- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, June 3, 1998
- Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, June 3, 1998
*** SPECIAL NOTICE ***
All flags are to lowered to half staff today in tribute to former Senator
Barry Goldwater of Arizona. Flags will return to full staff tomorrow
morning.
INCIDENTS
97-780 - Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (MO) - Follow-up on Arrests
While patrolling the Arch parking garage last December 20th, ranger John
Tesar saw what appeared to be suspicious activity in a 1994 Thunderbird.
Tesar found that W.F., 32, and L.F., 35, both from the
Centralia, Missouri, area, had in their possession 20 grams of cocaine, 16
grams of marijuana, a loaded .380 Browning semi-automatic pistol, a loaded
.380 Lorcin semi-automatic pistol, and numerous items of paraphernalia.
Further investigation uncovered 18 grams of cocaine in one gram packages
which were ready for distribution. Both weapons were within immediate reach
of the pair at the time Tesar contacted them. The two were subsequently
found guilty on two federal charges - possession of cocaine with intent to
distribute (21 USC 841) and carrying a firearm with intent to distribute
cocaine (18 USC 924). On May 22nd, W.F. was sentenced to 15 months in
prison, three years' supervised release, and a small special assessment;
L.F. was sentenced to 12 months in prison, three years' supervised
release, and the same assessment. [J.L. Weddle, CI, JEFF, 5/22]
98-243 - Hovenweep NM (CO) - Follow-up on Search for Felons
The park's headquarters area was reopened on a limited basis on Monday,
following the complete closure that was instituted after last Friday's
shooting incident. Outlying units of the park remain closed to the public,
however, as does the campground. A massive, multi-agency hunt continues for
the three men who killed a Cortez officer, wounded two others, and attempted
to shoot Hovenweep superintendent Art Hutchison. The focus of the search is
the area directly north of the park near Cahone, Colorado. Over 30 agencies
have been involved in the investigation and search, including the NPS rangers
and officers and agents from local cities and counties in the Four Corners
area, metropolitan and rural SWAT and tactical teams, the FBI, INS, BIA, BLM,
USFS, Border Patrol and Navajo nation. A perimeter has been established,
roadblocks are in place, and more than two dozen SWAT teams are conducting
searches of areas inside the perimeter. The NPS has assigned four rangers
from Mesa Verde NP and parks of the Southeast Utah Group (Arches NP,
Canyonlands NP, Hovenweep NM and Natural Bridges NM) to protect Hovenweep's
headquarters compound; another seven rangers from Zion NP, Curecanti NRA,
Black Canyon NM, El Malpais NM and Capitol Reef NP arrived yesterday and will
assist in perimeter control and other law enforcement duties. Mesa Verde
NP's helicopter and helitack crew has been committed to the incident from the
outset and continues to fly missions. Other NPS staff have been assigned to
overhead, liaison and support positions. [Jim Webster, CR, ARCH, and NPS
Incident Liaison, 6/2]
98-250 - Lake Mead NRA (AZ/NV) - Multiple Arrests; Suicide
On the afternoon of May 30th, ranger Michael Sabitini, who was assigned to
plain clothes narcotics operations, saw four men engaged in suspicious
activity - what appeared to be use of controlled substances - in a parked
vehicle at Boulder Beach. All four then got out of their vehicle and looked
under the car's hood. The adult member of the group (the others were
juveniles), subsequently identified as R.C., approached Sabitini and
asked if he had jumper cables. Sabatini joined the group in an unsuccessful
effort to start the vehicle; while doing so, he noted possible tampering to
the ignition, got the car's license plate number, and later contacted
dispatch. The vehicle came back as stolen, and the information was relayed
to patrol rangers. When a marked vehicle appeared on scene, the three
juveniles left the area on foot and R.C. asked Sabatini to take him to a
telephone. R.C. climbed into the bed of Sabatini's truck and they started
to leave the crowded beach area. When a marked unit driven by seasonal
ranger Brian Cooperider approached, Sabitini waved him down. R.C. was
placed in the rear of the caged patrol vehicle, still under the pretense that
he was being taken to a phone, in order to get him out of the beach area
before making an arrest. Rangers Tom Valenta, Randy Neal and Tim Simonds
also responded and arrested the three juveniles, who were walking along the
road. Cooperider stopped and parked at the location where the juveniles were
being cuffed and stepped out of his vehicle to assist. Simonds then saw
R.C., still in the rear seat of the cruiser, place a 9mm handgun to his
head. Neal took cover behind the open vehicle door and tried to talk to
R.C.. R.C. fired one round from the gun, which passed through his head and
the vehicle's left rear window, then a second round. Rangers and volunteer
EMTs provided emergency medical treatment while awaiting a Flight for Life
helicopter. R.C. was flown to a Las Vegas hospital, where he was pronounced
dead. Investigation revealed that R.C. had an extensive arrest record, and
that there were active warrants against him for statutory sexual seduction
and possession of a stolen vehicle. [Bud Inman, LAME, 6/2]
98-251 - C&O Canal (MD/DC) - Boating Fatality
Ranger George DeLancey received a report of a boating accident at Dam #5 on
the Potomac River just after 6 p.m. on the evening of May 20th. DeLancey,
who was not far away, arrived minutes later and learned from a visitor that
two persons who were aboard a jet ski that had capsized had been swept over
the dam, falling between 15 and 20 feet to the rocks below. DeLancey, with
help from a fisherman, boated out into the river and located S.J.,
30, of Frederick, Maryland, who was performing CPR on G.Y., 31,
also of Frederick. G.Y. had suffered a deep laceration to his forehead.
