- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, June 24, 1997
- Date: Tues, 24 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 24, 1997
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
94-91 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Follow-up on Kidnapping and Assault
On the evening of February 23, 1994, a woman was kidnapped from a Wal-Mart
parking lot in Beckley, beaten at knife point, forced into her car, driven to
the Meadow Creek area of the park, then sexually assaulted. After her
assailant departed, the woman walked to a local store and called for help.
Meanwhile, her attacker, B.J.H. of Christanburg, Virginia, drove
her car to I-81 in Virginia, abandoned it along the roadside, stole another
car, and assaulted two other individuals. B.J.H. was apprehended in
Greensboro, North Carolina, after he had abducted another woman and forced
her into his car. On June 12th, B.J.H. pled guilty to the rape before a
federal district judge in Charleston. Sentencing is expected in August.
B.J.H. is currently serving a 30-year sentence in North Carolina for the
abduction there, and also faces three consecutive life terms for convictions
in Virginia for malicious assaults. He faces the possibility of a fourth
life sentence on the federal conviction. Park criminal investigator Chris
Schrader worked for three years with a trooper from the West Virginia State
Police to bring B.J.H. to trial in West Virginia for the rape in the park.
[Duncan Hollar, Resource Stewardship Unit Leader, NERI, 6/24]
97-275 - Badlands NP (SD) - Follow-up on Rescue
Early on the evening of June 8th, J.T., 46, of Manderson, South
Dakota, was exploring Sheep Mountain Table with his family when the rock he
was standing on at the edge of a cliff gave way and he fell about 50 feet,
then rolled another 100 feet on rock scree. J.T. was evacuated to a
hospital in Rapid City, where he was initially listed in critical condition.
On June 20th, his condition changed to critical, and he succumbed to his
injuries the following day. [Scott Lopez, CR, BADL, 6/23]
97-284 - Zion NP (UT) - Serious Employee Injury
An off-duty motorcycle accident outside the park on June 22nd has left park
maintenance employee D.O. in critical condition with a serious head
injury. D.O. was riding with friends when he hit a deer. He was taken to a
local hospital for emergency stabilization, then flown by aircraft to Utah
Valley Hospital in Provo for specialized medical care. He is currently in a
coma, with intermittent periods of consciousness. Before coming to Zion,
D.O. worked at Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP and Hawaii Volcanoes NP. [Steve
Holder, CR, ZION, 6/23]
97-285 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Homicide
On the morning of June 21st, park dispatch received a cell phone call
reporting a body floating near the shore of Saddle Island. Rangers responded
and recovered the body of a 35-year-old man from Irvine, California.
Investigation revealed a bullet wound to the head. The Las Vegas homicide
unit is investigating. This is the thirteenth fatality of the year at Lake
Mead. [Grace Gerken, Telecommunications Supervisor, LAME, 6/21]
97-286 - Obed W&SR (TN) - Drowning
A 17-year-old female drowned while swimming at Potters Ford on the Obed River
on June 20th. She was in shallow water with her two male companions when
they started wading downstream into deeper water. The current, which was
stronger than it appeared, swept them into water over their heads, where the
girl began struggling and went under. Her friends were able to get her to
shore, where they began CPR while one of the party went for help. An
ambulance crew arrived in short order and began advanced life support, but
was unable to revive her. Neither alcohol nor drugs are thought to have been
contributing factors. Potters Ford is an area of the park which is managed
by the state under an MOU with the NPS. This is the first known drowning
there. [Rob Turan, OBED, 6/23]
97-287 - Lake Meredith NRA (TX) - Serious Visitor Snake Bite
J.M. of Sinnett, Texas, was bitten by a rattlesnake on the hillside
above Harbor Bay on the morning of June 7th. J.M. and a party which
included four boys came across the snake while hiking on a trail. The snake
did not move, even when prodded; J.M. therefore thought it was dead and
picked it up by the tail to move it so it wouldn't frighten anyone else. The
snake immediately struck J.M. twice in the right arm below the wrist and
elbow. J.M. dropped the snake, which became aggressive and followed the
group for a short distance up the slope. J.M. was taken to a hospital in
nearby Borger, Texas. His arm was extremely swollen and he was experiencing
a great deal of pain. Advanced life support measures were begun and he was
given five vials of anti-venom; he underwent surgery the following day in
which five incisions were made in his hand, wrist and elbow to drain the
swelling. He remains hospitalized. [John Benjamin, Superintendent, LAMR,
6/23]
97-288 - Lincoln Home NHS (IL) - Special Event
On June 21st, Mrs. Lyndon "Lady Bird" Johnson visited the park along with
family members and a friend. They were given a tour of the home and the Dean
House museum exhibit by superintendent Norm Hellmers and members of the
park's staff. Mrs. Johnson was particularly interested in the home and its
furnishings. The park then hosted a small reception for the group in the
Robinson House, which holds the Springfield office of United States senator
Carol Moseley Braun. Park law enforcement staff assisted the local Secret
Service office in providing protection for the group during the visit.
[Kathy DeHart, CR, LIHO, 6/23]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Sun Mon % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 6/22 6/23 Con Con
AZ State Keystone - 600 600 NR NR
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, 6/19 1 1 12 0 37 16 67
Friday, 6/20 1 1 7 4 27 12 54
Saturday, 6/21 6 0 8 0 14 2 30
Sunday, 6/22 6 0 9 0 31 5 51
Monday, 6/23 3 18 6 0 80 18 125
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Thursday, 6/19 4 46 10 0 2
Friday, 6/20 4 42 11 0 3
Saturday, 6/21 7 0 3 0 0
Sunday, 6/22 9 9 8 0 1
Monday, 6/23 7 24 15 0 3
CURRENT SITUATION
Initial attack activity occurred in several areas yesterday. Units in
California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and utah are reporting very
high to extreme fire indices.
NICC has posted a RED FLAG WARNING for gusty northeast winds in northern
California.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/24]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Exotic Butterflies - A nationwide organization called the Butterfly
Connection provides live painted lady butterflies to each guest to release at
the end of events such as weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and birthdays.
Since many parks permit such events on park grounds, managers need to be
aware that releasing of live animals into park environments is prohibited by
the regulation found in 36 CFR 2.1. [Carol diSalvo, IPM Specialist, WASO]
Uniform Program Update - The NPS uniform program is undergoing a transition
in management. The new uniform program manager is Meg Leffel in WASO Ranger
Activities. An update detailing the current status of the program will be
issued later today or tomorrow to all regional uniform program managers and
designated park uniform program administrators and coordinators. A tip of
the stetson in appreciation to Bill Halainen, who has overseen the
Servicewide uniform program in various ways since 1987. On another matter:
NPS-43, the uniform guideline, contains the answers to the most commonly
asked questions about the uniform program, including uniform standards and
the processes for recommending new uniform items and resolving problems.
Questions and concerns regarding uniform matters should first be directed to
your designated park uniform administrators and/or coordinators. Those which
they cannot address will be forwarded to the appropriate regional program
manager for action. [Meg Leffel, RAD/WASO]
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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