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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, December 12, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Great Smoky Mountains NP Theft From Motor Vehicle Ranger Carin Harvey was patrolling the Deep Creek area on December 4th when she came across a vehicle with a smashed window parked at the Deep Creek trailhead. When she made contact with the vehicle owner, she learned that a purse and money had been stolen from the vehicle. Later that day, another vehicle was broken into outside the park in the Bryson City area. This time the theft was witnessed by a bystander. A “be on the lookout” message was broadcast for the suspect and vehicle, and a state trooper soon stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver, William J. Fowls. Harvey quickly learned of the arrest and questioned Fowls along with acting special agent Kirby Styles. Fowls confessed to the Deep Creek car clout. Since he was already under arrest on state charges, the rangers placed him on an unsecured field bond and charged him with misappropriation of property and damage to private property. [Rick Brown, Assistant Chief Ranger] Mesa Verde NP Vehicle Fires Suppressed During Park Event On December 9th, the park hosted the grand finale of its year-long centennial celebration, with several thousand park visitors and guests attending the evening's special events. Around 7 p.m., a park employee noticed smoke and flames emanating from the engine compartment of a Ford Taurus parked in the main visitor center parking lot. Responding park personnel found that the fire was deep-seated and that the two chemical extinguishers they used on it had little effect in suppressing the flames. The Far View Visitor Center parking area was nearly full to capacity at the time and there was heavy pedestrian traffic throughout the area. A Vizsla short-haired pointer trapped inside a vehicle directly threatened by the fire was released by rangers. When the park's structural fire brigade arrived on scene, the Taurus was fully involved and the fire had moved to the engine compartment of an F-250 pickup truck. The fires in both vehicles were quickly extinguished and their spread checked. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation. [Scott Jacobs, Park Ranger, and Jessie Farias, Jr., Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS Other news from today's edition of InsideNPS, the National Park Service's home page: Appalachian Trail - Early in November, a symposium was held to discuss a “mega-transect” project in which the trail will be used as an environmental monitoring instrument. Cape Hatteras NS - A notice of intent was published in yesterday's Federal Register, announcing that the NPS will prepare an off-road vehicle management plan and EIS for the park. Office of Policy - There is still time to order arrowhead gifts for the holidays. Among the many items you'll find in the Arrowhead Store are gold-plated ornaments, crystal paperweights, coffee mugs, sterling silver jewelry, and fleece blankets. Vietnam Veterans Memorial - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial collection has hit a milestone. The archived collection of items left at The Wall has reached 100,000 items. Wind Cave NP - After nearly 34 years of federal service, 21 of those years with the National Park Service, superintendent Linda L. Stoll is retiring, effective January 3rd. She has been superintendent at Wind Cave since July of 2000. To link to InsideNPS, click on HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |