RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Thursday, July 11, 1991
*** NOTICE ***
There will be no morning report tomorrow.
Reports will resume on Monday.
INCIDENTS
91-277 - Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Successful Search
On the evening of July 9th, M.Z., seven, of San Diego,
California, was reported missing from the Indian Creek
campground. The boy had been fishing with his uncle, L.Z.,
near the campground earlier in the evening. L.Z. left
M.Z. around 5:30 p.m. to return to the campsite for warmer
clothing and insect repellant and instructed M.Z. to remain
where he was and not cross the creek. When he came back 20
minutes later, the boy was gone. L.Z. and the campground hosts
looked for him for about an hour, then called rangers for
assistance. A major search was begun at 7:30 p.m. and included
the park helicopter, search dogs and teams of ground searchers.
They were unable to locate M.Z. that night. On the morning of
the 10th, two fire-fighting crews from the Pelican Fire were
temporarily diverted to aid in the search. M.Z. was spotted by
the crew of the helicopter at 9:00 a.m. about two and a half
miles southwest of the campground near the Panther Creek trail.
He was in good condition except for minor abrasions to an arm.
[Press release, YELL, via telefax from J.T. Reynolds, RAD/RMRO,
7/10]
91-278 - Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Bison Goring
A bull bison gored 76-year-old E.T., a Hamilton Store
employee, as she exited some stairs from a dormitory in the Lake
developed area on July 9th. She was gored in the left hip and
received a large, deep puncture wound and lacerations and injury
to her right shoulder. Rangers transported her to the Lake
Hospital, where she is currently listed in stable condition.
E.T. was carrying a basket of laundry and soap and did not see
the bison. She was the fourth individual to be gored by a bison
in the park this summer. [Press release, YELL, via telefax from
J.T. Reynolds, RAD/RMRO, 7/10]
91-279 - Yosemite (California) - Wildland Arson
At about 11:30 a.m. on the morning of July 3rd, the park's fire
management office received a report of a wildland fire on the
northern border of the park near Lake Eleanor. Park and Forest
Service firefighters attacked and suppressed the fire within
several hours, limiting the burn to a third of anacre.
Investigators subsequently determined that the fire was
mancaused and probably arson. The fire took place at a
permanent camp which is apparently being used as a base camp for
poachers. G.P., who was convicted in magistrate's court
this spring for having a permanent camp within park boundaries,
was spotted in the area the day before the fire and is a suspect
in this case. The investigation is continuing. [Law
Enforcement Office, YOSE, via CompuServe message from Carl
Christensen, RAD/WRO, 7/9]
91-280 - Yosemite (California) - Assault
A woman employed by the park concessioner was sitting near
Yosemite Creek on July 7th when she was approached by an
unidentified male. The man attempted to engage in conversation
with her; as she got up to walk away, he grabbed her. The woman
was able to get free, and saw the man expose himself as she
turned away from him. She later provided a detailed description
of the assailant. Valley patrol units, including rangers in
plain clothes, searched for the man for several hours without
success. [Law Enforcement Office, YOSE, via CompuServe message
from Carl Christensen, RAD/WRO, 7/9]
91-281 - Yosemite (California) - Pursuit and Felony Arrest
Just before noon on July 4th, rangers in Wawona spotted a 1991
Mazda pickup which had been stolen from Oakhurst, California,
about a half hour earlier. The theft of the truck had been
witnessed by the owner, who advised police that there was a
loaded automatic handgun under the front seat. After all
visitor traffic was stopped on the Wawona Road, rangers
attempted a felony vehicle stop, but the driver, later
identified as J.E.Y. of Corona, California, fled at
speeds in excess of 65 mph. The park contract helicopter
spotted the stolen truck and maintained visual surveillance
while patrol units responded to the area. After seeing the
helicopter, York stopped the truck and fled on foot. Rangers
pursued. J.E.Y. attempted to hide in Big Creek by submerging
himself with only his face above the water, but he was spotted
and arrested. J.E.Y. has an extensive criminal history, including
three prior convictions for grand theft auto. [Law Enforcement
Office, YOSE, via CompuServe message from Carl Christensen,
RAD/WRO, 7/9]
91-282 - Natchez Trace (Mississippi) - Oil Spill
During the height of morning commuter traffic on July 9th, a
private tank truck released an undetermined quantity of
petroleum product onto five miles of one lane of the parkway
near Tupelo, Mississippi. Most of the spilled liquid evaporated
or soaked into the roadway before park personnel could respond.
