- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, July 23, 1996
- Date: Tues, 23 Jul 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, July 23, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-354 - Yosemite (California) - Follow-up on Major Rock Slide
The Vernal-Nevada Falls trail, which begins in Happy Isles, site of last
week's rock slide, reopened on Saturday, July 20th. Trail users will be
required to access the trailhead by walking along the Happy Isles loop road
rather than by following the foot trail through Happy Isles to the trailhead,
as the area remains closed while damage assessments are being conducted and
priorities for clean-up and repair are set. Hazardous conditions still exist
at the location, which is roped off and signed. [PIO, YOSE]
96-370 - Glacier Bay (Alaska) - Follow-up on Assault
On Monday, July 15th, an armed man threatened a charter boat operator
standing on the shore of Dundas Bay. The man is believed to still be at
large, so the area - including land, waters and air space - remains closed
until further notice as a precautionary measure. The area that has been
temporarily closed is lightly used by recreational boaters, kayakers and
sports fishermen. The commercial crabbers who have pots set within the bay
are being accommodated when (and if) conditions permit. Rangers are
patrolling the entrance to the bay and contacting boats in the vicinity to
advise them of the closure. Members of the Alaska special events team and
other NPS personnel are investigating the incident, and information is being
gathered on his identity. The man is described as white, in his mid to late
20s, weighing about 170 pounds, and about 5'10" tall. No further information
is currently available. [Kris Fister, IO, GLBA]
96-400 - San Antonio Missions (Texas) - Seasonal Ranger Arrested
Two deputies from the Bexar County, Texas, sheriff's office arrested seasonal
interpretive ranger A.C. on three felony arrest warrants from
Cameron County on July 19th. The warrants were issued on May 29th for three
separate, alleged violations of the Physician's Assistance Act. He is
currently in prison; bail is set at $15,000. No further information on the
charges is currently available. [Larry Villalva, CRM&VP, SAAN]
96-401 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Drug Seizure
On July 20th, North Rim rangers arrested concessions employee S.M. and
seized two-and-a-half pounds of marijuana, a baggie of mushrooms and drug
paraphernalia. The arrest stems from investigations conducted over the past
month into increased drug use by concessions employees. Additional charges
may be filed against five other occupants of the dorm room. [Kevin Cochary,
DR, North Rim, GRCA]
96-402 - Illinois & Michigan Canal (Illinois) - Storm Damage
The park received a foot of rain over July 17th and 18th, with as much as 17
inches falling in upstream areas. The canal was breached in several spots,
which led to flooding in nearby communities. Several sections of the trail
were washed out as well, and a span of the pedestrian bridge over the DuPage
River was washed away. A contractor's barge broke loose and damaged one of
the piers of the aqueduct. Only one fatality was reported, but there was
considerable property damage. Two of the three employees of the park had
flooded basements. [Lee Hanson, ILMI]
96-403 - Lake Meredith (Texas) - ORV Accident with Fatality
T.R.T., 26, and J.P., 23, went riding on two ORVs on a
ridge in the Rosita Flats area after dark on July 19th. They tried without
success to descend a steep slope which ended in a series of drop-offs and
eventually decided to return to the ridge. T.R.T. was unable get his vehicle
up the slope, however, and asked J.P. to accelerate his ORV while he
pushed. When the vehicle started to roll backward, J.P. jumped out, but
T.R.T. and the ORV went over a series of ledges, falling about 30 feet.
T.R.T. received head and internal injuries. He was flown to an area
hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. [Dale Thompson, CR, LAMR]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 7/22 7/23 Con Con
CO Craig District Big Bend -- 340 340 100 CND
* Twin Buttes T2 - 850 10 7/25
* Moosehead -- - 150 40 7/23
San Juan NF Disappointment T2 1,500 2,500 20 7/31
Montrose District Squaw Canyon -- 408 408 100 CND
UT Zion NP Wildcat T2 2,000 4,500 0 NEC
ID Boise District * Supply -- - 234 100 CND
MT Crow Agency * Last Stand -- - 1,000 100 CND
AK Statewide 29 LSS fires -- 330,163 422,050 -- --
GA Atlanta Area Olympics 96 T2 - - - -
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
FIRE/INCIDENT NARRATIVES
Wildcat Fire, Zion NP - The fire spread rapidly yesterday along its south
flank. Burnout operations on the northwest flank were successful in
controlling spread in that direction. The current threat is to state and
private land outside the park.
