NPS Morning Report - Friday, June 7, 2002


                       NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, June 7, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-214 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Car Clout Arrest

Over the past few months, the park experienced a rash of car break-ins
at the Fern Creek and Endless Wall parking areas. During the Memorial
Day weekend, the protection division conducted a surveillance operation
on three parking areas. On Monday, May 27th, ranger Sandy Shuck observed
five people breaking into a car at the Endless Wall parking area. A
description of their getaway van was radioed to ranger Greg Malcolm, who
stopped the van and recovered stolen property with a value in excess of
$800. C.M., M.J., W.C. Jr., E.B.
and R.R. were arrested by NPS rangers on federal charges.
All five had initial appearances in court the next day and were charged
with theft under 18 USC 661.2, a class A misdemeanor. The federal
magistrate judge set cash bonds for four of the five suspects ranging
from $5,000 to $10,000. The fifth suspect was released on a $10,000
personal recognizance bond because she is six-and-a-half months
pregnant. Recovered evidence indicates that the group may have been
responsible for more that 15 additional theft cases totaling
approximately $30,000 in property losses. Additional charges are pending
on these and possibly other suspects.  [Chris Schrader, CI, NERI, 5/30]

02-215 - C&O Canal NHP (MD/DC) - Theft of Government Funds

On May 23rd, rangers preparing a deposit of campground fees noticed a
discrepancy between sites occupied and corresponding payments. A spot
check was done that same day comparing self registrations with current
occupants of the full campground at McCoys Ferry. Other discrepancies
were discovered and several campers reported having given their
registration money to the volunteer campground host. The campground
host, J.C., was contacted and admitted to taking campground
funds. Statements from recent campers have shown the total to be in the
hundreds of dollars. Additional information has been received and the
investigation is continuing. It is believed that the total amounts could
be much higher, since this was the host's third year in the campground.
Federal charges are pending. Martin Gallery is the lead agent on the
case. [Dwight Dixon, DR, CHOH, 6/5]

02-216 - Blue Ridge Parkway (NC/TN) - Falling Fatality

On the afternoon of May 31st, dispatch received a report of a possible
falling fatality from a cliff within the park around MP 242 near Sparta,
North Carolina. A visitor reported that he'd left his wife for a short
period of time and that he was unable to find her when he returned. He
then looked over a low rock wall and saw what he believed to be part of
her clothing at the base of a near vertical drop of about 80 feet.
Responding rangers and rescuers found that it was indeed his wife -
K.S., 52, of Roanoke, Virginia - and that she had perished.
An autopsy was conducted, which revealed the cause of death to be
multiple blunt trauma. The area of the fall was not at an overlook.
Ranger Brent Springer is the case ranger. [John Garrison, LES, BLRI,
6/5]

02-217 - Yosemite NP (CA) - MVA with Fatality

M.G., 21, was driving westbound on Highway 140 just west of the
park boundary through the El Portal administrative area on the afternoon
of May 28th when he lost control of his vehicle and went over a steep
bank into the Merced River. At this time of year, the river is high due
to spring runoff. M.G.'s pickup truck was found on its side,
completely submerged in whitewater. A joint search and recovery
operation was initiated that involved responders from the Mariposa
County Sheriff's Office SAR team and park SAR, fire, law enforcement,
and maintenance personnel. The incident commander was a sheriff's
sergeant and the operations chief was ranger Dave Horne. The park
contract helicopter was used to ferry rescuers to the other side of the
river. A highline was set up and an inflatable raft was tethered above
the truck. From this platform, ranger Loren Fazio was able to hook up a
chain to the submerged wheel of the vehicle, and the truck was then
towed out of the river. M.G. was the only occupant and was
pronounced dead at the scene. The accident is being investigated by the
California Highway Patrol. [Mark Harvey, PR, YOSE, 5/31]

02-218 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Rescue

At 2:15 p.m. on Sunday, May 26th, Yosemite Valley rangers received a
report of an injured climber 700 feet below the top of the Sunkist route
on El Capitan. The initial report was that a climber had suffered
abdominal injuries in a fall. Twelve members of the Yosemite Valley SAR
team were flown to the summit. Ranger/parkmedic John Dill was lowered to
the injured climber, B.M., 23. B.M. was placed in a litter and
he and Dill were raised to the top. B.M. was carried to the summit
after dark. After spending the night on top, B.M. was flown to the
Crane Flat helibase by the park helicopter, then on to Doctor's Medical
Center in Modesto by air ambulance. SAR technician Micah Dash was
lowered to the remaining climber and they and all equipment were hauled
out. [Steve Yu, IC, YOSE, 5/31]

[Additional reports pending...]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 3

Initial attack was moderate in the Southwest and southern California on
Thursday and light elsewhere.

