- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Thursday, July 25, 1996
- Date: Thurs, 25 Jul 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Thursday, July 25, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-379 - Fire Island (New York) - Follow-up on Assist, TWA Flight 800
Fire Island personnel continue to support the Coast Guard's efforts in the
aftermath of the TWA Flight 800 explosion and crash. A funeral was held
yesterday at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City for flight attendant
J.A.Z., 23, sister of Statue of Liberty ranger M.Z.
The park's staff is providing support for M.Z. and his family.
Condolences may be sent to him in care of Statue of Liberty National
Monument, Liberty Island, New York, NY 10004. A fund is being established to
help the family. Contributions may be sent to ranger Robert Irish at the
Statue of Liberty (212-363-3260/1) or ranger Patricia Montague at Morristown
(201-539-2016). Either can be contacted for additional information. [Scott
Pfeninger, CR, STLI]
96-405 - Crater Lake (Oregon) - Search and Rescue
J.R., 20, and five friends - none of whom had obtained a
backcountry permit - set out on a cross-country hike to a park spring last
weekend. When they arrived, they found that the spring was dry, but that the
mosquitoes were nonetheless numerous. He accordingly decided to leave the
group and head back to the rim. When he failed to return after some time,
the park was notified and a search was begun. Rangers were engaged in a
significant search effort when J.R. reappeared on the north entrance road
late on the evening of July 22nd. Although tired and very hungry and
thirsty, he was otherwise okay. After leaving his friends, J.R. wandered
for some time, then set up camp near a waterfall. The next day, he retraced
his steps, saw nothing familiar, so wandered north and west around Mt.
Mazama, ditching his pack in the process. He crossed the Pumice Desert and
eventually ran into the entrance road. Rangers found that his pack
contained, among other things, eight packages of hot dogs, a tent, a
comforter, a compass (but no map), and a supply of wine. When asked why he
hadn't eaten the hot dogs, J.R. said he forgot he had them. Although he'd
abandoned his pack, he still had his journal with him. [George Buckingham,
CR, CRLA]
96-406 - North Cascades (Washington) - Search and Rescue
On July 21st, park staff and personnel from two counties and two national
forests began a search for P.S. and M.W., who were several
days overdue from a climb along the very remote and rugged Ptarmigan
Traverse. Rangers located and rescued the men by helicopter that afternoon.
P.S. had injured his knee on July 17th and the pair had patiently awaited
rescue through storms and with little food. [Hugh Dougher, DR, NOCA]
96-407 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Search and Rescue
The park received a report that three people were calling for help below the
rim near Bright Angle Lodge on July 20th. Responding rangers rappelled 400
feet to the trio, who were caught on ledges at various distances from the
rim. Two were lowered 80 feet to a talus slope, then escorted to the Bright
Angel trail; the third, who was closest to the rim, was raised to that level.
They reported that they'd left the well-marked Bright Angel trail at Kolb
Seep, about three-quarters of a mile down the trail, and had then attempted
to ascend the route of the trans-canyon pipeline to the rim. None was
injured. [CRO, GRCA]
96-408 - Everglades (Florida) - MVA with Serious Injuries
On the morning of July 18th, E.S., 16, and J.S., 15, were
returning to Miami from a fishing trip to Flamingo via the main park road.
E.S. lost control of the vehicle at the Taylor Slough bridge about two miles
from park headquarters; it skidded, rolled over on the bridge, and slid over
the guard rail into about four feet of water. J.S. was ejected from the
vehicle onto the bridge, while E.S. remained within. E.S. sustained only
minor injuries, but J.S. suffered a potentially serious skull fracture.
Off-duty park medic and Flamingo subdistrict ranger Lane Baker arrived on
scene shortly thereafter, quickly assessed J.S.'s injuries and provided a
high level of patient care until he could be stabilized and flown to a
hospital. He is expected to fully recover. [Phil Selleck, LES, EVER]
96-409 - Mount Rainier (Washington) - Two MVAs with Serious Injuries
A vehicle with four male part visitors ran off the road four miles above
Longmire and struck a large tree head on at 1:30 p.m. on July 20th. None of
the occupants appears to have been wearing a seatbelt. All were seriously
injured and had to be extricated from the car. Medical problems were
compounded by the fact that none of the occupants spoke very good English,
making assessment of injuries difficult. One of the victims did indicate
that he had tuberculosis. Three of the men were flown to a hospital in
Seattle; the fourth was taken to Puyallup. While rangers were still involved
in evacuating patients from this accident, a second accident occurred about
three miles below Paradise. The driver and sole occupant of a car suffered
spinal, head and neck injuries when his car went off the road and rolled
over. His injuries made the extrication difficult. He was also flown to an
area hospital. [Rick Kirschner, MORA]
96-410 - Olympic (Washington) - Tree Branch Fall; Serious Injury
On July 22nd, a local cay care provider took three groups of children, ages
five through twelve, on a walk along the park's Peabody Creek interpretive
trail. A few members of the group stopped at one point to view the creek.
