RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Wednesday, May 29, 1991
INCIDENTS
91-172 - Everglades (Florida) - Followup on Aircraft Accident
The Piper Cherokee 140 which crashed at the campground at
Flamingo was removed on Monday. About 14 gallons of fuel which
leaked from the plane were picked up by absorbent pads. Due to
the heavy mosquito population in the area at this time of year,
the campground was empty and no one was injured. [Telefax from
Mark Lewis, LES, EVER, 5/28]
91-174 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Memorial Day Weekend
Incidents
As in the past, Memorial Day weekend at Glen Canyon was a rowdy
and somewhat riotous affair. Although holiday travel was almost
the same as last year, the weather was better. Low lake levels
were not a major influence on visitor protection activities.
Late seasonal registers resulted in rangers coming on in May
rather than in March or April, so some positions were still
vacant during the weekend and the seasonal staff finished
training only the day before the holiday began. The park was
therefore forced to rely heavily on returning seasonals in order
to give new rangers onthejob training. The combined federal,
state and county shifts at Bullfrog, for instance, were down
from 20 officers and rangers in 1990 to seven this year, with
12-hour shifts often extending to 18 hours per day. Initial
tallies indicate that the park handled 329 incidents, including
19 drug cases, 15 drunk driving and two drunk boating cases, 38
incidents of minors in possession of controlled substances, 11
incidents of disorderly conduct, seven larcenies, one actual and
three attempted rapes, six boating and two motor vehicle
accidents, eight basic life support (not including "bandaid"
cases) and ten advanced life support incidents, and one death
from natural causes. There were four instances of persons being
so intoxicated on alcohol or drugs that they became unconscious
and required medical instance up to and including CPR for one
woman whose heart stopped. The park issued 140 nonparking
citations, and made 51 arrests. Rangers also responded to an
accident which occurred 45 miles outside the park involving a
party of people heading home after leaving Glen Canyon; the
accident killed at least one person and left eight people with
injuries serious enough to warrant advanced life support. The
weekend was typified by a major accident at Wahweap in which a
British visitor made a turn on the wrong side of the road and
was struck by a German driver; the first persons on the scene
were Australian. The park extends its thanks to Tony Schetzsle
and the staff at Canyonlands for their assistance in providing
two rangers to help out at Bullfrog. [CompuServe message from
Larry Clark, CR, GLCA, 5/28]
91-175 - Joshua Tree (California) - Drug Arrest; Rescue
Rangers Mike Grayson and Nina Burnell, responding to a report of
disorderly conduct in the Indian Cove campground around midnight
on May 24th, discovered a man near the top of a 60-foot
outcropping, screaming that he loved sex, drugs and LSD, that he
was Jesus Christ, and that he was on fire. While Burnell kept
the suspect under observation, Grayson climbed the backside of
the rock outcropping in darkness, grabbed the suspect from
behind, and pulled him off the top part of the rock and onto a
small ledge. The man, however, was at the same time able to
push Grayson down to a ledge five feet below. Although Grayson
suffered a severely sprained ankle in the fall and was in great
pain, he was able to crawl back up to the man and subdue and
handcuff him. Burnell and other backup rangers assisted in
evacuating both men. Grayson was taken to a hospital and
treated for a severely sprained ankle; the man was arrested and
charged with being under the influence of drugs, disorderly
conduct, and assault on a federal officer. Over the course of
the Memorial Day weekend, rangers made 11 drug arrests, bringing
the total number of such arrests for the year to 93. [Paul Henry,
CR, JOTR, via CompuServe message from Herb Gercke, RAD/WRO, 5/28]
91-176 - Joshua Tree (California) - Falling Fatality
Around 8:00 p.m. on May 26th, rangers received a report that a
visitor had fallen into a vertical mine shaft in the Cold Park
area of Joshua Tree. The mine, which is on BLM land adjacent to
the park, was located an hour later, and park rescue personnel
assisted the Barstow mine rescue team in locating the victim 200
feet below the surface. The victim apparently died upon impact.
Toxic smoke and fumes from a fire started by companions of the
victim in an adjacent mine shaft hampered rescue efforts until
contained by park and BLM fire crews the following morning.
Riverside County is conducting an investigation of the incident.
