RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Thursday, August 22, 1991
INCIDENTS
91-193 - Vicksburg (Mississippi) - Followup on ARPA Convictions
On August 16th, K.R.W. of Clinton, Mississippi,
pleaded guilty in federal court in Jackson to relic hunting in
violation of the Archeological Resource Protection Act. The
charge and subsequent plea stemmed from ARPA violations which
had occurred in the park in May. N.D. and A.R.
had previously entered guilty pleas for the same offense and
were sentenced in July. Under terms of the plea agreement,
K.R.W. will pay a $5,000 fine, forfeit metal detectors and
tools, complete 200 hours of community service, be barred from
all federal and state Civil War parks for two years and
cooperate fully with the government in providing details of the
incident. [Telefax from Sam Weddle, VICK, 8/20]
91-410 - Eastern Areas - Followup on Hurricane Bob
North Atlantic Regional Office has contacted all parks in the
region to determine the impacts of Hurricane Bob. Most areas
reported nothing more than minor tree damage. About $3,000 in
damage was inflicted on the historic house which serves as a
visitor center at Roger Williams in Rhode Island, and some roof
repairs will be required on structures at Fire Island. The big
exception was Cape Cod. The eye of the hurricane passed between
most of New England and the cape; since areas to the east of the
eye had high winds and little rain and areas to the west had
heavy rain but less intense winds, the park suffered more than
any other NPS area. Because of the very large number of downed
trees on park roads, including accesses to private residences,
the park has asked for additional assistance and has implemented
the incident command system to manage cleanup operations.
Region has sent 15 people from five parks to the cape along with
needed vehicles, saws and chippers. Resource orders have been
submitted to BIFC, and two administrative overhead people are
being dispatched to the park. Some structural damage was also
inflicted on park buildings the walls of the Highland House in
North Truro separated from the roof in several places, the
windows and porch of the NPSowned Coast Guard Station in Eastham
were damaged, the walls of the bath house at Race Point blew
away, and windows were blown out of the historic Salt Pond House.
Several fee booths and the ORV booth at Race Point were also
damaged. Park staffers were checking the 70 or so park
residences yesterday to determine if any repairs will be
required. Most areas in the park and elsewhere on the cape are
still without power. The only beach currently open to the
public is Marconi Beach. [Telephone report from John Lynch,
RAD/NARO, 8/21]
91-426 - Rocky Mountain (Colorado) - Rescue
While hiking with family members at the 11,440-foot level on the
Crater Trail on August 15th, F.D., 71, suffered a heart
attack. Park volunteer Bob Reed was on the scene within minutes
and immediate radioed rangers, who in turn summoned and
ambulance and medical helicopter. A rescue team comprised of
rangers Jim Richardson, Darrell Grossman, Jim Caretti, Andrew
Steel, John Lisco, Sheryl Lisco, Tom Kingsbury, Julie Gillum,
Pam Griswold and John Loibl responded with EMT equipment, a
wheeled litter and a heart monitor. Most of the rescue team
members traveled 18 miles on a busy Trail Ridge Road to get to
the trailhead, then hiked more than a half-mile of trail up 720
feet of elevation to reach F.D.. F.D. was stabilized and
moved to higher ground near the helicopter landing zone. The
helicopter, which flew up from Denver, arrived 90 minutes after
the onset of F.D.'s heart attack. F.D. is doing well, and
medical personnel credited the team's quick response for saving
his life. [Telefax from Darrell Grossman, ROMO, 8/21]
91-427 - Yosemite (California) - Explosives Found
Mather District rangers found two military 60mm mortar rounds in
Yosemite Creek Campground while on patrol on the afternoon of
August 19th. Campers were evacuated from the immediate area.
