RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Wednesday, July 17, 1991
INCIDENTS
91-296 - Lowell (Massachusetts) - Averted Suicide
On July 12th, ranger Marie Hanlon was advised by Lowell police
that a man was sitting at a boat launching ramp along one of the
park's canals threatening to commit suicide. Upon arrival,
Hanlon found a 48-year-old man with a syringe filled with a
combination of bleach and battery acid who said he was going to
kill himself by injecting it into his veins. Lowell police and
fire and rescue units were on scene, but the man would not allow
anyone to get within 50 feet of him. Plans were being made to
subdue him when Hanlon requested and was granted permission to
try and talk with him. The man agreed to speak with her.
Hanlon talked to the man for about eight minutes and got within
four feet of him. She then asked him to put the needle down and
stand up. He did so, then stood up, apologized, and told her
that he just wanted everything to end. He also told her that
he'd already injected some of the solution into his arm. An
ambulance took him to Lowell General Hospital for treatment.
[Galen Marr, CR, LOWE, via telefax from John Lynch, RAD/NARO,
7/16]
91-297 - Sleeping Bear Dunes (Michigan) - Employee Fatality
Edward Wisniewski, 46, a permanent maintenance mechanic in the
park, was fatally injured when a car pulled out directly in the
path of his motorcycle while travelling outside of the park on
July 15th. Wisniewski was on his way home after dropping off
water samples in a nearby town. He had worked in Sleeping Bear
Dunes for 15 years and lived in Grawn, Michigan. [John Paro, AO,
SLBE, via CompuServe message from Tom Thompson, RAD/MWRO, 7/16]
91-298 - Blue Ridge Parkway (North Carolina/Virginia) - MVA with
Fatality
Early on the morning of July 13th, M.F., 36, of
Montebello, Virginia, was travelling south on the parkway at
milepost 34.6 when she lost control of her vehicle, which went
off the roadway. M.F. then over corrected, whereupon the car
spun back across the roadway and struck a large rock. M.F.
was thrown from the vehicle and killed. Ranger Lew Rogers is
investigating. [Larry Freeman, LES, BLRI, via telefax from
Steve Alscher, RAD/SERO, 7/16]
91-299 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Search in Progress
At approximately 4:00 p.m. on the 15th, J.W., 20, of
Hinton, West Virginia, entered an eddy pool of the New River 100
yards below Sandstone Falls. J.W., a non-swimmer, did not
surface from the pool, which is about eight to twelve feet in
depth. A 15-year-old member of his family group saw him disappear;
family members notified local residents, who in turn advised the
park and local emergency services. A joint search effort was
begun employing the incident command system. At the time of the
report, participants in the search included the park, a local
fire and rescue department, five volunteer fire departments,
three search dog teams, and four dive teams. No foul play or
alcohol or drug abuse is suspected. Indications are that
Waddell slipped or fell into the river. [Duncan Hollar, DR,
NERI, via telefax from RAD/MARO, 7/16]
91-300 - Biscayne (Florida) - Drowning
On the afternoon of July 14th, M.H., 35, was
snorkeling on the reefs near Caesars Creek while her companions
were diving. She suddenly began flailing and sank beneath the
surface in 15 feet of water. One of the divers brought her to a
boat, where two people unsuccessfully attempted D\CPR. A
passing boat with a cellular phone stopped and called for help.
M.H. was taken to Bay Front Park by a Metro Dade rescue
team. The death is being investigated. [CompuServe message
from Wayne Landrum, CR, BISC, 7/16]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) ACTIVITY LEVEL Planning Level II
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 7/16 7/17 Status
AK BIA Southwest Area B544 4,800 4,600 NEC
Galena Zone B687 T2 7,500 7,500 CN 7/17
FWS Up. Yukon Zone B460 69,610 70,450 NEC
Tanana Zone B568 32,570 30,630 NEC
B628 31,700 46,260 DM
Up. Yukon Zone B562 58,356 58,356 NEC
ID BLM Burley Hansel Mountain 1,000 9,390 NEC
UT BLM Richfield Rockwell 2,300 2,200 NEC
NV BLM Elko Oasis 2,000 2,000 CN
Ely Becky 125 125 CN
CA USFS San Bernadino Hook 117 117 CN
Alaska also has 12 fires under modified suppression strategy for
341,053 acres and 56 fires under limited suppression for 414,141 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
Fires Acres
1990 (Year-to-date) 37,549 1,431,094
1991 (Year-to-date) 39,126 1,604,529
1990-1991 (% difference) + 4% + 12%
4) ANALYSIS - Fire indices are climbing throughout the West with
the exception of the Southwest, where they are dropping as a
result of an increase in monsoon rains.
5) PROGNOSIS - The potential continues for fire activity in the
Great Basin because of hot and dry conditions, winds and
thunderstorms. No resource shortages are expected.
[Fire Management Situation Report, NIFCC Intelligence Section,
7/17]
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: Today is Walt Dabney's last day in Ranger
Activities...
Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Schamp on AL (7/19).
Branch of Fire & Aviation: Hurd at IFCC and branch meetings in
Boise, ID (7/15-7/19); Spruill at OAS and branch meetings in
Boise, ID (7/16-7/19); Broyles, Norum and Gale at joint USFS/NPS
meeting, Denver, CO (7/14-7/18); Botti on AL (7/15-7/26).
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