[Paul Henry, CR, JOTR, via CompuServe message from Herb Gercke,
RAD/WRO, 5/28]
91-177 - Shenandoah (Virginia) - Serious Accident
K.B., 23, of Warrenton, Virginia, was driving her 1990
Ford pickup southbound on a section of Skyline Drive which is
under construction on the evening of the 26th when she lost
control of the vehicle, which skidded sideways, struck a
concrete barrier, flipped several times and came to rest against
some trees. K.B. and her passenger, J.E., also of
Warrenton, were both ejected from the vehicle. K.B. was
taken to a hospital in Luray, where she was treated for multiple
injuries and released; J.E., however, suffered multiple
serious traumatic injuries and was flown to the Virginia Medical
Center in Charlottesville, where he's reported to be in fair
condition. Charges may follow, pending a complete investigation
by the park staff. Alcohol may have been a factor in the
accident. Neither occupant appears to have been wearing a
seatbelt. A park EMT suffered a needlestick injury during the
incident when a used IV needle penetrated a disposal container.
Information regarding the exposure incident and the container
will be distributed once an investigation is completed.
[Telefax from Greg Stiles, ACR, SHEN, 5/28]
91-178 - Delaware Water Gap (Pennsylvania/New Jersey) - Arson
A fire was discovered in the Simmons House, a vacant parkowned
structure, at about 4:15 p.m. on the afternoon of the 27th.
Units from three volunteer fire companies responded. Upon
arrival, they found that the structure was completely engulfed
in flames. The interior and roof of the house were destroyed,
but the stone frame remained mostly intact. The structure had a
previous history of fires and was in poor shape. The cause of
the fire appears to be arson. A joint investigation by the park
and the New Jersey state police arson unit is underway.
[Telefax from Hal Grovert, CR, DEWA, 5/28]
91-179 - Natchez Trace (Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee) - Flooding
A portion of the parkway in northern Mississippi known as
Brown's Bottom was closed due to flooding on the evening of the
26th. A wet spring combined with ten inches of rain in a 24hour
period raised flood waters to a record three feet over the
parkway. Old Trace Drive, an interpretive drive in Tennessee,
and Colbert Park, a recreation area along the parkway in
northwest Alabama, were also closed. The areas reopened on the
morning of the 27th when waters receded. Although the Brown's
Bottom portion of the parkway was designed to withstand 50year
floods, this is the second time that it has been flooded in the
past six years. Only minor damage was inflicted on the roadway
shoulder and pavement. Water levels remain high, but the
parkway is open. [Telefax from Len Weems, ACR, NATR, 5/28]
91-180 - Yosemite (California) - Rescues
According to an Associated Press report this morning, the park
has been experiencing a series of significant rescues over the
past two weeks which ranger John Dill characterized as the most
intensive such period he'd seen in the past 15 years. Incidents
included the car accident reported yesterday, a rescue of three
Italian climbers from El Capitan, a significant search for a
missing hiker, and the recovery of a climber who broke a leg in
a fall near Nevada Falls on the 26th. Further details will be
provided when reports are received from the park. [Associated
Press, 5/29]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) As you know, the National Council of United State Magistrates
is in the process of reviewing the status of parttime magistrate
positions with an eye to eliminating as many as 50% of those
positions. A representative from the Department of Interior's
Division of Enforcement and Security Management recently met
with the Chief of the Magistrate Division, Administrative Office
of the United States Courts. That office has expressed a desire
to hear our concerns on this issue, and DOI has asked that the
Department and affected bureaus have an opportunity to comment
on any consolidation efforts which would impact us. Please keep
us advised of all such impacts on your operations and your
efforts to alleviate them. [John Gannon, Chief, Division of
Enforcement and Security Management, DOI]
2) A brief memorial service for ranger Bob McGhee was held in
the Colmer Visitor Center at Davis Bayou on the morning of May
23rd in which a memorial plaque honoring McGhee was unveiled.
Members of the Ocean Springs police department, FBI, NPS and
other law enforcement agencies and friends were in attendance.
Mrs. McGhee expressed her appreciation to the members of the law
enforcement community for the support she has received from them,
and extended her special thanks to the National Park Service for
the assistance they've provided. A granite marker was also
placed at the site where Bob was gunned down, and a flag was
presented to Mrs. McGhee which had been flown at half staff on
Sunday the 26th in commemoration of the first anniversary of his
death. [Gene Phillips, CR, GUIS]
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.
Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Sisto on AL (5/27-5/31).
Branch of Fire: Norum at annual meeting of national advisory group on
fire danger rating, Asheville, NC (5/27-5/31); Botti and Burg at FIREPRO
steering committee meeting, San Francisco, CA (5/28-6/4).
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities
Telephone: FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
Telefax: FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977
CompuServe: WASO-RANGER (Branch of R&VP); WASO-FIRE-WO (Branch of Fire)
SEAdog: 1/650