- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, July 15, 1996
- Date: Mon, 15 Jul 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Monday, July 15, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-340 - East Coast Parks - Follow-up on Hurricane Bertha
Parks affected by Hurricane Bertha are still conducting damage assessments;
numerous reports are therefore pending. As of this morning, only Colonial in
Virginia has been heard from. Preliminary assessments there indicate that
the park survived the storm with only limited damage. Electric power and
phones are out at park headquarters, at the visitor center in Yorktown, and
in parts of Jamestown, but the visitor centers will be open today. Portions
of the Colonial Parkway between Yorktown and Williamsburg had to be closed
around midnight on Friday due to downed trees. Ranger Steve Williams and two
other visitors were stranded on the parkway for about an hour due to downed
trees in both directions. Williams and park maintenance personnel got the
road reopened long enough to permit them to get out of the area; the parkway
was then closed for the remainder of the night. At the time of the report
early on Saturday morning, it appeared that the parkway would reopen shortly,
but that tour roads in Yorktown and Jamestown would remain closed for the
weekend to permit removal of downed trees. [Jim Burnett, CR, COLO]
96-362 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Fourth of July Wrap-up
The park had a record number of visitors over the Fourth of July weekend, and
also experienced a high number of incidents, including three major search and
rescue operations, a drowning, 36 medical responses, and 24 arrests. The
latter included two rapes, the multiple sexual assault incident reported last
week in the Morning Report and four arrests for disorderly conduct arrests,
five for assault, seven for driving under the influence, one for auto theft
(this involved a 50 mile chase by representatives from four agencies at
speeds up to 105 mph and concluded with an arrest by rangers), three for
burglaries, one for theft, seven for drugs and two for illegal possession of
weapons. [David Sandbakken, LES, GLCA]
96-363 - Jefferson National Expansion (Missouri) - Special Event
The park hosted the Fair Saint Louis (formerly known as the Veiled Prophet
Fair) over the Fourth of July weekend. Four special events teams were called
in to provide the park staff with much-needed assistance during the event.
Well over a half million people attended the fair, which featured three daily
air shows and two concerts each day, with entertainment provided by Tony
Bennett, Bill Cosby, Collin Raye, Sheryl Crowe, Monica and Little Feat. Each
day concluded with a half-hour fireworks display. There were few law
enforcement incidents, and only twelve arrests; the latter were for public
intoxication, disorderly conduct, assault (domestic violence) and DUI. A
dozen special use permits were issued for First Amendment activities and for
distribution of printed material during the fair. [Deryl Stone, CR, JEFF]
96-364 - Olympic (Washington) - Drowning
During a hike with friends and family in the Staircase area of the park on
July 7th, E.B., 28, of Bremerton, Washington, decided to swim in the
Skokomish River near Staircase Rapids. E.B. jumped in and was soon pinned on
the bottom of the river by an undertow and debris. His hiking partners were
unable to free him. A local volunteer firefighter who was hiking in the park
came upon the scene some time later, jumped into the river, and pulled E.B.
free. Ranger Vic Stanculescu was notified, responded, and began CPR when
E.B. was pulled from the river. A military helicopter was requested to hoist
E.B. out of the steep canyon where the incident occurred, as he weighed over
280 pounds and it was felt that he couldn't be carried out quickly and
safely. Airlift Northwest, a local helicopter air ambulance, was also
dispatched to the scene to provide advanced life support. Once on scene, the
military helicopter attempted to lower a medic down to the river bank. As
the helicopter was hovering over the site, the rotor downwash began knocking
down debris and snags. The medic was placed on a rock in the middle of the
river, then attempted to jump off it and gain the shore. He jumped off into
what he thought was a shallow pool, but proved to be over 15 feet deep. The
medic was still attached to the jungle penetrator used to lower him through
the woods and also had about 60 pounds of gear on him. He therefore quickly
sank to the bottom. After about 10 seconds underwater, he was able to
release the penetrator and inflate his PFD, which brought him to the surface.
Rescue teams retrieved him from the river. The medic had to spit out quite a
bit of water, but was able to resume breathing. The helicopter had to be
waved off, as the risk of injury to personnel on the ground from flying
debris was deemed to be too high. In the meantime, the Airlift Northwest
flight nurses were dropped off and hiked to the scene. They continued to
work on E.B., but were unable to revive him. Olympic offers an additional
SAR operational note: As the military continues to transition from Huey
helicopters to Blackhawks nationwide, SAR personnel need to be aware of the
increased rotor wash created by the Blackhawks, which has the potential to
blow down snags and debris and/or blow personnel off of precarious locations.
