- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, May 7, 1996
- Date: Tues, 7 May 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, May 7, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET (DELAYED TODAY)
INCIDENTS
96-184 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Follow-up on Probable Drownings
The search for six-year-old S.S. and her father, D.S., was
suspended on the evening of Friday, May 3rd, due to several high risk
factors, including undercurrents, debris, zero visibility conditions, and the
lack of a clear determination of where they were last seen. Search efforts
continued on the surface and with sonar and were still underway yesterday.
[David Sanbakken, LES, GLCA]
96-185 - Amistad (Texas) - Follow-up on SCUBA Drowning
Park divers Dennis Anderson and Warren Beitel recovered the body of D.W.
yesterday morning. D.W. was found in about 70 feet of water and
was entangled in monofilament line. It appears that he may have panicked
when he became entangled. His knife was still in its sheath. D.W. had
previously experienced difficulty in keeping his weight belt on, and had
placed 16 pounds of weights in the pockets of his buoyancy compensator, which
was not equipped with dump pouches. [Rod Danner, CR, AMIS]
96-186 - Lake Mead (Arizona/Nevada) - Boat Fire with Injuries
On May 5th, a boat in Las Vegas Bay caught fire and exploded, blowing four
people out of the boat into the water. Park and local personnel responded
and provided medical assistance at the scene. Three people were evacuated by
helicopter and one by an advanced life support (ALS) unit to the trauma and
burn center in Las Vegas, where they were treated for second degree burns.
All are expected to recover. The exact cause of the fire has not yet been
determined. [CRO, LAME]
96-187 - Mojave (California) - Structural Fires
On April 25th, a San Bernadino county engine and crew responded to the report
of a fire at the Telegraph Mine within the park and found five mobile homes
and a nearby wash house fully involved. Four of the five mobile homes were
unoccupied, and nobody was injured. All six buildings were destroyed. The
fire, which started in the occupied mobile home, is under investigation.
[AO, MOJA]
96-188 - Lake Mead (Arizona/Nevada) - Structural Fire
A fire of unknown origin destroyed a 28-foot trailer in the Hemenway
campground on the afternoon of May 4th. The owner, former park volunteer
J.B., noticed smoke coming from under the sink in the trailer's
storage cabinets. When she opened the doors to the area, the fire
immediately spread through the kitchen. J.B. notified a neighboring VIP
who had a radio, and he summoned the Boulder Beach fire company. Also
responding were the Callville Bay company and the wildland engine and crew.
The trailer was a total loss, but a private car and the adjacent park comfort
station suffered no damage. The cause is still under investigation, but
faulty wiring is suspected. [CRO, LAME]
96-189 - Independence (Pennsylvania) - Structural Fire; Assists
The park received a report of a fire at City Tavern around 5:30 p.m. on May
2nd. Rangers found a small blaze on the roof of the main building. The city
fire department responded and suppressed the fire. During this incident, a
report was received of an armed robbery at a hotel adjacent to the visitor
center. The suspect was reported to be fleeing through the City Tavern area.
After clearing from this assist call, a report was received of a stabbing
victim at the tavern, but this proved unfounded. As they cleared from this
incident, rangers received a report of windows being broken in Christ Church,
and found that a person had been locked inside after closing and was
attempting to get someone's attention. The cause of the fire is under
investigation. [CRO, INDE]
96-190 - Blue Ridge (North Carolina/Virginia) - Suicide
Park dispatch received a report of a body at the Courthouse Valley overlook
on the afternoon of May 2nd. Ranger Martin Golden and Transylvania county
deputies responded and found the body of J.E., 36, of Loudonville, New
York, lying on a blanket and pillow. He apparently shot himself with a .22
rifle. A suicide note was found in his shirt pocket. [CRO, BLRI]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire IMT 5/6 5/7 Con Con
NM Carson NF Hondo T1 3,000 7,000 0 NEC
AZ Coronado NF Clark Peak T1 6,317 6,317 80 5/8
CO Montrose Dis. Animas Mt. -- 204 304 100 CND
TX State Sportsman's -- 1,350 1,350 100 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
Carson NF - Significant progress was made yesterday in securing structures on
the western flank of the fire, including the town of Questa. The fire made
short duration runs in mixed conifers with longer runs and crowning occurring
in pinyon juniper forest. Burnout operations were conducted on the northwest
portions of the fire last night.
