for the NPS. [Paul Stevens, Law Enforcement Specialist] NEWS WASO V&RP - A request has been issued for submission of applications based on past ICS experience for entry into the new National Park Service all-hazard incident qualification system. This system will be used to identify people for assignment to future NPS all-hazard incidents. HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4789" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4789 * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |