- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, August 14, 1996
- Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, August 14, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-449 - Grand Teton/Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Follow-up on Special Event
The Service's Type I all-risk incident management team and the staffs of the
two parks continue to provide support for the First Family's vacation and
related presidential activities. On Monday, the family visited Yellowstone
for a full day of activities. The day began with a formal event at a remote
location near Baronette Peak. On short notice, the park's maintenance
division set up a stage and seating for over 250 invited guests and media. A
major challenge was to provide an effective mass transportation system to
bring all participants to the site, which has no parking. The focus of the
event was President Clinton's formal announcement of an exchange of federal
lands which will effectively end the proposed New World Mine on Forest
Service land near the park's boundary. Following the event, the First Family
flew to the Tower Falls area, then motorcaded to the fire lookout on top of
Mt. Washburn for lunch. From the lookout, they could see an impressive smoke
column from a new prescribed natural fire in Pelican Valley. After lunch,
the Clintons went on an eight-and-a-half mile backcountry hike from the top
of Mt. Washburn to Inspiration Point near Canyon. Despite the warmth of the
afternoon and the altitude (over 8,000 feet), the Clintons demonstrated both
enthusiasm and fitness throughout the hike; two media representatives,
however, had to be evacuated by horseback due to heat exhaustion. The
Clintons then motorcaded back to their helicopters, flew to Mammoth Hot
Springs for a brief visit, then flew back to Jackson. Yellowstone park staff
managed the visit under ICS; about 170 employees from all divisions were
involved. The Rocky Mountain SET team also assisted. On Tuesday, Type I
team members supported White House staff in the coordination of the signing
ceremony for the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act
of 1996 at the Teton Science School, which is within park boundaries. About
75 journalists and 250 invited guests attended. Upcoming recreational
activities by the First Family include horseback riding and whitewater
rafting on the Snake River. A total of 70 people - 56 from the NPS - are
currently committed to the Challenge '96 Incident. [Roberta D'Amico/Kim
Dreyfus, IMT, GRTE; Mike Murray, ACR, YELL]
96-457 - Sequoia-Kings Canyon (California) - HazMat Spill: Chlorine Gas
On August 12th, a leaking cylinder of chlorine gas prompted the evacuation of
about 170 employees and visitors from park headquarters and the Foothill
visitor center. The cylinder, which holds about 150 pounds of chlorine gas
used for water and wastewater treatment, had been loaded on to a park vehicle
for delivery to an outlying area when the rupture occurred. Rangers utilized
ICS to manage the incident, clearing and securing the area within a matter of
minutes. A county hazmat team responded from Visalia. The cylinder was
sealed and removed from the park later that evening. Thirteen park
employees, including six firefighters, were treated for minor injuries at a
local hospital and released. [Debbie Bird, CR, SEKI]
96-458 - Delaware Water Gap (NJ/PA) - HazMat Spill: Potassium Hydroxide
A tanker truck carrying 46,000 pounds of potassium hydroxide ran off the
eastbound lane of Interstate 80 adjacent to the Kittatinny Point visitor
center on the morning of August 8th. Rangers responded to assist a multi-
agency incident management team with the evacuation and securing of the
visitor center area and the Delaware River upstream from the site of the
incident. Park personnel remained on scene throughout the day and into the
evening while the hazardous material was safely transferred to another tanker
for removal from the area. The driver and a passenger in the truck were
transported to a nearby medical center for treatment of minor injuries.
Excessive speed is suspected as the cause of the accident. [Bob Wilson,
Acting CR, DEWA]
96-459 - Natchez Trace (MS/AL/TN) - HazMat Spill: Crude Oil
An estimated 60 to 70 barrels of crude oil and 350 to 1,000 barrels of salt
water were released from a producing oil well into the south fork of Coles
Creek upstream from park waters on the night of August 9th. Park staff
responded along with personnel from state and private organizations and
placed containment booms at two locations within the park. Recovery of the
oil began on August 11th and was still underway yesterday. A primary natural
resource concern is the impact of the salt water on park aquatic wildlife.
