- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, May 11, 1998
- Date: Mon, 11 May 1998
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Monday, May 11, 1998
INCIDENTS
98-194 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Fugitive Arrest
Las Vegas city detectives and ranger Paul Crawford apprehended fugitive
R.G., 51, on the afternoon of April 28th. R.G., who was wanted by
police in Saginaw, Texas, for a murder committed ten years ago, fled into the
park in late February after being visited by IRS agents on an unrelated
matter. He set up camp in Lower Gypsum Wash and over time associated with
campers and fishermen in Upper Gypsum and Government Washes. Las Vegas Metro
police received information that R.G. had been seen in the park after his
picture was shown on local television. Other information indicated that he
intended to murder someone with an RV and assume his identity. R.G. was
spotted walking along the shoreline by an observer in a Metro helicopter and
taken into custody without incident. The arrest was good news for Saginaw
police, as they wanted to close the case prior to the imminent retirement of
the department's chief. The chief will now be able to retire with no
unsolved cases in the department. [Paul Crawford, SPR, Boulder Basin
District, LAME, 5/6]
98-195 - Biscayne NP (FL) - Significant Boating Under the Influence Arrests
On April 24th, G.A. was arraigned on charges of operating a vessel
under the influence of impairing substances within the park on three
different occasions within a three month period. Rangers Steve Stinnett and
David Pharo arrested G.A. in January for BUI with a blood alcohol level
almost three times the state's legal limit. On April 9th, G.A. ran his 46-
foot motor yacht hard aground, causing approximately $70,000 in damage to
park resources. Pharo arrested him for BUI and other violations. G.A. was
released from jail after eight hours and returned to his grounded vessel. On
the following morning, Pharo found G.A. behind the wheel of his vessel,
attempting to power it off the shoal. Investigation revealed he was once
again intoxicated. He was arrested for a third time and taken before a
magistrate judge, who ordered a $50,000 bond, banned him from the park, and
prohibited him from operating a vessel or leaving the magistrate's judicial
district. [David Pharo, BISC, 5/6]
98-196 - Pictured Rocks (MI) - Explosives
A park visitor told rangers on April 20th that he'd found a suspicious
package in a ditch off a park-owned road. Evidence at the scene indicated
that an explosive device might be in the package, so a state police bomb
squad was immediately summoned. Bomb squad members determined that the
package contained about 40 wooden match sticks aligned against a striker
plate and a large amount of black gun powder (type 4F). The cardboard
package was wrapped in alternating layers of duct tape and aluminum foil.
The device could have been set off by someone stepping or falling on the
package or by throwing it against a hard wall; injuries would have included
flash burns. An investigation is underway. [Larry Hach, CR, PIRO, 4/22]
98-197 - Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs (CA) - Marijuana Cultivation Arrest
On April 30th, the foreman on a construction project on the General's Highway
saw two men who'd parked near the construction zone carrying marijuana plants
up a stream drainage. He contacted them, but they fled on foot before
rangers could arrive. One of the men, Leal Tova, an undocumented alien from
Mexico, was apprehended several hours later at Potwisha campground after an
intensive search by six rangers, a state police helicopter and a canine unit
from the county sheriff's office. Tovar has been charged with cultivation of
marijuana with intent to distribute (21 USC 841(a)(1)) and is presently
incarcerated without bail. A total of 111 marijuana plants and associated
planting supplies and equipment were retrieved from the adjacent stream, and
Tova's 1990 Ford Thunderbird was seized. Rangers found the cultivation site
the next day and seized 561 marijuana plants. Tova's companion is still at
large. Special agent Al De La Cruz is leading the investigation to determine
his identity and whereabouts. Ash Mountain subdistrict ranger Randy Larson
is the incident commander. [Bob Wilson, LES, SEKI, 5/7]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Sat Sun % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 5/8 5/9 Con Con
FL Florida NFs * Boogy Jordan -- - 670 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
IMT T1 = Type I; 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
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Thursday, 5/7 0 7 7 0 43 15 72
Friday, 5/8 1 0 1 0 47 3 52
Saturday, 5/9 0 0 0 0 11 2 13
Sunday, 5/10 1 0 0 0 5 16 22
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Thursday, 5/7 14 28 1 0 33
Friday, 5/8 21 29 3 2 57
Saturday, 5/9 8 15 1 0 10
Sunday, 5/10 11 18 1 0 10
CURRENT SITUATION
Only minor initial attack activity was reported yesterday. Very high and
extreme fire indices were reported in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas, New Mexico
and Arizona. Alberta continues to report four large uncontrolled fires that
have burned nearly 465,000 acres.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 5/11]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No entries.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Employee/Past Employee News - Submissions are frequently sent to the Morning
Report that have to do with the retirements of current employees or the
deaths of past employees (or non-employees). By policy, the Morning Report
does not carry the former, and limits obituaries to active duty NPS and
cooperator employees (concessioners, cooperating associations, VIPs). Those
submissions which did not qualify for the Morning Report were formerly sent
along to "The Electric Courier" and appeared in that publication. Although
"The Electric Courier" is no longer being published, the NPS Employee and
Alumni Association has expressed a strong interest in receiving and printing
all such reports. Please contact editor Jennifer Mummart via Internet at
EastNatl@ix.netcom.com or send them to the Morning Report for forwarding to
her. [Editor]
MEMORANDA
No entries.