While sitting with a child next to the stream, one of the day care teachers
heard something falling, looked up, saw a large branch descending, and pushed
the child out of the way. The branch, which weighed 20 pounds and was over
12 feet long, fell butt end first, struck the teacher, and knocked her down a
six-foot embankment, where she fell face first onto rocks. Two of the
children ran up the trail to the park's resource management building to
report the accident; two other children headed in the other direction to
advise other day care teachers. Park staff arrived on scene quickly,
stabilized the victim, and transported her to the hospital. A surgeon at the
hospital said that the teacher had suffered the worst facial injury he'd ever
seen on a person who'd lived through an accident. She was in surgery for six
hours, and is now able to see with blurred vision from the injured eye, which
suggests that further vision may be restored. The surgeon credits quick
action by park staff to stabilize the eye injury with improving chances for
saving it. Many of the members of the group were children of park staff,
which aided in keeping all parties calm, as they knew that "their rangers"
were responding. Park staff spoke at length with the children on scene,
commended them on how well they'd handled the emergency, and told them that
their quick thinking was a major reason that the teacher might fully recover.
Winds were calm at the time of the incident. It appears that the branch fell
over 60 feet from a mature fir tree. [Larry Nickey, OLYM]
96-411 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Auto Theft Arrest
A Fred Harvey Company taxi driver reported a taxi missing from a company
parking lot at 3:15 a.m. on July 20th. Rangers investigated and discovered
that someone had also attempted to break into and steal a second taxi, which
was parked nearby. Local enforcement agencies were advised of the theft. At
4:30 a.m., an Arizona state trooper found the vehicle rolled over in a ditch
on Highway 89, about 90 miles from the park, and subsequently came upon J.Y.,
22, of the Grand Canyon, walking along the road near the accident
scene. J.Y. admitted to stealing the vehicle and was arrested. The case
was turned over to the county. J.Y. is being held on $40,000 bail. [Keith
McAuliffe, SDR, GRCA]
96-412 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Water Pollution Conviction
An 18-month-long investigation into water pollution concluded on July 2nd
when R.M.S., a chiropractic physician from Norfolk, Virginia, pled
guilty in federal magistrate's court to dumping raw sewage into the New River
in the Army Camp area of the park. R.M.S., who was represented by three
Norfolk lawyers, was fined $710 and ordered to have a functioning treatment
system, certified in writing by the county health department, in place by
August 2nd. If he fails to do so, he will be required to return to court.
The magistrate spoke forcefully about the case in open court, saying that she
considered this type of case to be the most appropriate for the NPS to pursue
and encouraging the Service to continue to address external pollution and
resource degradation problems affecting the park. [Chris Schrader, CI, NERI]
96-413 - Fort McHenry (Maryland) - Special Event
Vice president Gore and South African deputy president Mbeki flew by
helicopter to the park, then motorcaded to Baltimore for meetings. Gore and
Mbeki were greeted at the park by a group of Baltimore school children. Fort
McHenry and Hampton rangers assisted the Secret Service with site security.
The park was open for the duration of the three-hour event. [Rick Nolan, CR,
FOMC]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 7/24 7/25 Con Con
CO Craig District Twin Buttes T2 1,500 1,400 80 7/25
Grand Jct. District Hatchet -- 500 2,195 0 7/28
San Juan NF Disappointment T2 3,100 3,600 75 7/26
Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre
-Gunnison NF * Telephone -- - 970 0 NEC
ID Boise NF * Curtis Creek -- - 414 48 7/29
UT Zion NP Wildcat T2 4,642 6,700 100 CND
Salt Lake District * Zimpson -- - 3,300 100 CND
NV Las Vegas District Gass Peak -- 600 600 0 NSS
Winnemucca District * Rock Hill -- - 2,000 0 7/25
* Flat Creek -- - 2,500 0 7/25
* Sod House -- - 2,000 100 CND
Elko District * Izzen -- - 600 25 7/25
CA Kern County White Oak -- 4,800 4,800 100 CND
Lassen Volcanic NP * Crater Butte -- - 100 0 NEC
OR Vale District * Jackson Ranch -- - 800 10 NEC
* Simmons Gulch -- - 250 90 NEC
AK Statewide 29 fires -- 468,207 432,407 -- NSS
GA NPS - 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 was very active on Tuesday, but was
officially contained yesterday at 6,700 acres. Previously noted closures
remain in effect.
Olympics 96 Incident, Atlanta Area Parks - High notes from yesterday's
incident summaries:
o President Clinton is scheduled to visit the Olympics again today.
Rangers from Chattahoochee will secure portions of his route; rangers
from Kennesaw Mountain and county officers will secure the mountain's
summit. Vice president Gore and his family are scheduled to arrive
tomorrow.
o The president of Dominica visited Martin Luther King yesterday.
