RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
Ranger Activities Division Information Network
Day/Date: Tuesday, November 5, 1991
INCIDENTS
91-601 - Great Smokies (North Carolina/Tennessee) - Structural Fire
Quarters #322, located near park headquarters, was completely destroyed by
fire yesterday morning. A park employee detected the fire around 6:30 a.m.
and notified the Gatlinburg fire department. By the time the department's
engines arrived, the building was completely engulfed. It took
firefighters about 25 minutes to control the blaze. The building, which
was constructed in 1955, was generally employed as a bunkhouse for seasonal
employees and SCA personnel, but at the time of the fire was being utilized
by the park's cooperating association as temporary office space while
another park building was renovated. The building's value was placed at
$35,000, but the association also lost computers and other items in the
fire. Some records stored in a fire-resistant file cabinet apparently
survived the blaze; the association's financial records were kept in the
auditor's office elsewhere and are safe. Initial investigation by the fire
marshall indicates that the fire was started by a bathroom heater.
[CompuServe message from Jason Houck, CR, GRSM, 11/4]
91-602 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Drug and Weapons Arrest
On November 3rd, members of the MAR SET team assigned to the park to
enforce area closures due to extreme fire danger arrested J.S.B., 31,
of Raleigh, North Carolina, on weapons and drug possession charges. During
a routine contact in a closed area, team members observed knives,
ammunition and a marijuana pipe in plain view in J.S.B.'s vehicle. "Kiwi",
the drug dog purchased by the NPS for the Fayette County drug task force,
was brought to the scene and assisted in a search of the vehicle. Along
with a small amount of marijuana, rangers found three fully-loaded weapons
in J.S.B.'s vehicle - a 9 mm Luger machine pistol, a Model 60 Marlin rifle,
and a 16-inch sawed-off shotgun. J.S.B. is a member of a local transient
climbing community who spends his summers in the park. He'd been contacted
on numerous occasions during the previous two years by New River patrol
rangers. The results of a criminal history investigation on Black which
was conducted as part of the arrest will be sent to the U.S. attorney's
office in support of "Project Triggerlock", a special statewide effort to
apprehend and convict persons guilty of felony violations of federal
weapons laws. [Telefax from Duncan Hollar, DR, NERI, 11/4]
91-603 - Virgin Islands (Virgin Islands) - Marijuana Seizure
On November 1st, rangers interrupted a smuggling operation and seized over
300 pounds of baled marijuana valued at over $600,000 in the Mary Creek
area on the north shore of St. John. Also seized were two vehicles used in
the smuggling operation and a variety of equipment found at the scene.
Several individuals were apparently involved in the operation, but no
arrests have yet been made. Virgin Islands police assisted rangers by
establishing road blocks in the area; Customs officers and DEA and FBI
agents have joined in the investigation. The marijuana was turned over to
the DEA. [Telefax from Chuck Dale, CR, VIIS, 11/4]
91-604 - Virgin Islands (Virgin Islands) - Cocaine Arrest
B.W. of St. John was arrested by rangers at Trunk Bay
overlook on October 29th and charged with possession of cocaine.
B.W. was taken before a U.S. magistrate judge, who released
B.W. after he posted a $10,000 property bond. [Telefax from Chuck
Dale, CR, VIIS, 11/4]
91-605 - Glen Canyon (Utah/Arizona) - Assault
During the late evening hours of November 2nd, a female employee of ARA
Leisure Services, the park's concessioner, reported that her boyfriend, S.L.,
had beaten her after an argument. She was treated for seven facial
bruises and lacerations. S.L., 36, was found hiding tin the bathroom of
the complainant's concession-owned trailer home in Wahweap and was arrested
by Coconino County deputies and rangers on charges of domestic and simple
assault. Lake is not a concession employee. Alcohol was a factor in the
incident. [CompuServe message from Larry Clark, CR, GLCA, 11/4]
91-606 - Delaware Water Gap (New Jersey/Pennsylvania) - Search and Rescue
On the evening of November 1st, the Blairtown police department notified
the park of a missing 45-year-old woman who was a manic depressive and had
recently twice attempted to commit suicide by drug overdose. Off-duty
ranger Wayne Valentine had seen a woman meeting her description at an
Appalachian Trail trailhead about an hour and a half earlier and had
reported the contact to a patrol ranger. Rangers were soon able to confirm
that the woman Valentine had contacted was the woman being sought. Since
temperatures were dropping and rain was forecast, a search effort was begun
with two hasty teams and a dog team. The woman was found about a half-mile
from the trailhead by the dog at 9:30 p.m. The hasty teams had earlier
passed within 40 feet of her, but hadn't been able to see her because of
the darkness. The woman was found lying head down in a semi-conscious
state on a steep slope, and it was determined that she'd ingested large
quantities of Prozac, Valium, Tylenol and other unidentified medications.
She was taken to a medical facility and is reported to be recovering.
According to her doctor, she would not have survived the night if she
hadn't been found. [CompuServe message from Barry Sullivan, Acting CR,
DEWA, 11/4]
91-607 - Cape Hatteras (North Carolina) - Body Discovered
A body wrapped in black plastic, duck tape and quarter-inch yellow
polypropylene lines was found by visitors collecting seashells a half-mile
south and west of Cape Hatteras light on the afternoon of November 1st.
Rangers, Dare County sheriff's office deputies and the state bureau of
investigation are investigating the incident. No further information is
yet available. [Larry Roush, CR, CAHA, via telefax from RAD/SERO, 11/4]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level I
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 11/4 11/5 Status
WV NPS New River Gorge Gauley Mountain 4,500 4,500 CND
Swiss 8,000 8,000 NR
KY USFS D. Boone NF Red Bird Comp - T2 7,500 11,420 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
CL - Controlled MN - Being monitored
CS - Confinement strategy NEC - No estimate of containment
CN (date) - Expected date CND - Contained
of containment
3) NARRATIVES -
New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Contrary to what appeared in yesterday's
morning report (which was based on the NIFCC report), the Gauley Mountain
Fire is entirely outside of the park. The NPS has committed resources to
the fire in support of the state. The fire was fully contained yesterday.
Cold weather, higher humidities and decreased wind speeds aided in the
containment effort. There are 174 NPS personnel still committed to the
fire, but 40 crew members were demobed yesterday. The NPS Alpine and
Arrowhead hotshot crews were sent to the park along with personnel from SER,
NCR and NAR. A NIOSH team was sent to the area on Saturday to undertake
health hazard evaluations of smoke effects on firefighters. They've been
assigned to the Alpine crew. The team has been trained up to the basic
firefighter level and will work alongside the crew while collecting data.
4) ANALYSIS - Demobilization is occurring on fires in the Southern Area.
Fire dangers remain high to extreme in some areas in the Southeast.
5) PROGNOSIS - Demobilization and continued initial attack activity are
expected.
[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 0530 MDT, 11/5]
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: Brady on AL (11/8-11/12).
Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Martin at AR chief rangers'
conference, Anchorage, AK (11/4-11/7) and AL (11/8-11/12); Smith and
Marriott on AL (11/4-11/5); Coffey at Southeastern Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies conference, Sulphur Springs, WV (11/3-11/7); Halainen on
AL (11/6-11/13); Sisto on AL (11/8-11/12).
Branch of Fire and Aviation: Bristol coordinating InciNet hardware purchase
with Alaska BLM, Fairbanks, AK (11/4-11/8); Norum at NAGFDR meeting,
Missoula, MT (11/4-11/8); Farrel meeting with RMR safety officers, Denver,
CO (11/4-11/8); Gale on AL 11/4-11/15).
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities
Telephone: All Offices - FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
Telefax: Branch of R&VP - FTS 268-6756 or 202-208-6756
Branch of Fire - FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977
CompuServe: Branch of R&VP - WASO-RANGER
Branch of Fire - WASO-FIRE-WO
SEAdog: All Offices - 1/650