Law enforcement office investigators and California fire marshal
and explosives disposal personnel responded. A portable Xray
machine was used to examine the devices. Both proved to be
highly suspicious, so a decision was made to detonate them on
scene. They were exploded without incident. Examination of the
rounds indicated that they were decoy explosive devices. An
investigation is underway to determine who put the devices in
the campground. [J.R. Tomasovic, YOSE, via CompuServe message
from Herb Gercke, RAD/WRO, 8/21]
91-428 - Mammoth Cave (Kentucky) - Attempted Suicide
A 16-year-old female student at the Job Corps Center attempted to
commit suicide on August 18th by injecting herself with an
unknown substance. She was found unconscious in her bed by
fellow students around 10:00 p.m. She was taken to Greenview
Hospital in Bowling Green for treatment and is listed in
satisfactory condition. Plans have been made for her to return
to her home after she is released from the hospital. [Telefax
from RAD/SERO, 8/19]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) ACTIVITY LEVEL Planning Level II
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 8/21 8/22 Status
ID BLM Shoshone Dist. Black Canyon 175 175 CN
Idaho Falls Dist. * Camas Creek 120 CL
MT BIA Crow Agency Medicine Tail T2 4,900 14,760 CN 8/22
Gray Blanket 100 100 NR
NV BLM Elko Dist. * Silver Peak 1,500 CL
Winemucca Dist. * Rebel 5,000 NEC
* Lovely 1,500 NEC
State Tuscarora Tuscarora 2 150 900 CN
* Indian Creek 3,600 CN 8/22
OR BLM Burns Dist. Skull Creek T2 425 601 CN
AK USFWS Tetlin NWR 113349 T2 8,000 16,280 NEC
CA USFS San Bernadino NF * Stockton 640 NEC
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) 45,982 3,660,294
1991 (Year-to-date) 59,346 1,938,739
1990-1991 (% difference) + 29% 48%
4) FIRE ACTIVITY 301 fires for 12,419 acres reported in the
past 24 hours.
5) FIRE NARRATIVES
Custer Battlefield (Montana) - The man-caused Medicine Tail Fire
spread into the park and burned 125 acres along Battle Ridge on
the evening of the 20th. The fire came within 300 yards of the
park's visitor center. The monument was closed and evacuated
when the flames, approaching from the north, jumped U.S. Highway
212 and burned into the monument. Firefighters formed a line
along the park road which traverses Battle Ridge and stopped it
there with water. Another 125 acres of grass and timber at the
Reno-Benteen battle site a mile or so to the south burned on
Monday. No damage was done to park structures or cultural
resources. [Associated Press]
6) ANALYSIS - Initial attack activities are underway throughout
the West. The greatest concentration of new starts is in the
Northwest and Nevada. Containment targets on large fires are
being met.
7) PROGNOSIS - No resource shortages anticipated.
[Fire Management Situation Report, NIFCC Intelligence Section,
8/22]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
John Day Fossil Beds (Oregon) - Valuable Fossil Recovery
Rangers, maintenance workers, museum staff and volunteers
successfully recovered "Ellen", a 350-pound rhinoceros fossil, on
August 15th. Stabilization of the fossil, more properly labeled
as a member of the genus Diceratherium, an extinct member of the
rhinoceros family, and preparing for its removal from the hard
encasing rock took a year of careful work by the park's museum
staff. Although hefty, "Ellen" is extremely fragile, and great
care was exercised in packaging and moving her. A stokes litter
equipped with a wheel and a rope and pulley system was used to
haul her up a 60 percent slope to a nearby trail. The fossil
was then transported slowly over nearly two miles of narrow
trail with an elevation drop of 800 feet an operation which
took six hours. "Ellen", named for a former park museum
technician who discovered her as part of the ongoing systematic
survey of the park's fossil beds, will be prepared for
scientific study and for eventual display in the visitor center.
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief (Acting): No leave or travel scheduled.
Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Marriott on drug
program review at Great Smokies (8/18-8/22).
Branch of Fire & Aviation: Erskine in ARO, Anchorage, AK
(8/19-8/28); Spruill on aviation program orientation in Alaska
(8/18-8/29]; Gale in WASO on allrisk management team selection
(8/20-8/22); Norum on trip to approve research sites, Fairbanks,
AK (8/16-8/26); Cook on annual leave (8/19-8/23).
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