A number of private vehicles were sprayed as traffic tracked
through the liquid. The spill was limited to the asphalt road
surface; no surface waters have apparently been affected. The
spill was reported to federal and state authorities and is being
investigated by parkway and Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality personnel. [Telefax from Gary Mason, RMS,
NATR, 7/10]
91-283 - North Cascades (Washington) - Employee Injury
R.D., 60, an engineering equipment operator, was
seriously injured while filling a tire on a split rim wheel with
air at the automobile shop in Stehekin on the afternoon of July
2nd. He was evacuated unconscious by air to the hospital in
Wenatchee, where he underwent surgery for a compound fracture of
the left forearm. R.D. also received minor lacerations to
his left leg. Rangers are investigating the accident, and
regional safety officers will followup on the investigation and
necessary prevention actions. [John Jarvis, NOCA, via telefax
from Reed Jarvis, RAD/PNRO, 7/3]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) ACTIVITY LEVEL Planning Level II
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 7/10 7/11 Status
AK BLM Southwest Area B600 8,150 8,150 NEC
BIA Up. Yukon Zone B381 46,612 46,612 NEC
B564 2,990 3,300 NEC
Southwest Area B613 T2 3,896 3,896 CN 7/12
B544 4,520 4,520 NEC
FWS Up. Yukon Zone B460 40,000 66,750 NEC
Tanana Zone B568 29,570 32,570 NEC
Up. Yukon Zone B562 NR 58,356 NEC
AK Tanana Zone B492 T2 17,510 17,510 NEC
Southwest Area B402 T2 10,710 11,400 CN 7/15
WY NPS Yellowstone Pelican 260 260 CN 7/12
ID USFS Challis KwisKwis T2 541 541 NEC
NM BLM Roswell * McGuffen 160 CN
Alaska also has 15 fires under modified suppression strategy for
130,930 acres and 60 fires under limited suppression for 322,725 acres.
NOTES:
Fires - Asterisk indicates newly reported fire (on this report).
T1 and T2 indicate assigned Type I and Type II Teams.
Status - The following abbreviations are employed:
NR No report received MS Modified suppression strategy
CN Contained MN Being monitored
CL Controlled NEC No estimate of containment
CS Confinement strategy DM Demobed
3) 1990/1991 COMPARATIVE ACTIVITY SUMMARY
*** Not available ***
4) FIRE NARRATIVES
Yellowstone (Wyoming):
* Pelican Fire - As of 7:00 p.m. MDT yesterday, the fire had
burned 260 acres and was 85% contained. Full containment should
occur tomorrow evening. Firefighters have built 390 chains of
fire line and have another 40 chains left to complete. Spotting
continues to be a problem due to heavy fuels and high winds. A
total of 125 personnel (36 NPS, 87 USFS and one each from BLM
and the state of Montana) were committed to the fire.
Suppression costs have reached $371,000 and should eventually
total about $500,000.
Denali (Alaska):
* B514 (Slippery) Fire - The fire has burned about 60 acres. Two
small smokes were observed on July 9th; one showed short flame
lengths.
* B515 (Clone) Fire - The 30acre fire has not shown any smoke
during recent observations.
* B648 (Spruce Fish Creek) Fire - Three smokes were seen on this
600-acre fire on the 9th, but only one was on the perimeter.
* B649 (Otter Creek) Fire - The fire has burned about 300 acres
and is not showing any smoke.
* B664 Fire - Observers counted 13 smokes on the 9th, mostly on
the east side of the fire. The fire has burned about 8,000
acres.
Gates of the Arctic (Alaska):
* B436 (Kobuk River) Fire - The fire has burned about 1500 acres,
but the area is too smokey to accurately map its perimeter.
* B614 Fire - The 6,980-acre fire made a major run to the south on
the west side of the Kobuk River. It has jumped the Kobuk in
one area and is running into the mountains to the east. Cabin
protection efforts have been successful. The fire was to have
been demobilized yesterday.
YukonCharlie (Alaska):
* B339 (Erickson Creek) Fire - The fire has burned 30,670 acres
and is currently burning up the drainage and ridges on the east
side of the Charlie River.
5) ANALYSIS - Initial attack operations have decreased
significantly in Alaska, but large acreage increase are
occurring on several fires. Initial attack operations are
underway throughout the West.
6) PROGNOSIS - Initial attack is expected to continue in the
Western states.
[Fire Management Situation Report, NIFCC Intelligence Section,
7/11; ICS209 from Pelican Fire, 7/10]
THIS DAY IN NPS SAR HISTORY...
Here are a few from earlier this month that we missed:
July 2, 1927 Seasonal ranger Charlie Browne received the
Department's first Valor Award for a body recovery from a
crevasse on Mt. Rainier. Browne also received a Presidential
appointment as a ranger from Herbert Hoover.
July 4, 1963 Volunteer scuba diver Tom Dumay drowned in Lake
McDonald in Glacier while looking for a missing boy. The
incident provided the impetus for the development of the
Service's scuba program.
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: Dabney on leave.
Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Halainen on AL (7/12).
Branch of Fire & Aviation: Bristol on AL (7/3-7/12); Farrel at
wildland/urban interface meeting, Washington, DC (7/8-7/12);
Rutter at FFS budget conference, Washington, DC (7/8-7/12); Gale
at Yosemite fire review report meeting, Phoenix, AZ (7/9-7/10).
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