Priorities for large fires in the Rockies are being established by the
Rocky Mountain multi- agency coordinating group. An area command team
(Chesley) is assigned to manage the large fires in southeastern
Colorado.

Among the more significant fires on the NICC Incident Management
Situation Report were the following. For a map showing their locations,
click on http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/firemap.html .

California

Copper Fire, Los Angeles County (12,000 acres, 5% contained, 1,086
FF/OH) - A Type 1 team (Raley) will take over command of the fire at 6
p.m. PDT today. A unified command is in place between the Type 2 team
(Dietrich) currently managing the fire and Los Angeles County FD. The
fire is burning north and northeast in decadent chaparral. Dry fuels,
low humidity and high wind caused extreme fire behavior and rapid spread
yesterday. The communities of Green Valley and Warm Springs and high
voltage lines serving Los Angeles are threatened. Residences within
Drinkwater Canyon have been evacuated. Six residences and seven other
buildings have been lost.

Wolf Fire, Los Padres NF (10,644 acres, 15% contained, 1,670 FF/OH) - A
Type 1 team (Gelobter) is managing the fire, which is burning in pinyon
pine and juniper about nine miles north of Ojai, California. Major
northeast runs and long range spotting occurred in the Sespe drainage,
Thorn Point area, and Pine Mountain Ridge on Thursday. Crews are
establishing lines along the northwest and south flanks of the fire.

Colorado

Trinidad Complex, Colorado State (25,326 acres, 60% contained, 270
FF/OH) - A Type 1 team (Wood) is managing the complex. The fires are in
New Mexico, eight miles west of Trinidad, Colorado, and are burning in
grass, pinyon pine, juniper and ponderosa pine. Winds caused the fire to
burn actively yesterday; isolated torching was observed. Crews are
constructing both direct and indirect lines and mopping up.

Iron Mountain Fire, BLM's Royal Gorge Office (4,439 acres, 97%
contained, 247 FF/OH) - A Type 1 team (Martin) is managing the fire,
which is 12 miles north of Westcliffe, Colorado. Crews are improving
lines and hotspotting.

New Mexico

Middle Ponil Complex, New Mexico State (90,000 acres, 10% contained, 267
FF/OH) - Van Bruggen's Type 2 team is managing the fire; a Type 1 team
(Lohrey) has been ordered. The complex of three fires is burning in
ponderosa pine ten miles west of Cimmaron. Activity was moderate
yesterday, but the town of Ute Park remains threatened.

Arizona

Bullock Fire, Coronado NF (30,563 acres, 95% contained, 602 FF/OH) -
Joki's Type 2 team is managing the fire, which is burning in grass, oak
and chaparral about 15 miles northeast of Tucson. Crews are patrolling
and mopping up.

Utah

Big Wash Fire, BLM's Cedar City Office (1,200 acres, 0% contained, 234
FF/OH) - A Type 2 team (Broyles) will assume command of the fire today.
The fire, which is burning 21 miles southeast of Cedar City in
bug-killed spruce and fire, has exhibited extreme behavior, including
long-range spotting and significant runs. Ten residences and associated
outbuildings are threatened.

Nizhoni Fire, Manti-LaSal NF (2,354 acres, 60% contained, 392 FF/OH) -
Burdick's Type 2 team is managing the fire, which is ten miles west of
Blanding, Utah. Aircraft are supporting crews building lines on the
fire's northeast flank.

