- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Friday, October 11, 1996
- Date: Fri, 11 Oct 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, October 11, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-588 - Upper Delaware NSR (NY/PA) - Follow-up on Diving Accident
On October 9th, Mark Podgorski died as a result of the diving accident which
occurred on the river three days previously. The county coroner has
specified that the cause of death was "brain hypoxia, decompression sickness
syndrome." [CRO, UPDE]
96-597 - Mesa Verde NP (CO) - Homicide Suspects Arrested
A ranger on patrol on the afternoon of October 2nd came upon an unoccupied
vehicle in a pullout near the Far View area of the park. Since access to the
park's backcountry is restricted, she began to look for the occupants along
the fireline leading away from the pullout. She heard two people talking in
the woods and instructed them to return to the fireline area. The two -
subsequently identified as A.W., 18, and J.E., 21 -
emerged from the woods shortly thereafter. J.E. was carrying what
appeared to be a small caliber rifle. The ranger twice told him to drop the
rifle and began to draw her service revolver before he finally complied. The
weapon was found to be a BB gun. A.W. was armed with a large hunting
knife, which she willingly surrendered to the ranger. The ranger then called
for backup and walked the couple to the pullout. Neither A.W. nor
J.E. was carrying identification, but they gave the ranger their correct
names and dates of birth. Dispatch advised that the registered owners of the
vehicle they were driving were listed as missing and endangered in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma, then that A.W. and J.E. had outstanding homicide
warrants against them in Georgia and should be considered extremely
dangerous. Three other rangers soon arrived on the scene. A.W. and
J.E. were taken into custody and the vehicle was sealed and impounded.
Within ten minutes of confirming the warrants, dispatch received calls from
the FBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the sheriff's offices in Morgan
County, Georgia, and Oklahoma City. A.W. and J.E. are suspected in
the kidnapping and beating deaths of an elderly woman from North Carolina and
an elderly couple in Oklahoma City. The body of the first victim was found
in Georgia; the bodies of the other two had been found in Texas. Due to the
nature of the case, media interest has been very high, and the names of the
rangers involved in the incident have not been released. Local FBI agents
have been assisting with the investigation. Georgia law enforcement
authorities returned the pair to that state on October 9th to face charges of
homicide in that state. [Brian Barrell, MEVE]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Wed Thu % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 10/9 10/10 Con Con
CA Los Padres NF Wild T2 700 5,555 10 NEC
Bee T2 300 225 100 CND
Sequoia NF * Oak Flat -- - 350 20 10/11
Lake-Napa RU Gates -- 125 1,300 25 NEC
ID Boise District * Rock Creek -- - 100 100 CND
OR Burns District * Boxcar -- - 650 100 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; LPS = limited
protection status
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FIVE DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Sunday, 10/6 0 3 0 0 34 8 45
Monday, 10/7 0 4 2 0 40 28 74
Tuesday, 10/8 0 0 1 0 44 9 54
Wednesday, 10/9 0 0 4 0 21 6 31
Thursday, 10/10 0 0 5 0 23 9 37
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Sunday, 10/6 26 86 11 7 94
Monday, 10/7 28 89 18 5 128
Tuesday, 10/8 * * * * *
Wednesday, 10/9 61 137 26 20 354
Thursday, 10/10 117 208 25 20 59
* Reports incomplete
CURRENT SITUATION
Hot and dry conditions have led to an increase in fire activity in
California. Resource mobilization through NICC has nonetheless moderated.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
The strong upper level ridge that was over the West the past two days is
weakening and moving east.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
FLETC Operations - Over the past year, many park chief rangers and field
personnel have directly contacted FLETC division chiefs, branch chiefs,
Treasury instructors, detail instructors and scheduling and staffing
personnel without notifying the NPS office at the training center. Trips
have been planned, courses scheduled and other business has been conducted
without the knowledge of staff in that office. Both National Park Service
and FLETC directives require that ALL business with the center be conducted
through the NPS office at FLETC. When the center, which is managed by
Treasury, was smaller and not putting 24,000 students a year from 74 agencies
through its courses, FLETC staff did not mind occasional outside calls, but
this is no longer the case. Parks MUST go through the NPS office for all
business pertaining to FLETC. One of the issues causing most concern at
present has to do with accounting for NPS expenditures. Training funds from
the NPS office at FLETC are being spent by field areas without NPS staff
knowledge. Parks with training needs need to go through their established
chain of command, whether through cluster or SSO or field office, to receive
approval. Once approval has been obtained, the NPS office at FLETC will do
everything possible to see that park needs are met. The office can also
provide instructors to come out to the field to instruct courses, provided
sufficient notice is given (usually about three months). But the requests
MUST go through the NPS office. Here are your primary contacts:
o Main office - Wiley Golden, clerk - 912-267-2246
o Law enforcement training manager - Tom Cherry - 912-267-2795
o NPS/FLETC superintendent - Paul Henry - 912-267-2245
o Administrative officer - Carole Pfeifer - 912-267-2928
o Telefax - 912-267-3188
o cc:Mail - WASO FLETC-NPS at NP-WASO
o Address - NPS, Law Enforcement Training Center, FLETC, Building 64,
Glynco, GA 31524
The NPS office is there to provide service to the field. Let them know your
needs. [Tom Cherry, FLETC]
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
Motorola Pagers - Indiana Dunes NL has 25 Motorola pagers and 24 chargers
that they are interested in transfering to any park or parks that need them.
All are in good working condition and operate by dispatch sending a tone over
the parkwide radio. Please contact protection branch chief Joni Jones as
soon as posible via cc:Mail (Joni Jones at NP-INDU) or phone (219-926-7561 x
320).
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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