FIRES AND ACRES BURNED
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number 2 4 9 1 57 26 99
Acres Burned 1 1,005 1,267 25 15,591 94 17,893
COMMITTED RESOURCES
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 20 86 27 0 236
Non-federal 26 7 0 0 40
COMPARATIVE SUMMARY
CY 1996 Five Year Average
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
Number of Fires 74,018 46,444
Acres Burned 2,990,222 1,210,287
CURRENT SITUATION
Large fires continued to burn yesterday in the eastern Great Basin. Activity
increased in the Rockies.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
NICC has posted FIRE WEATHER WATCHES for dry lightning in Nevada and along
the east sides of the northern Sierras and southern Cascades.
Fire activity is expected to increase because of dry lightning.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/23]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Criminal Incident Reporting System - All parks currently on the CIRS program
should be using version 1.00. If you don't have that version, please contact
either Kathy Clark at NP-WRO or Bob Reid at NP-SERO. Efforts are still
underway to get all parks on the program; a training program will be held at
FLETC in September, and other parks needing the training (particularly in
SEFA) can arrange courses by contacting either of the above parties. Parks
that can't get to training or get on line with CIRS should contact Bob Reid
either via cc:Mail or at 404-331-4290. Programmers are working on the LAN
version of the program. The main computer should be set up to receive all
NPS park incident reports by October. More information will be disseminated
when the implementation date gets closer. [Bob Reid, RAD/WASO @ SEFDO]
River Management - The natural resources bulletin board has been opened up
for discussion and sharing of information pertaining to rivers issues,
including wild and scenic river designation and management, carrying
capacities, site restoration, erosion, trails along rivers, river access and
related issues. The subject line should be coded with RIVERS: [Chris
Baumgartner, RRAD/WASO]
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
Horse and Burro Management - Mojave is seeking information on horse and burro
management plans and related information. If you can help, please contact
Gordon Reetz via cc:Mail at by name at NP-LAME or send along relevant
documents to the park at 222 East Main Street, Barstow, CA 92311.
Misuse of Golden Eagle Passport - Park staff at Grand Canyon have contacted
members of a commercial group from Europe called Joker tours regarding their
illegal use of a Golden Eagle passport, serial number 95-285733. This same
group was contacted last year for the same misuse of the Golden Eagle
passport. If you have any info on the origins of this pass, please contact
Mike O'Neil at GRCA Fee Management at NP-GRCA. Please note that this group
may attempt to obtain another passport for the rest of their trip. They're
driving a Plymouth mini-van with California tag number 3PDY695 and may also
be driving another mini-van.
Feral Hogs - Big Thicket is in the process of developing a feral hog
management plan and is interested on information on same from other parks.
They're particularly interested in any studies that deal with the impacts of
hogs and population control methods. Please contact Rick Strahan at NP-BITH
via cc:Mail, or send the information to the park 3785 Milam, Beaumont, TX
77701.
UPCOMING IN CONGRESS
The following activities will be taking place in Congress during coming weeks
on matters pertaining to the National Park Service. For inquiries regarding
legislation pertaining to the NPS, please visit the Office of Legislative and
Congressional Affairs Website at http://www.nps.gov/legal, or contact the
main office at 202-208-5883/5656 and ask to be forwarded to the appropriate
legislative specialist.
July 25
Senate Energy and Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Parks, Historic
Preservation and Recreation (Campbell): Hearing on S. 1699, to establish the
National Cave and Karst Research Institute in New Mexico; S. 1737, the
Yellowstone Protection Act (addresses the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone Wild
and Scenic River and the Absaroka-Beartooth National Wilderness Area); S.
1809, Aleutian World War II national historic areas.
House Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Lands (Hansen):
Hearing on H.R. 3099, to establish the Washita Battlefield National
Historical Site in Oklahoma; H.R. 3819, National Park Foundation.
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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