FIRES AND ACRES BURNED
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 2 60 3 0 252 47 364
Acres Burned 20 105 7 0 5,036 8,828 13,996
COMMITTED RESOURCES
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 87 103 21 8 729
Non-federal 3 21 2 0 37
CURRENT SITUATION
A Type I incident management team from the Northwest will fly to Phoenix
today for staging. Initial attack continued in the Southwest yesterday; many
units again reported very high to extreme indices. Resource mobilization
through NICC was moderate.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
Hot and dry weather will continue in the Southwest and southern California
today, increasing the possibility for escaped fires and initial attack.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 5/7]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
In-Park Lessees/Residents - The National Park Service has been asked by the
House Committee on Resources to gather and compile information on the number
of parks that currently have non-government employees living in NPS-owned
residences. These residents may be occupying the structures under a variety
of agreements or authorities on a non-permanent basis, including life lessee,
25-year leases, use and occupancy agreements, leasehold interests under 36
CFR 17, historic leases, etc. Dave Emerson of Legislative and Congressional
Affairs and Dennis Burnett of the Ranger Activities Division are coordinating
this effort for the Director. They have formed a small work group of field
personnel to assist in the matter. The work group needs to know the number
of parks that have this activity and the authority or permitting device that
the parks are using to manage such residencies. Examples they need to know
about include, but are not limited to situations in which:
o the NPS owns the land (and usually the structure) which is privately
occupied (no property interest);
o there is no legislation or planning document that makes the permitted
use permanent; and
o residents reside in the park under cooperative agreements, non-profit
agreements or other rental agreements.
Parks need to provide the number of actual instances for each category
currently in use. Based on the information received, the NPS will develop
guidelines on this matter to clarify the situation, streamline the permitting
process and provide appropriate guidance for park managers. The guidelines
will allow park managers to continue the use it is to the benefit of the
government, or terminate any agreement that has been legally fulfilled in
accordance with a use plan. Parks that have this activity are asked to reply
to Dennis Burnett via cc:Mail or telephone at 202-208-7675. [Dennis Burnett,
RAD/WASO]
Correction - The hazmat training to be held at Bighorn Canyon will be given
from June 11-13, not May 28-30 as was listed in the Friday Morning Report.
Interested persons should contact chief ranger Bonnie Winslow at 307-548-
2251. [Bonnie Winslow, BICA]
Emergency Medical Services - The annual Servicewide emergency medical
services (EMS) summary for CY 1995 has been completed. Following are some of
the key stats, with comparisons to the two previous years:
1993 1994 1995
Total EMS incidents 24,372 25,941 24,663
Advanced cardiac life support 571 457 1,228
Advanced life support 1,611 2,125 762
Basic life support 9,381 6,388 4,814
Minor medical 13,602 8,672 5,663
Saves 1,049 1,226 619
Fatalities 361 432 330
EMS qualified personnel:
Level III 795 808 795
Level IV 1,317 1,087 842
Level V 149 265 111
Level VI 32 44 35
Other 1,070 890 726
Total 3,363 3,094 2,509
Note that "saves" are defined as incidents in which victims "probably would
have died without field EMS care." [Jim Lee, RAD/WASO]
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 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
"Probably we are not placing too high an appraisal upon the value of National
Park Service programs when we say that they constitute one of the most potent
agencies in effecting mental preparedness and maintaining National morale."
Carl P. Russell, from "Quotable
Quotes: Relating to Conservation in
General and the National Parks in
Particular," Department of
Interior, 1950s
Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
office and/or field area cc:Mail hub coordinators. Please address requests
for the Morning Report to your servicing hub coordinator.
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
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