The spill occurred during minimum flow conditions, with fish mortality
already evident upstream from the park. The park is also coordinating its
efforts with Fish and Wildlife concerning the Natchez stonefly (Alloperla
natchez), which has been a candidate species for listing under the Endangered
Species Act. The presence of this stonefly within the park was confirmed
during the biological assessment following a 1994 oil spill into the same
creek. [Gary Mason, RMS, NATR]
96-460 - Appalachian Trail (Georgia to Maine) - Aircraft Accident; Fatality
A small plane crashed on the trail on Catawba Mountain in southwest Virginia
near midnight on August 12th. The pilot and sole occupant was killed.
Virginia state troopers led the effort to recover the body; the NTSB is
investigating the accident. It was rainy and foggy at the time of the crash.
The extent of resource damage is not yet known. [APPA Forest Service
Liaison]
[Additional reports pending...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level IV
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 8/13 8/14 Con Con
OR Umatilla NF Wheeler ST2 20,869 21,988 50 NEC
Malheur NF Wildcat T1 10,000 11,600 2 NEC
Warm Springs Agency Simnasho T1 22,000 23,000 60 NEC
Wallowa-Whitman NF Sloan's Ridge T1 9,000 11,400 35 8/18
Salt Cx T1 43,240 45,700 50 8/17
State Donneybrook -- 70,000 103,000 NR NEC
Vail District Cedar Mountain -- 2,600 2,600 0 NEC
* Cow Hollow T2 - 23,000 60 NEC
Ochoco NF Coyle Butte -- 200 230 100 CND
Willamette NF * Rigdon Cx T2 - 300 0 8/17
Umpqua NF * Spring T2 - 200 0 NEC
Fremont NF * Alder T2 - 130 0 NEC
WA State Bowie Road -- 3,800 3,800 90 8/13
CA Mendocino NF Forks T1 600 2,000 50 NEC
Plumas NF Cooks T1 1,260 1,260 100 CND
Riverside RU Wolfskill ST1 900 6,000 50 8/14
Tuolumne-Cal. RU Bear ST1 1,000 1,500 40 NEC
Tuolumne Cx ST1 1,000 8,500 50 NEC
Esperanza Cx -- 1,600 1,800 10 NEC
NV Winneumcca District Humboldt T2 6,000 18,000 0 8/18
Toiyabe NF Mt. Jackson T2 800 1,000 60 8/15
* Trout Canyon -- - 150 NR 8/15
Carson City District Dixie -- 300 xxx 65 8/13
Little Valley -- 2,000 2,500 NR NR
Elko District * Lee -- - 800 NR NR
* Shoemaker -- - 500 NR NR
Lake Mead NP Dripping Spring -- - 175 100 CND
MT Lewis and Clark NF Coyote T1 2,500 2,600 10 8/18
Bitterroot NF Willow Creek T2 125 382 15 NEC
Nez Perce NF Moose Butte Cx T2 225 255 50 NEC
UT Cedar City District Honey Boy T2 10,447 10,447 100 CND
Fishlake NF Adelaide Cx T2 15,100 15,160 90 8/15
Hens Peak -- 560 580 75 8/18
Uinta NF Vivian Peak Cx T2 3,400 3,400 100 CND
* Daniels T2 - 400 10 NEC
ID Sawtooth NF * Quartz -- - 225 100 CND
Boise District * Stonequarry -- - 133 100 CND
WY Big Horn NF Moncrief Ridge -- 300 300 40 8/15
State * Spring Creek -- - 6,400 0 NEC
AZ Truxton Can. Agency Powerline -- 300 300 NR NR
AK Statewide 17 fires -- 434,199 434,199 -- NSS
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
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Friday, 8/9 1 2 37 0 46 49 135
Saturday, 8/10 - - - - -- -- --
Sunday, 8/11 1 1 15 0 4 38 59
Monday, 8/12 4 11 27 0 70 178 290
Tuesday, 8/13 25 4 33 0 76 288 426
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Friday, 8/9 253 302 82 29 1,236
Saturday, 8/10 --- --- -- -- -----
Sunday, 8/11 211 321 62 5 920
Monday, 8/12 365 558 131 26 2,264
Tuesday, 8/13 552 949 165 21 2,147
CURRENT SITUATION
Fire activity continued throughout much of the West yesterday; a significant
number of new fires broke out in northern California and the Northwest. Most
areas are now below draw-down levels for initial attack resources, and
national resources are in high demand and critically low. Type II teams were
committed to fires in the Northwest, northern Rockies and the Great Basin.
Resource mobilization through NICC remained high.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for dry lightning in northeast
California, western Nevada, and central and eastern Wyoming.
