NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, February 4, 1998

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

98-46 - Guadalupe Mountains NP (TX) - Assist; Gas Pipeline Explosion

Rangers were asked by state police to provide fire protection and traffic
control for a gasline explosion near the park at 1:45 a.m. on January 27th. 
Responding rangers could see a column of fire rising from the 30-inch line,
which is a major artery in the natural gas pipeline system.  The glow from
the plume of fire was so bright that it provided an alpine glow-like effect
on El Capitan, a prominent park landmark.  The fire continued to burn until
valves could be closed.  The explosion created a crater that was at least 100
feet in diameter, and severely damaged Highway 62/180 by melting asphalt and
upheaving the road bed.  A 40-mile stretch of the highway had to be closed
and traffic detoured until the fire could be contained and the road repaired. 
The road reopened at 8:30 a.m.  There were no injuries.  The cause of the
explosion is not yet known.  [Steve Martin, GUMO, 2/3]

98-47 - Chaco Culture NHP (NM) - Fatality

M.B.D., wife of long-time park employee G.B.C., died at
her residence in the park from an apparent overdose of prescription
medications on January 29th.  She evidently left the apartment during the
night and went to a nearby storage room, where she was found by her husband
the next morning.  A letter was found in which she stated that she did not
want to be resuscitated and that her remains were to be donated to science. 
The county medical examiner is investigating.  [Rory Gauthier, CR, CHCU, 2/3]

98-48 - Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - Winter Storm Impacts

An unforecast winter storm brought heavy snow to the area on Tuesday, January
27th, and disrupted utility service and travel in several counties in eastern
Tennessee and western North Carolina.  Nearly two feet of snow fell at
Newfound Gap, almost a foot in Gatlinburg, and lesser amounts in surrounding
areas.  Interstate 40 was clogged for two days with jack-knifed trailer
trucks and autos unable to wind their way through the heavy ice and snow. 
The interstate was effectively closed near the same location as the rockslide
which occurred last July and closed the highway for three months.  Office
staff were released an hour early on Tuesday and many were unable to get to
work on Wednesday morning due to the icy roads.  The few who made it in were
released because of insufficient electric power and lack of heat.  Little
River Road, which connects Gatlinburg with Townsend, was still closed at the
time of the report due to hundreds of downed trees.  Both sections of the
Foothills Parkway were also impassable due to trees across the roadway. 
North District road crews worked through the night of the 27th to remove
trees from the Gatlinburg Spur.  As of January 30th, maintenance crews had
punched their way into Cataloochee Valley, which remains without power. 
Employee residences and facilities at Cosby were also without electric power. 
the Newfound Gap Road was closed for only part of January 28th and has
otherwise been open to connect visitors to Cherokee, North Carolina.  [Jason
Houck, CR, GRSM, 1/30]

98-49 - Point Reyes NS (CA) - Winter Storm Impacts

A severe storm with sustained gusts of up to 82 miles per hour dropped five
and a half inches of rain on the park during a 24-hour period over February
2nd and 3rd.  Over 2,000 trees were blown down, power and phone utilities
were lost, several areas were flooded, and debris flowed across highways,
which also sustained minor damage.  Sections of the park will remain closed
until crews clear debris and downed trees.  Another strong Pacific storm is
predicted for the area for tomorrow evening.  [Don Neubacher, Superintendent,
PORE, 2/3]

98-50 - Colorado NM (CO) - Falling Fatality

On the morning of Monday, January 26th, J.K. saw her son, C.K., 15,
off to school; he failed to return that evening, and she reported him as
missing to the Mesa County sheriff's department on Tuesday morning.  Ranger
Bill Rodgers and deputies investigated, and determined that C.K. had not
boarded the school bus and that he had likely skipped school, as he had done
in the past.  His mother said that he was very fond of hiking in the park. 
Rodgers and administrative assistant Shannon Young, a certified search dog
handler, conducted limited canyon rim searches on Wednesday and Thursday, but
Young's dog did not alert in any area.  A ground search of the park near the
K. house led to the discovery of C.K.'s tracks, but they were lost on
slick rock and their age could not be determined.  A cast of the tracks was
made.  Ground searches were continuing on Sunday when a person reported
talking with a boy matching C.K.'s description the previous Monday in the
vicinity of the Liberty Cap formation within the park.  Rangers, deputies and
county search and rescue personnel responded to the area and found tracks. 
Young's dog alerted in an area about 300 feet below the point last seen, but
search efforts had to be suspended due to darkness and steep, icy hiking
conditions.  Search efforts resumed Monday morning, and searchers in a
helicopter spotted C.K.'s body.  He had fallen 350 feet.  The body was
evacuated by helicopter and identified by his mother.  There is no indication
that this was anything other than an accident, but the investigation is
continuing.  [Ron Young, CR, COLM, 2/2]

98-51 - Big Thicket NP (TX) - Evidence Fabrication Conviction

On July 5, 1997, supervisory ranger Chuck Boettcher cited H.W. of
Vidor, Texas, for a violation of 36 CFR 4.2, which assimilated the state law
regarding failure to carry liability insurance.  On July 10th, H.W. faxed a
copy of his insurance to Boettcher.  The issuing insurance agency was
contacted to verify the document, which proved to have been fabricated. 
Following consultation with the U.S. attorney, the case was referred to the
county district attorney's office for prosecution.  In October, a grand jury
indicted H.W. for a violation of the Texas penal code section on tampering
with or fabricating physical evidence.  On January 26th, H.W. pled guilty
and was sentenced to three years in a state penitentiary.  H.W. will also
serve an additional two years for probation violations.  [CR, BITH, 1/29]

98-52 - Fort Sumter NM (SC) - Special Event

The 160th anniversary of the death of Osceola, a leader of Seminole warriors,
occurred on Friday, January 30th.  Osceola was imprisoned at Fort Moultrie in
1838 and died shortly thereafter from a throat infection.  He was interred
near the main entrance of the fort.  About 1,000 people attended the event,
including members of the Seminole nation, dignitaries, school children and
visitors.  The ceremony included a wreath laying, color guard maneuvers, and
a Seminole dance in which many of the public participated.  [Bill Martin,
ACR, FOSU, 1/31]

98-53 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (AZ) - Drug Seizure; Arrests

Rangers and Border Patrol agents stopped a rental RV from California with two
occupants on Highway 85 on the morning of January 21st.  The vehicle was
stopped near the point along Puerto Blanco Drive where the agents had earlier
that day found 716 pounds of marijuana.  The two men had in their possession
several ounces of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and photos of themselves
among several hundred pounds of marijuana bundles.  The investigation is
continuing.  [Aniceto Olais, CR, ORPI, 1/30]

98-54 - Big Bend NP (TX) - Drug Seizure; Arrest

Ranger Curt Dimmick conducted surveillance on a suspicious vehicle in the
Santa Elena District on January 17th.  The vehicle was stopped by rangers and
Border Patrol agents at 1:35 a.m. the following morning.  Approximately 60
pounds of marijuana and a loaded 12-gauge shotgun were found in the vehicle's
trunk.  The narcotics were probably smuggled across the Rio Grande at the
Santa Elena river crossing.  [Kathi Hambly, DR, BIBE, 1/28]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Cape Cod NS (MA) - Marine Mammal Stranding

Following a strong northeaster with heavy surf and higher than normal tides
on the night of January 28th, rangers received reports of a large number of
dolphins washed up on the shoreline of the park and four lower cape towns. 
The mammals were white-sided and common dolphins, neither considered either
threatened or endangered.  About 64 dolphins were stranded and subsequently
died.  Of these, 34 were on park beaches.  Approximately 15 dolphins were
found swimming in the marshes and estuaries around Wellfleet Harbor and
successfully herded back out to the deeper water of Cape Cod Bay.  The park
set up a modified incident command structure, with supervisory ranger Dennis
St. Aubin as IC.  The park worked with employees and volunteers from the New
England Aquarium and other wildlife assistance agencies to conduct necropsies
on the majority of the dead dolphins.  The purpose was to attempt to
determine if the cause of the strandings was something other than storm and
wave action interfering with echo location.  Initial inspections indicated
that all of the dolphins were healthy prior to stranding.  Long-time Cape Cod
residents and marine mammal rescue personnel could not remember a stranding
incident involving as many dolphins.  [Gary Carter, ASDR, CACO, 2/1]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

WASO Phone Book - The phone book for the Service's Washington Office is now
available electronically.  The file comes in two versions, Word 6.0/95 and
Access 2.0.  If you would like a copy, please send a cc:Mail message to
Kendra Peel at NP-WASO-POPS with the appropriate words in the subject line
(NOT in the text field): either WASO-Word or WASO-Access.  The computer will
automatically send a copy to you.  If you would like both versions, you will
need to send two messages.  [Kendra Peel, WASO]

MEMORANDA

No entries.

EXCHANGE

No entries.

                        *  *  *  *  *

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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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