RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Wednesday, August 7, 1991
INCIDENTS
91-308 - Olympic (Washington) - Followup on Oil Spill
The oil slick is now about four and a half miles long and is
moving to the northwest. As of last night, about 36,000 gallons
of oil and water had been skimmed from the area, but operations
were slowing down due to the type of oil being encountered. A
boom designed for open water has been partially deployed around
the area where the new oil is surfacing. A considerable amount
of oil still remains on park beaches at Shi Shi, Ozette, Cape
Alava and Rialto. Tar balls are now showing up in varying
amounts on Third Beach, Taylor Point and Kalaloch. Although
Kalaloch appears to be clean, oil is reported to lie just
beneath the surface of the sand. Predictions still call for tar
balls to show up on beaches as far south as northern Oregon, and
some tar balls and dead birds have already been reported at Cape
Disappointment. The cleanup contractor has been working at
Rialto Beach, Cedar Creek, Ozette River, Cape Alava and Shi Shi.
The Makah and Shi Shi beaches apparently got reoiled during
yesterday's high tide, just after they'd been cleaned. A
juvenile sea otter was found dead on the 5th; although it was
lightly oiled, the cause of death has not been determined. Two
river otters were also found dead; again, no cause of death has
been ascertained. The total count of birds turned in to the
Neah Bay and La Push primary care centers as of the 5th was
2,887. Of these, 2,156 were dead, and many of the remaining
birds have since died. Bird experts estimate that from 20,000
to 30,000 birds have died offshore to date. The Coast Guard has
set up a beach assessment team consisting of one member each
from the park, the Coast Guard and NOAA. The team will
establish priorities for the clean up of park beaches and direct
those operations. Howard Yanish and Ruth Scott will serve
alternately as the park's representatives on this team. All
areas in the park are now open except for the coastline from the
Ozette Indian Reservation to the Makah Indian Reservation.
Despite the oil, there were large numbers of visitors on park
beaches over the weekend all of whom were apparently getting
oil on themselves or their belongings. The cleanup contractor
had two decontamination stations operating at Rialto Beach. One
was for the cleanup crews, the other was for park visitors.
About 90 visitors took advantage of the station on Sunday,
mostly to clean their shoes, and another 80 visitors had their
shoes wrapped in plastic by the decontamination crew to avoid
contact with the oil while walking on the beach. Park personnel
spent much of the day answering questions from the public
regarding the spill. [Telefax and SEAdog messages from Roger
Hoffman, Information Officer, Tenyo Maru ICS Team, 8/6]
91-370 - Denali (Alaska) - Forced Aircraft Landing
On August 4th, a concessioner-owned Cessna 207 with seven
occupants had a partial engine failure while returning from a
scenic flight near Mt. McKinley. The pilot nursed the Cessna
back toward its base airport near park headquarters, but the
engine totally failed about ten miles out and the pilot was
required to make a forced landing. He managed to land the plane
on a park road, successfully dodging road signs, adjacent trees
and motor vehicles in the process. There were no injuries, and
the aircraft was not damaged. The FAA and NTSB are
investigating. [CompuServe message from Jim Unruh, DENA, 8/6]
91-371 - Cedar Breaks (Utah) - Burglary
On the morning of August 6th, a park employee discovered $3,000
missing from the safe in the park's visitor center which
contained Zion Natural History Association deposits. There was
no evidence of forcible entry into either the building or the
safe. It's believed that the safe was secured by a park
employee at 5:00 p.m. on the 5th. An investigation is underway.
[Larry Van Slyke, CR, ZION, via telefax from Brian Reilly,
RAD/RMRO, 8/6]
91-372 - Zion (Utah) - Counterfeit Currency
Faye Windsor of the Zion Natural History Association was
counting cash receipts from sales at the park's visitor center
on August 6th when she came across a twenty dollar bill which
didn't look right. Further investigation revealed that the
currency was counterfeit. The Secret Service has been notified.
[Larry Van Slyke, CR, ZION, via telefax from Brian Reilly,
RAD/RMRO, 8/6]
91-373 - Santa Monica Mountains (California) - Drug Arrests
On the evening of August 5th, rangers arrested M.C.,
26, and S.D., 25, both of Oxnard, California, for
cultivation of marijuana in the Circle X Ranch area of the park.