Alaska

Vinasale Fire, Alaska Division of Forestry (100,000 acres, 5% contained,
230 FF/OH) - Ketcher's Type 2 team is managing the fire, which is
burning in black spruce, taiga and hardwoods 15 miles south of McGrath.
The fire was active on its eastern flank; crews are mopping up on the
northeastern flank.

West Fork Chena Fire, Alaska Division of Forestry (22,092 acres, 70%
contained, 94 FF/OH) - The fire is burning in black spruce about 50
miles east of Fairbanks. Precipitation has lowered fire intensity.

MP 78 Elliott Highway, Alaska BLM (95,626 acres, 31% contained, 377
FF/OH) - The fire is burning seven miles southwest of Livengood in black
spruce, hardwoods, brush and litter. Johnson's Type 2 team is assigned.
Burnout operations were canceled due to unfavorable conditions. Crews
are completing lines along the Tolvana Trail from Elliott Highway.

Georgia

Blackjack Bay Complex, Okefenokee NWR (122,143 acres, 6% contained, 210
FF/OH) - A fire use management team (Adams) is operating under a unified
command with Georgia and Florida forestry. Fire activity has diminished
due to higher humidity.

National Fire Danger

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

National Resource Commitments

                Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu
Date            5/30  5/31  6/1   6/2   6/3   6/4   6/5   6/6
            
Crews           149   151   177   226   287   464   439   321
Engines         139   402   348   505   348   427   410   441
Helicopters     40    69    73    93    82    95    88    87
Air Tankers     2     2     4     2     2     0     0     1
Overhead        611   742   585   1,002 1,332 1,567 1,864 1,876
Type 1 IMT      2     1     1     2     4     4     4     4
Type 2 IMT      3     6     8     10    9     12    9     7
Fire Use IMT    1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NICC has issued the following for today:

A RED FLAG WARNING for strong winds and warm, dry conditions in
northwest Colorado.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for gusty southwest winds, very low relative
humidity and extreme fire danger for northwest Arizona.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for strong winds, low relative humidity and a
chance of dry lightning for southern and central Utah and the Arizona
Strip.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH for strong north to northeast winds for the
Sacramento Valley, surrounding foothills below 2,000 feet and the
greater East Bay area in northern California.

Park Fire Situation

Hawaii Volcanoes NP - Kupukupu Fire (3,660 acres, 30% contained, 183
FF/OH). There has been no change in acreage. Crews are improving lines
along the Kalapana Trail and mopping up the southwest corner of the
fire.

Park Fire Danger

Not available.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/7]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

FLETC (GA) - National Park Ranger Integrated Training Program Class 203
(NPRI-203) graduated from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center on
June 4th. Superintendent Tomie Lee of Glacier Bay NP&P was the keynote
speaker; special agent Dennis Burnett (NPS law enforcement
administrator) and USPP sergeant Scott Dahl also assisted training
manager Tom Cherry in the presentation of graduation certificates and
credentials. As the second class to receive training under the new six
day work-week program, the rangers established some very high standards
for subsequent classes, with superior individual and group achievements.
Richard L. Browne (ROVA) was top driver with a perfect 300 score. Ranger
Eric P. Provencher (LOWE) received the distinguished fitness award
(equivalent to the 500 score) on the PEB, while two other students
received a fitness award (equivalent to scoring above 95%) on the PEB.
Jill D. Wick (MORA) was high firearms expert with a 296 out of a
possible 300 points; she was joined by ten other rangers who qualified
as expert shooters. John E. Hearne (NATR) was the class scholar with a
outstanding 97.25 FLETC academic average  He was joined by four other
rangers who scored above 95% in the FLETC academic portion. Kris Eggle
(ORPI) received the class nomination for the FLETC Director's Award as
the outstanding ranger of the class. Grant E. Stolhand (COLO) received
the NPS Director's Award, which recognizes the graduating student who
achieved the highest overall average of all integrated training phases
without remediating any practical exercises. Grant's final overall
average was an outstanding 97.43. A total of ten rangers scored above
the 95% level in the overall scoring, and the class average was a
remarkable 93.94. Congratulations to NPRI-203 on a job well done.
NPRI-204 is now at FLETC, with NPRI-205 scheduled to arrive on June
13th.  [Don Usher, WASO-FLETC]

*  *  *  *  *

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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