EXCHANGE
No entries.
MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS CALENDAR
Two calendars alternate in the Morning Report on Mondays - this one, which
contains meetings, seminars, 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.
5/18-22 Meeting: DOI 1998 Safety and Occupational Health Seminar
Location: BLM National Training Center, Phoenix, AZ
Details: ---
Contact: USGS Office of Safety Management
Phone/fax: 703-648-7556; ---
E-mail: Via Web site - http://www.usgs.gov/usgs-safety/con1.html
Submitter: Maureen Foster, WASO
6/6 Event: National Trails Day
Location: ---
Details: ---
Contact: American Hiking Society
Phone/fax: 301-565-6704; ---
E-mail: ---
Submitter: Sheila Lee, WASO
6/24-27* Meeting: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Review Committee
Location: Downtown Portland Embassy Suites, Portland, OR
Details: The agenda for this meeting will include an update on
federal agency compliance with NAGPRA, the
disposition of culturally unidentifiable human
remains, and the status of implementation in the
Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Frank McManamon, Department Consulting Archeologist
Phone/fax: 202-343-8161; ---
E-mail: FP McManamon at NP-WASO-DCA
Submitter: Federal Register, Vol. 63, No. 72, page 18441
6/26-28 Event: 50th Anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt NP
Location: Theodore Roosevelt NP, ND
Details: The park is celebrating the addition of the North
Unit to the system in 1948. The formal ceremony will
be at 5 p.m. on June 27th and will be followed by a
buffalo barbecue. Park staff are inviting all former
THRO employees to join them for the celebration.
Contact: Noel Poe, superintendent, or Bruce Kaye, chief of
interpretation
Phone/fax: 701-623-4466; ---
E-mail: Noel Poe at NP-THRO, Bruce Kaye at NP-THRO
Submitter: Noel Poe
6/29-7/2 Meeting: 30th Annual Meeting, Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage
Foundation
Location: Great Falls, MT
Details: ---
Contact: Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
Phone/fax: 509-783-1207; ---
E-mail: ---
Submitter: Sheila Lee, WASO
7/2-6 Meeting: "Ecological Exchange Between Major Ecosystems,"
Annual Meeting, Ecological Society of America
Location: Baltimore, MD
Details: ---
Contact: Fred Wagner
Phone/fax: 801-797-2555; ---
E-mail: ---
Submitter: Sheila Lee, WASO
Various Seminars: American History Summer Seminars
Location: The titles, dates and locations of relevant seminars
are as follows: "Lincoln," Gettysburg College, 7/5-
11; "The Origins and Nature of New World Slavery,"
Yale University, 7/6-17; "Passages to Freedom:
Abolition and the Underground Railroad," Amherst
College, 7/19-26; "Thomas Jefferson and the
Foundations of American Democracy," Monticello and
the University of Virginia, 7/19-25; "The Private and
Public George Washington," Brown University, 7/26-8/1
Details: As above
Contact: Sandra Weber and Laura Feller, WASO
Phone/fax: Weber: 202-565-1057, Feller: 202-343-9285; ---
E-mail: Sandy Weber at NP-WASO-ITC-MIB, Laura Feller at NP-WASO-NRHE
Submitter: Joyce Howe, STMA
8/13-16 Meeting: Pecos Conference
Location: Pecos NHP, NM
Details: The focus of this year's annual conference will be on
the archeological concepts of culture. Short papers
are also solicited on archeological breakthroughs,
updates, unique discoveries, challenges and concerns.
Abstracts of papers are due by June 1.
Contact: Judy Reed, Pecos NHP, PO Box 418, Pecos, NM 87552
Phone/fax: --- ; ---
E-mail: Judy Reed at NP-PECO
Submitter: Pecos NHP
9/16-19* Meeting: Fourth National Conference on Battlefield
Preservation
Location: Westin Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, SC
Details: The conference will explore the tools and techniques
used to define historic battlefields and effective
methods of protecting battlefield land.
Contact: Hampton Tucker
Phone/fax: 202-343-3580; ---
E-mail: Hampton Tucker at NP-WASO-HPS
Submitter: Same
* * * * *
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
pertaining to receipt of 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.
--- ### ---