The site had been under investigation by rangers and Ventura
County narcotics officers, and the suspects were arrested while
watering their plantation. The site had 80 plants with a street
value of $160,000. Some of the plants were from a new African
strain known by the slang name of "KGB" a variety that buds
very heavily and matures at a height of 30 inches. [Ernie
Quintana, CR, SAMO, via CompuServe message from Herb Gercke,
RAD/WRO, 8/6]
91-374 - Yosemite (California) - Structural Fire
A structural fire was reported in Tecoya Dormitory late on the
evening of August 3rd. Two park engines responded and found the
fire confined to a closet in the dorm. Initial investigation
revealed that an improperly used extension cord had caused the
fire. Property damage has been placed at about $2,000. It's
estimated that the value of property saved was about $250,000.
The dorm serves as concession employee housing for the Yosemite
Park and Curry Company. [Steve Underwood, YOSE, via CompuServe
message from Herb Gercke, RAD/WRO, 8/6]
91-375 - Yosemite (California) - Disorderly Conduct; Assault on
Rangers
Rangers received a report of a disturbance in a valley
campground on the evening of August 3rd. The caller reported
that he had heard what he thought were gunshots and that one man
was beating another in a nearby campsite. Rangers Jeff Lynn and
Kelly McCloskey arrived at the campsite, observed disorderly
behavior, and were immediately confronted by a belligerent
A.T., who said that he had a gun and made a move to a
van in an apparent attempt to get the weapon. The rangers drew
their service revolvers. A.T. moved away from the van without
a weapon, though, and instead grabbed a lantern from a
neighboring campsite, jumped up on a picnic table and began
swinging the lantern at rangers and bystanders and threatening
them with serious bodily harm. Two more rangers arrived on
scene, and the foursome attempted to calm A.T. and take him
into custody peacefully. A.T. continued to threaten them,
however, and lunged violently towards any ranger coming close to
him. A.T. then moved swiftly through the campground, grabbed
a second lantern from another site, and started swinging both of
them. A friend of A.T. who tried to calm him down was struck
in the head and shoulder by the lanterns. As A.T. headed
toward the bank of the Merced River, he told rangers he was
getting a knife and reached into his back pocket. Service
revolvers were again drawn, and again A.T. failed to produce a
weapon. He then jumped into the river; the four rangers and
A.T.' friend attempted unsuccessfully to stop him. When
A.T. emerged from the other side of the river in another
campground, rangers McCloskey, Lynn, Martinez and Obernesser
were able to subdue him and take him into custody. Although
restrained, A.T. broke his restraints in a caged patrol car
and seriously damaged both back doors and one window. He
continued to be uncooperative at the park's jail and it took a
minimum of six people to move him. A.T. will be charged with
four felonies and several misdemeanors, including assault on a
federal officer. Nearly all the rangers involved in his arrest
incurred at least some minor injuries. One ranger will be on
light duty for three days with an ankle injury. Investigation
revealed that A.T. had many previous convictions for violence
and drug-related offenses and that he was a manic depressive.
A.T. admitted that he had not been taking his medication.
[Rick Obernesser, YOSE, via CompuServe message from Herb Gercke,
RAD/WRO, 8/6]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) ACTIVITY LEVEL Planning Level II
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 8/6 8/7 Status
OR USFS WallowaWhitman NF * Pittsburgh 200 CN 8/7
UT USFS WasatchCache NF * Broadhollow 400 CN 8/7
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) 42,100 3,052,970
1991 (Year-to-date) 54,589 1,907,447
1990-1991 (% difference) + 30% 37%
4) ANALYSIS - Initial attack activity mostly driven by
lightning starts is continuing in the West. The storm systems
are still wet enough, though, to restrict the size of fires and
minimize control problems.
5) PROGNOSIS - Initial attack activity is expected to continue.
[Fire Management Situation Report, NIFCC Intelligence Section,
8/7]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) Jim Brady, currently the assistant superintendent at Grand
Teton, has been selected as the new chief of the Ranger
Activities Division. He will be on board towards the end of
September. Jim began his career in the NPS as a ranger at
Petrified Forest in 1961 and has since worked as a ranger at
Lake Mead, Yellowstone, and Yosemite; as an instructor at
Albright; as the regional chief ranger in MidAtlantic Region;
and as the assistant superintendents of Zion and Grand Teton.
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief (Acting): Martin on Pearl Harbor 50th anniversary
preplanning site visit, Honolulu, Hawaii (8/5-8/7).
Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Sisto on annual leave
(8/5); Coffey on annual leave (8/5-8/9); Marriott on annual leave
(8/9).
Branch of Fire & Aviation: Farrel and Gale instructing wildland
fire management course, Albright, Grand Canyon, AZ (8/4-8/6);
Broyles representing NPS at USFS technical fire management
steering committee meeting, Portland, OR (8/5-8/6); Erskine on AL
(8/5-8/16); Clark on AL (8/5-8/10).
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities