NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Tuesday, April 30, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-171 - Bandelier (New Mexico) - Park Closure

The park remains closed due to visitor safety concerns associated with the
Dome Fire.  See the fire narratives below for further details, including a
report on an incident requiring fire shelter deployments.  [Jim Carson, IO,
BAND]

96-172 - Golden Gate (California) - Armed Robbery Arrest

On April 25th, Park Police officers arrested a man for the January, 1996,
robbery of the Presidio Exchange, during which three masked gunmen stole
$200,000 in cash, jewelry and money orders.  Detective Jeff Weisenberger and
sergeant J.O. Smith worked in conjunction with the FBI to identify and
apprehend the men.  The investigation led to the execution of a search
warrant on a residence in East Oakland.  A money order machine and 109
Presidio money orders were found and one of the three men was arrested. 
Additional arrests are imminent.  The surveillance of this residence was
complicated by a suspected drug operation next door, which was guarded by
street lookouts.  Following the execution of the warrant, four Park Police
officers came upon a homicide victim several blocks away.  Two handguns were
on the ground next to the victim.  The officers protected the scene until
city police arrived on scene.  The incident was unrelated to the robbery
investigation.  [Lt. Kevin Hay, CIB, USPP, GOGA]

                   [Additional reports pending...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE SUMMARY

                                                                     %   Est
State      Unit                Fire          IMT     4/29     4/30  Con  Con

NM    Santa Fe NF            Dome             T2    4,150   14,600   20  NEC
      State                  Sugarite         --      600    2,500  100  CND

AZ    Coronado NF            Clark Peak       T2    2,076    2,735   40  5/2
      Tonto NF               Lone             T2   12,000   35,200   10  5/4

CO    San Juan NF            Snow Springs     T2      355      406   70  5/1

CA    Los Padres NF          Grand            --      750   10,100   25  NEC
      San Diego RU         * Otay #121        --        -      700  100  CND

VA    State                * Snickers Gap     --        -      400  100  CND

Heading Notes

     Unit --    Agency = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA state resource
                or ranger unit; RD = state ranger district; District = BLM
                district; NWR = USFWS wildlife refuge
     Fire --    * = newly reported fire (on this report); Cx = complex; LSS =
                limited suppression strategy; CSS = containment suppression
                strategy
     IMT --     T1 = Type 1; T2 = Type II; ST = State Team
     % Con --   Percent of fire contained
     Est Con -- Estimated containment date; NEC = no estimated date of
                containment; CND = fully contained; NR = no report

FIRE NARRATIVES 

Santa Fe NF/Bandelier NM - The park, which was closed on Saturday, April
26th, remains closed due to visitor safety concerns associated with the Dome
Fire.  The fire was started on April 24th by an abandoned campfire.  When
initial attack was begun at 4 p.m., it had consumed about two acres, but
extreme dryness and winds of 35 miles per hour expanded the fire to 40 acres
with 200-foot flame heights within the following 30 minutes.  Two engine
crews - one National Park Service, one Forest Service - and two hand crews
were forced to deploy their fire shelters on April 25th.  The Forest Service
engine was destroyed, but none of the firefighters were injured.  As of
yesterday, the fire had burned 14,600 acres.  Of that total, 3,500 acres were
in the park west of Alamo Canyon.  Over 900 people, five helicopters and 30
engines are assigned to the fire.  The forecast calls for no precipitation
for the balance of the week, but for winds to decrease.  [Jim Carson, IO,
BAND]

Appalachian Trail - Firefighters are working a 35-acre fire that originated
on the AT at an overlook called Raven Rocks on the Virginia-West Virginia
line.  Investigation indicates that some youths at the popular camping and
partying spot tossed a burning log over the 50-foot cliff to the ground below
in the early morning hours of April 30th, and that the fire then spread into
an area which was hit hard by gypsy moths and pine bark beetles several years
ago.  A residential development adjoins the area.  Firefighters from the two
states and NCFA have been dispatched to the blaze.  [R.W. Gray, CR, APPA]

FIRES AND ACRES BURNED

                NPS     BIA      BLM     FWS    States     USFS      Total

Number            2      33        0       0       359       28        422
Acres Burned    220      69        0       0     3,254    9,277     12,820

COMMITTED RESOURCES 

               Crews     Engines     Helicopters     Airtankers     Overhead

Federal          101        53           24              18            609
Non-federal       54       244            8               9            179

CURRENT SITUATION 

Several large fires in the Southwest have been contained, but three remain
uncontained.  Most units in the area continue to report high to extreme fire
indices.  Significant progress was made on large fires in the Rockies and
southern California.  Resource mobilization through NICC has moderated.

NATIONAL OUTLOOK 

High pressure will build over southern California and the Southwest today,
resulting in warm and dry conditions but diminished winds.  Decreased winds
should aid suppression efforts on many of the large fires.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 4/30]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Padre Island (Texas) - Return of Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles

On April 25th, the park's resource management staff was advised that a live
sea turtle had come ashore in the South Beach section of the park.  Upon
investigation, they found that a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle had created a nest
on the beach and that it contained 83 eggs.  The eggs were excavated and
placed in incubation boxes, which were then taken to the ranger station for
incubation.  The eggs should hatch in 45 to 60 days, at which time they'll be
measured and released into the Gulf of Mexico.  This is the earliest nesting
activity ever recorded in the park for any of the five species of sea turtles
that occur in the Gulf of Mexico.  [Darrell Echols, RMS, PAIS]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Several reports pending.

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

No submissions.

UPCOMING IN CONGRESS

The following activities will be taking place in Congress during coming weeks
on matters pertaining to the National Park Service.  If you would like
further information on any of these hearings or bills, please contact Stacey
Rickard in WASO Legislation at 202-208-3636. 

May 2

Senate Energy and Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Parks, Historic
Preservation and Recreation (Campbell): Hearing on S. 742, limiting land
acquisition along Missouri River; S. 879, limiting land acquisition along
Missouri River; S. 1167, excluding South Dakota segment of Missouri River; S.
1168, excluding private lands from Missouri River; S. 1174, Lamprey River.

May 8

House Resources Committee (Young): Markup of H.R. 3305, National Heritage
Areas Act.

May 9

House Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Lands (Hansen):
Hearing on H.R. 3006, Manzanar Historic Site; H.R. 2636, land exchange in
D.C. for Japanese American Memorial.

May 15

Senate Appropriations' Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies
(Gorton): Hearing on FY97 budget request for the Department of Interior.

OBSERVATIONS

Thanks to the half dozen or so folks (particularly Bob Stober, CHPI, Beth
Boland, NRHE/WASO, and Joe Burns, GWMP) who took the time to send notes back
in reply to the query about the identity of Senator Robert F. Wagner, whose
observations about the importance of conservation appeared in last Friday's
Morning Report.  Wagner (1877-1953) was a New York state senator, a noted
labor reformer, a Democratic U.S. senator from New York from 1926 to 1949,
sponsor of the National Labor Relations Act of 1925 (a.k.a. the Wagner Act),
and one of FDR's strongest supporters.  Today's "Observation", also from the
1950s collection issued by the Department of Interior, comes from another
commentator unfamiliar to modern readers (or, at least, to your editor).  Can
anyone help?

"It is not crime to be thrifty and prudent, but it is criminal nonetheless to
steal and cheat future generations of the rightful heritage that is theirs."

                                                  Phillip H. Elwood

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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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