- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, June 10, 1997
- Date: Tues, 10 Jun 1997
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, June 10, 1997
Broadcast: By 1000 ET (DELAYED)
INCIDENTS
97-251 - Denali NP (AK) - Rescue
On Thursday, May 29th, a guide and assistant guide from Alaska Denali Guiding
left the 17,200-foot camp on the West Buttress with four clients to attempt
the summit of Mt. McKinley. White-out conditions quickly set in around
19,300 feet and forced the group to dig a snow cave and spend the night. All
six had bivvy sacks and sleeping bags, but the conditions outside were the
worst the guide had ever seen. They were reported overdue, but a search
could not be initiated due to the weather. They were able to return to the
high camp on Friday and initially reported only minor frostbite. Early on
Saturday morning, however, the park received a call from the group reporting
more serious injuries requiring rescue. Three members of the group - C.B.,
47, D.C., 42, and S.P. - were flown from the
17,200-foot camp by the Service's Lama helicopter and transferred to a
waiting National Guard Pavehawk helicopter at the 7,200-foot base camp for
transport to Providence Hospital in Anchorage. D.C. had frostbite in his
feet but is expected to recover; C.B. had frostbite to his face, fingers,
toes and cornea, but will ultimately lose only his left little finger; S.P.
froze and re-froze his feet and suffered frostbite to his hands and will lose
some toes and fingers. [Ken Kehrer, CR, DENA, 6/9]
97-252 - Denali NP (AK) - Climbing Fatality
S.M., 38, of Bellingham, Washington, was struck and killed by a
large ice block while on the 17th pitch of the Moonflower Buttress on Mt.
Hunter early on the morning of June 6th. It took his partner, Allen Kearney,
a day and a half to descend and report the incident. Kearney reported that
S.M.'s body is pinned by huge ice blocks and may not be safely
recoverable. S.M.'s death is the fifth on Mt. Hunter in the last 13
months. [Ken Kehrer, CR, DENA, 6/9]
97-253 - National Capital Region (DC) - Officer Assaulted; Assailant Shot
On Tuesday, June 3rd, USPP detective Todd Reid shot a 21-year-old man who
assaulted him following a narcotics transaction on Alabama Avenue in
southeast Washington. Two suspects attempted to drive away after selling a
wholesale quantity of narcotics to a USPP investigator. When Reid tried to
stop the vehicle, the driver rammed the car into him, striking him in the
leg. Reid then fired at the vehicle, striking one of the occupants in the
shoulder and face. The wounded man was transported by Park Police helicopter
to a local hospital, where he is in critical condition. The second occupant
of the vehicle was arrested without incident. An investigation into the
incident is underway. [Bill Lynch, RLES, NCRO, 6/4]
97-254 - Glen Canyon NRA (AZ/UT) - Airplane Crash
A Scenic Airlines charter flight with four persons on board made an emergency
water landing near Wilson Creek Canyon after losing power late on the morning
of June 4th. The plane, a Cessna 177, flipped upside down on impact. The
pilot and the three German nationals on board were able to escape from the
aircraft, which sank in about 150 feet of water within 30 seconds of impact.
There were no injuries. A nearby private vessel rescued the pilot and
passengers. Ranger Lisa Slobodzian responded and transported the victims to
the marina at Dangling Rope. Salvage operations have been initiated. [CRO,
GLCA, 6/9]
97-255 - Fire Island NS (NY) - Search in Progress
On June 7th, rangers were notified of a missing boater. A.C., 39,
was last seen on his vessel anchored in the Great South Bay at Talisman on
the afternoon of June 6th, when he told another party that he was going to
replace some of the mooring chain on his sailboat. Suffolk County police
divers and helicopters were searching the anchorage at the time of the
report. Although the water is only ten feet deep, eel grass in the area is
hampering search operations. [CRO, FIIS, 6/9]
97-256 - Rock Creek Park (DC) - Death Investigation
The body of R.B., 22, of Washington, D.C., was found in a thickly
wooded ravine on the afternoon of June 7th. She had been reported missing on
May 29th. It took police and rescue personnel over two hours to negotiate
the ravine's steep sides to reach the body and search the area. R.B.
suffered an injury to her head. The medical examiner is currently attempting
to determine whether her death was accidental or if she was the victim of a
crime. [Bill Lynch, RLES, NCRO, 6/9]
97-257 - Gulf Islands NS (MS/FL) - Suicide Intervention
On June 5th, park dispatch received a report of a young man who was planning
to commit suicide in the Escambia County area. This information was passed
on to all patrol units and to entrance station employees. Late that
afternoon, T.W., a seasonal employee working at the Fort Pickens
entrance station, spotted the mentally disturbed individual and immediately
notified dispatch. The boy was subsequently taken into custody by deputies
without incident. [Skip Prange, DR, GUIS, 6/6]
97-258 - Coronado NM (AZ) - Drug Seizure
On June 6th, park maintenance employee Dave Chavez alerted ranger Scott
Sticha to suspicious vehicles in the visitor center parking lot. Sticha
responded with Border Patrol officers and was able to stop one of the
vehicles five miles east of the park. It was found to contain 178 pounds of
marijuana in its trunk. The driver, who carried no identification, was
arrested. DEA is investigating. [Scott Sticha, CORO, 6/6]
97-259 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MI/AL/TN) - Drug Arrest
On June 8th, ranger Joe Mangino stopped a northbound gray Ford Thunderbird
for careless driving. The driver was very nervous; he and the passenger gave
conflicting stories on where they were coming from and were they were
heading. A consent search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 23 pounds
of marijuana in the trunk. Twelve pounds were located in plain sight,
packaged in one- and three-pound bricks and wrapped in cellophane. Arrested
were K.S., 26, and J.H., 27. The street value of the
marijuana has been placed at around $42,000. [Tim Francis, ACR, NATR]
97-260 - Golden Gate NRA (CA) - Special Event
On June 4th, the new USPP stable was opened with a parade of 46 mounted
officers from seven different jurisdictions, including rangers from Yosemite
NP. The stable was originally built in 1913 for U.S. cavalry units stationed
at the Presidio. These cavalry units were responsible for patrolling
Yosemite and Sequoia NPs in the days prior to the establishment of the NPS in
1916. Many NPS dignitaries attended. The facility will house the USPP San
Francisco Field Office's nine-member horse mounted unit. It will also serve
as a stable for the California Mounted Officer Association, thereby providing
an opportunity for mounted units from throughout the state to share
collective knowledge on mounted enforcement techniques. [Lt. Kevin Hay,
SFFO, GOGA, 6/5]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Sun Mon % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 6/9 6/10 Con Con
*** No significant fires reported ***
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
Thursday, 6/5 0 2 2 1 48 10 63
Friday, 6/6 0 3 8 2 40 10 63
Saturday, 6/7 0 3 0 0 393 3 579
Sunday, 6/8 0 1 3 2 17 8 31
Monday, 6/9 0 11 13 3 77 17 121
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Thursday, 6/5 8 29 3 3 0
Friday, 6/6 4 21 3 1 0
Saturday, 6/7 4 23 1 0 0
Sunday, 6/8 4 0 1 0 0
Monday, 6/9 4 28 5 0 0
CURRENT SITUATION
Fire activity increased again in Alaska yesterday, but remained minimal
throughout most of the rest of the United States.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/10]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No submissions.
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
No submissions.
* * * * *
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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