Attention needs to be paid to ensure that the hoist location is secure and
that safety zones have been identified. [Emergency Operations Center, OLYM]
96-365 - Mammoth Cave (Kentucky) - Marijuana Cultivation Arrests
W.H., 21, was arrested by rangers David Alexander and Henry Holman
on July 10th after they watched and videotaped him cultivating 11 marijuana
plants for a period of about ten minutes. W.H. used an entrenching tool to
dig around the plants, sprayed a pesticide on them, then sprinkled a powdered
animal repellant around the site. When confronted in the patch, W.H. ran,
but was apprehended after a short chase. R.H., 51, who had been
waiting in a vehicle for his son, fled the area, but was stopped and arrested
by ranger James Blanton about two miles from the scene. The marijuana patch
had been detected in May, shortly after it was planted. W.H. had been
videotaped by a camera triggered by an electronic sensor on an afternoon in
June. Another 22 plants were removed from another location about 400 yards
south of the first patch; additional searches are planned to look for more
marijuana. The arrests came about after a lengthy investigation and
surveillance operation which benefitted greatly from support received from
the state police and county sheriff's department. [Phil Veluzat, CR, MACA]
96-366 - Natchez (Mississippi) - Car Clout Arrest
A cellular phone was stolen from the chief of maintenance's personal vehicle
while it was parked in a church lot in Natchez on July 3rd. Using telephone
records of calls made from the phone after it was stolen, rangers and Natchez
police detectives were able to identify and arrest two juveniles for the
theft. They have since been charged by the state with grand larceny - one of
them as an adult. [Bill Justice, CR, NATC]
96-367 - Chiricahua (Arizona) - Assist; Rescue
Rangers and park firefighters were dispatched to the nearby Coronado National
Forest last week to rescue three Arizona Department of Game and Fish
employees who were stranded 950 feet above Morrison Canyon Creek. Rangers
executed a mid-face pick-off and rapelled the trio to the canyon floor via
three, 300-foot pitches. The entire rescue took place at night. The victims
said that they would not have been able to cling to the cliff face much
longer, and that the night operation saved their lives. [Rob Danno, CR,
CHIR/FOBO]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 7/12 7/15 Con Con
UT Cedar City District Rock Corral -- 480 500 100 CND
* Buckskin -- - 200 0 7/15
Richfield District Gilson Mtn. Cx T2 1,200 13,050 80 7/1
OR Deschutes NF Jefferson T2 750 1,100 100 CND
* #545 -- - 100 NR NR
* Bessie Butte T2 - 160 100 CND
Burns District * Burnt Flat -- - 5,400 100 CND
State * Street Canyon -- - 900 100 CND
ID Boise District * MP50 Highway 51 -- - 2,400 100 CND
* Hog Farm -- - 1,735 100 CND
* RRMP 415 -- - 2,000 90 7/14
WA State Old Lyle -- 200 200 100 CND
CO Dinosaur NM Zenobia T2 1,000 3,500 75 7/17
Montrose District * Warner Point -- - 350 20 7/16
NV Ely District Garden -- 2,500 2,500 100 CND
Winnemucca District Rebel Creek -- 400 600 100 CND
CA Angeles NF Gorge T1 500 1,800 55 7/16
* North Fork -- - 400 100 CND
State * Deer -- - 640 100 CND
AK Statewide 29 LSS fires -- 384,770 420,491 -- --
NM Mescalero Agency Chino Well Flood T1 - - - -
NC East Coast Hurricane Bertha T1 - - - -
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; LPS = limited
protection status
INCIDENT HIGHLIGHTS
Dinosaur NM - The Zenobia fire is burning along the Green River. The fire is
being suppressed under a "confine-contain" strategy utilizing natural
barriers, hand lines, and air support to keep the fire within the park's
boundaries. Ranch buildings outside of the park are currently threatened.
Extreme fire behavior was reported yesterday.
Montrose District - The Warner Point fire is located about 10 miles north of
Montrose and threatens Black Canyon of the Gunnison NM. The fire was last
reported less than a mile from the park's visitor center and campground.
State highway 347 is closed at the junction with US 80.
Mescalero Agency - Heavy rains fell yesterday, halting all projects. Some
flash flooding occurred and roads were closed for a time. All flood
abatement systems held up during the flooding. The flood enabled engineers
to watch water flows and make minor improvements in the systems. Some
progress was made in cleaning or replacing culverts and removing debris.
Recommendations for long-term restoration are still being developed. Because
of yesterday's setbacks, the NPS incident management team does not anticipate
completing operations until the end of the day tomorrow, with major
demobilization scheduled for Wednesday. There are 208 people involved in the
incident at present, 18 of them from the NPS.
FIRES AND ACRES BURNED
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 3 12 20 0 11 113 159
Acres Burned 27 87 8,397 0 36 84 8,631
COMMITTED RESOURCES
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 167 189 75 7 369
Non-federal 49 39 8 6 60
CURRENT SITUATION
Initial attack operations accelerated over the weekend in several areas of
the West, but firefighters were able to catch most of them, with only a few
escaped fires reported. Resource mobilization through NICC has since
moderated.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for dry lightning in southeast Oregon,
southwest Idaho and Nevada.
The potential for increased fire activity is high. Hot and dry weather
prevails over much of the West, and dry lightning is forecast for several
areas.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/15; Greg Stiles, China Wells
Flood Incident]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No submissions.