Segments of the July 31st Today Show are being filmed at the park
today.
o Park vendors are beginning to set up operations within the park. Even
though park legislation, NPS management policies and city ordinances
prohibit vending activities in most public areas, the city has issued
one permit to date to a local vendor. The park is working with the
city to resolve the issue.
o There are now 204 people assigned to the incident. The cost to date is
just under $300,000.
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (THREE DAY TREND) #
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Monday, 7/22 2 4 9 1 57 26 99
Tuesday, 7/23 6 9 16 0 94 50 175
Wednesday, 7/24 3 16 45 0 110 50 224
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (THREE DAY TREND) #
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Monday, 7/22 46 93 27 0 276
Tuesday, 7/23 69 115 37 6 335
Wednesday, 7/24 108 212 43 9 288
CURRENT SITUATION
Dry lightning caused fires yesterday in the Great Basin, Northwest, northern
California and Rockies. Resource mobilization through NICC remained
constant.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
NICC has posted FIRE WEATHER WATCHES for dry lightning in extreme southeast
Oregon, western Idaho, northeast Nevada, and the mountains and deserts of
southern California. More fires are likely in these areas.
# These two sections have been revised in an attempt to provide more useful
information to managers and general readers. Comments appreciated. A
revision to the previous format is possible if deemed appropriate.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/25; Nancy Gray, IO, Olympics 96
Incident, 7/24; Steve Robinson, IO, Wildcat Fire, ZION, 7/24]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Special Park Uses Update - Parts of the revised NPS-53 are now ready for
field review. The guideline has been divided into two parts - policy
statements (similar to the old NPS-53) and a procedures workbook. The
workbook is like a cook book, giving step-by-step, how-to instructions. At
present, there are three workbook chapters with appendices - filming, rights-
of-way and incidental business permits:
o The portions of the guideline on filming are currently being reviewed
by WASO Ranger Activities and are ready in draft form for field review.
The draft includes both the policy and procedures sections, with
attachments. This section was done first at the request of just about
everyone. Anyone interested in receiving a copy of the filming
portions to review should send a cc:Mail message with the word FILM as
the subject to Dennis Burnett at RAD/WASO. Do not use any additional
words or any other word. By using the word FILM as the subject, you
will automatically get a complete copy of the filming policy and
procedures by return cc:Mail. Any problems with receiving this
document should be directed to Dennis Burnett. Please keep in mind
that the filming section is about 425K long, and that the entirety of
NPS-53, even when zipped, may exceed 1.5 megabytes. You may want to
consider downloading files at night, depending on the speed of your
modem.
o The finishing touches are now being put on the incidental business
permit (IBP) policy and procedure sections. They should be ready
shortly. When that happens, they will be included in both NPS-53 and
the procedures workbook and will be offered for review in the same
manner. This will be an updated version of the IBP material, more
current even than the information which was disseminated in the several
classes held across the country this spring and summer.
You will have 60 days to comment on draft sections. All comments should be
addressed to Dick S. Young at NP-COLO electronically. DO NOT SEND THE ENTIRE
FILE BACK. INSTEAD, SEND INDIVIDUAL COMMENTS REFERENCED BY PAGE NUMBER,
SECTION, PARAGRAPH AND SENTENCE. Depending on the success of this
transmission, we will probably use this method to get a copy of the final
NPS-53 and procedure workbook into every park. This way the parks can then
make as many copies as they need. [Dick Young, RAD/WASO @ COLO]
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
Wildlife Observation Software - C&O Canal is seeking information on database
software packages (park customized or other) that may help provide them with
a user-friendly and versatile system for recording wildlife observations. If
you can help, contact Pat Toops at NP--NCR.
Inmate Labor MOUs - Big Thicket is exploring the possibility of working with
the Federal Bureau of Prisons to employ inmate labor on work projects in the
park, including boundaries, trail maintenance and fire management. They are
seeking sample MOUs/MOAs from other parks with similar arrangements which
they can use as models for their agreement. Please contact Chuck Boettcher
via cc:Mail at BITH Woodville Rangers at NP-BITH, or call 409-283-5824.
OBSERVATIONS
Yes, the entries in this section have been tailing off lately, largely
because the well is drying up. Many thanks to all of you who've sent
"observations" in over the past year. Some have been appropriate for this
section, which focuses on quotes specific to the National Park Service or to
closely kindred issues or disciplines; others, however, have been provocative
but either peripherally related to these themes or otherwise unsuited for
this section of the Morning Report. A few are still pending and will appear
in the near future.
Now, then, is the time to send along that inspired passage that you've
memorized from Aldo Leopold or Rachel Carson or John Muir, that insight on
the NPS gleaned from Michael Frome or Joseph Saxe, that bit of historical
perspective from Horace Albright or George Hartzog. Observations are also
appreciated on subjects pertaining to NPS professions (cultural resource
management, interpretation, etc.).
The only other "rule" is that your submission should be inspiring or
edifying. There's nothing wrong with criticism, but we get enough of that
anyhow. Let's strike for higher ground....
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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