The West will remain under the influence of strong high pressure aloft, which
is centered over the desert Southwest. Sub-tropical moisture rotating around
the high will continue to produce thunderstorms across much of the West.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/14]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Submissions pending.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Submissions pending.
MEMORANDA
"Update One, US Park Police/Park Ranger Relationships," sent to all field
directors by the associate director, park operations and education, on August
10th. The full text follows:
"As discussed, here is the first progress report for the subject topic.
"The first issue to be looked at is the perceptions issue - the perception of
the US Park Police by Park Rangers and the perception of law enforcement Park
Rangers by the US Park Police.
"On 08-29-96, under the leadership of Superintendent Joe Lawler (NCSO) a work
group composed of Captain Mike Fogarty (US Park Police headquarters), Captain
Saul Lauro (SWSO Law Enforcement Specialist), Captain Bill Lynch (NCFA Law
Enforcement Specialist), Phil Brueck (Assistant Superintendent, CANY), Frank
Dean (Assistant Superintendent, PORE) and Ginny Rousseau (District Manager,
SHEN) will meet in Washington to detail the anecdotes, innuendos, rumors,
truths, half-truths, etc., concerning the relationship between Rangers and
Park Police.
"They will begin to validate issues raised and attempt to discuss and resolve
as many as possible through open communications.
"I encourage all employees of the National Park Service to contact any of the
members of the work group with any concerns they would like to raise."
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.
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]
8/28-9/1 -- 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]
9/5-7* -- "Museums for the Millennium," Washington, DC. Hosted by the
Smithsonian Institution. Contact: Center for Museum Studies,
Smithsonian Institution, MCR 427, Washington, DC 20560; 202-357-
3101 (phone); 202-357-3346 (fax); nedcc@world.std.com (e-mail);
http://www.si.edu/organiza/offices/musstud/newmil.htm (Web).
[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]
9/8-13* -- "Sustaining Ecosystems and People in Temperate and Boreal
Forests: An International Conference on Integrating Conservation
of Biological Diversity with Social and Economic Goals,"
Victoria, British Columbia. Contact: Victoria Ltd., PO Box
40046, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8W 3N3; 604-382-0332 (phone);
http://www.octonet.com/connvic/ecomain.html (Web). [Kathy Jope,
CCSSO]
9/11-13* -- "School for Scanning: Working in a Digital World," Washington,
DC. Sponsored by the NPS and Smithsonian Institution. Contact:
G. Pfeifle, NEDCC, 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA; 508-471-
1010 (phone); 508-475-6021 (fax); nedcc@world.stm.com (e-mail).
[Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]
9/11-14 -- "The Place of History: The History of Place," 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]
9/29-10/2* -- "Caring for Home Place: Protected Areas and Landscape Ecology,"
Regina, Saskatchewan. Integration of sustainable development,
landscape and ecosystem management, and protected areas.
Contact: Canadian Council on Ecological Areas, http:
//zeus.cas.uregina.ca/~cprc/ccea (Web). [Kathy Jope, CCSSO]
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]
10/1-3* -- "Remember the Ladies: Women and the Preservation of Virginia's
Past," Stratford Hall and Popes Creek Plantations, VA. Sponsored
by George Washington Birthplace NM and Stratford Hall. The
conference will focus on women's groups in the forefront of the
historic preservation movement. Fee: $100. Contact: Martha R.
Walker, 301-934-6027. [John Frye, GEWA]
10/1-6* -- "Living with Wildlife," Annual Conference, The Wildlife Society,
Cincinnati, OH. Contact: The Wildlife Society, 301-897-9770
(phone), tws@wildlife.org (Internet). [Kathy Jope, CCSSO]
10/2-6 -- 1996 Annual Convention, The Association for the Study of Afro-
American Life and History, Charleston, SC. Co-hosted by Avery
Research Center. Contact: Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney or Ms. Cherisse
Jones, 803-727-2009 (phone), 803-727-2017 (fax). [Mike Allen,
CHPI]
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]
11/9-- "Mamie D. Eisenhower: Her Impact and Influence on Her Time,"
Dwight D. Eisenhower Seminar, Gettysburg, PA. Sponsored by
Eisenhower NHS and Gettysburg College. Contact: John Joyce,
EISE, 717-338-9114 (phone) or 717-338-0821 (fax). [John Joyce,
EISE]
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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