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
No submissions.
MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS CALENDAR
Two calendars alternate in the Morning Report on Mondays - this one, which
contains meetings, conferences and events, and a second, which contains
workshops and training courses. If you know of a conference, meeting,
workshop or training session with Servicewide interest and implications,
please send the information along. Entries are listed no earlier than FOUR
months before the event, EXCEPT in instances in which registration dates
close much earlier. Asterisks indicate new entries; brackets at end of entry
indicate source of information. Brevity is appreciated.
7/21-24 -- Rocky Mountain Field Trip on Environmental Issues in Oil and Gas
Operations, Hovenweep and nearby areas, CO. Participants on the
trip, jointly sponsored by BLM, the Colorado School of Mines and
the Service's Geologic Resources Division, will visit
environmentally and culturally sensitive areas which have oil and
gas exploration or production issues. Contact: Bruce Heise at
NP-WASO-GRD or 303-969-2017. [Bruce Heise, GRD/WASO]
8/4-7 -- 28th Annual Meeting, Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation,
Sioux City, IA. Contact: Robert Gatten, 910-334-5391, or Joy
Vogt, 605-945-3452. [Sheila Lee, T&GD/WASO]
8/13-16 -- "The Delta: Connecting Points of View for Sustainable Natural
Resources," Cook Convention Center, Memphis, TN. Contact:
National Association of Conservation Districts, 202-547-NACD.
[Frank Panek, WRD/WASO]
8/13 -- "Wildlife Management in the U.S. National Park System: The Self-
Regulation Theory Revisited," discussion session to be held at
the annual meeting, Ecological Society of America, Rhode Island
Convention Center, Providence, RI. Contact: Mary K. Foley, 617-
223-5024; Ronald Hiebert, 402-221-4856; or Dan Huff, 303-969-2651
(all are on cc:Mail by name).
8/14-18 -- Oregon-California Trails Association Annual Convention, Elko, NV.
Contact: Helen Sundall, 402-397-9794. [Sheila Lee, T&GD/WASO]
8/24-26 -- Meeting, African American Museum Association, Tampa, FL.
Contact: 513-376-4611 (phone), 513-376-2007 (fax). [Diane Vogt
O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
8/25-29 -- Annual Meeting, American Fisheries Society, Dearborn, MI.
Contact: Frank Panek, 703-358-1856. [Sheila Lee, T&GD/WASO]
8/27-9/1 -- Annual Meeting, Society of American Archivists, San Diego, CA.
Contact: SAA at 312-922-0140 (phone), 312-347-1452 (fax),
info@saa.mhs.compuserve.com (Internet), or http://volvo/gslis
/utexas/edu/~us-saa/. [Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
9/8-12* -- Pacific Marketing and Revenue Sources Management School, San
Diego, CA. Cost: $435. Contact: Joan Chaplick, PGBSSO, at 415-
744-3972 or the National Recreation and Park Association at 800-
796-6772. [Joan Chaplick, PGBSSO]
9/11-14 -- Annual Meeting, American Association for State and Local History,
Nashville, TN. Contact: 615-255-2971 (phone) or 615-255-2979
(fax). [Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
9/18-21 -- "Strategies for Battlefield Preservation and Partnerships," Third
National Battlefield Preservation Conference, Chattanooga, TN.
Co-sponsored by the American Battlefield Protection Program and
Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP. Contact: Hampton Tucker via
cc:Mail or at 202-343-3580. [Tanya Gossett, ABPP/WASO]
9/22-26 -- "GIS and Water Resources," 32nd Annual Conference and Symposium,
American Water Resources Association, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Contact: Cheryl Hallam, USGS, 703-648-5755. [Sheila Lee,
T&GD/WASO]
10/1* -- CALL FOR PAPERS: "Making Protection Work: Parks and Reserves in a
Crowded, Changing World," Ninth Conference on Research and
Resource Management in Parks and on Public Lands, Albuquerque,
NM. Conference to be held, March 17-21, 1997; abstracts due by
October 1st. Abstracts are welcome on any topic related to
research, resource management, interpretation and public
education in parks and protected areas, from any field in
cultural and natural resources. Contact: George Wright Society,
PO Box 65, Hancock, MI 49930-0065, or at
http://www.portup.com/~gws/gws97.html, or via Internet at
gws@mail.portup.com. [David Harmon, GWS]
10/16-20 -- National Preservation Conference, Chicago, IL. Contact: Michelle
Becker-Jones, 202-673-4039. [Sheila Lee, T&GD/WASO]
10/19-21 -- Annual Meeting, American Society of Landscape Architects, Los
Angeles, CA. Contact: ASLA, 202-686-2752. [Sheila Lee,
T&GD/WASO]
OBSERVATIONS
"Our fate and that of our economy are linked to natural systems. We cannot
eliminate species and expect our own to survive...What a country chooses to
save is what a country chooses to say about itself."
Mollie Beattie, Director, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 1993-1996,
who passed away on June 28th
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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