DeLancey continued CPR while transporting G.Y. to advanced life support
units waiting on shore, but CPR was discontinued shortly thereafter at the
direction of an emergency room physician. S.J. and G.Y. had launched
from the Four Locks area and traveled over two miles downstream to the
slackwater area behind the dam. S.J. was familiar with the hazard, as he'd
boated in the area many times in the past. The jet ski apparently rolled as
S.J. was attempting to turn and travel back upstream, dumping both men into
the river. Maryland Division of Natural Resources police are leading the
investigation, as they have primary jurisdiction over incidents on the river.
The exact cause of death was still under investigation at the time of the
report. [Kevin FitzGerald, CHOH, 5/21]
98-252 - Cape Cod NS (MA) - Apparent Suicide
The body of A.F., 49, of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, was found face down
in the Herring River on the evening of May 30th. She had been reported as
missing earlier in the day after failing to report for work. She was found
grasping onto bottom vegetation. An autopsy will be performed. [Bill
Hooper, CI, CACO, 6/1]
98-253 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/AL/TN) - MVA with Fatality
F.T., 17, of McCondy, Mississippi, was killed in a motor vehicle
accident on the parkway on May 31st. F.T. was a passenger in a vehicle
that left the road, collided with a culvert, and flipped over. Three other
individuals in the car were taken to a hospital. The apparent cause of the
accident was driver fatigue. [Tim Francis, ACR, NATR, 6/2]
98-254 - Lake Roosevelt NRA (WA) - Body Recovery
On May 27th, rangers were notified that a body had been seen floating in the
Kettle River portion of the park. They recovered the body of A.L.,
36, near Kamloops campground. A.L. had been reported missing from a solo
canoe trip 15 miles north of the park three weeks earlier. [Marty Huseman,
ACR, LARO, 6/1]
[Still more reports pending, will catch up soon...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Mon Tue % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 6/1 6/2 Con Con
FL Apalachicola NF Holiday T2 2,412 2,450 70 6/4
TX State * Applequist -- - 150 100 CND
MI Huron NF * Tuttle Marsh -- - 200 0 6/4
AK Fort Greely Carla Lake T1 34,400 41,800 0 NEC
NM Gila NF Animas -- 100 100 100 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
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
Saturday, 5/30 0 0 1 0 4 0 5
Sunday, 5/31 0 1 3 0 9 9 22
Monday, 6/1 0 14 3 0 200 19 236
Tuesday, 6/2 0 3 0 1 47 3 54
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Saturday, 5/30 24 0 7 0 0
Sunday, 5/31 43 24 16 57* 175
Monday, 6/1 26 18 11 1 23
Tuesday, 6/2 3 16 5 1 217#
This total is as it appears on the 5/31 situation report.
Figures do not include totals from Alaska. At present, however, a
total of 642 people, one engine and eight helicopters have reportedly
been committed to the Carla Lake Fire.
CURRENT SITUATION
There was little fire activity in the U.S. yesterday, but large fires
continue to burn in Canada. Ten fires are burning out of control at present
in Alberta and Saskatchewan; together, they have consumed more than 265,000
acres.
Very high and extreme fire indices were reported in units in Texas, New
Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, New York and New Hampshire.
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for increasing winds, low fuel moisture
and low humidity in northern and eastern Arizona.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/3]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No entries.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
PHS Update - The Public Health Service (WASO) provides the Morning Report
with periodic updates on important health issues which should be of concern
to some or all NPS employees. Today's is on the new Lyme disease vaccine
which has been reported in the media.
Various parts of this country will encounter an increase in disease-bearing
ticks this summer and even more predicted for next year. A panel of
government scientists reluctantly decided that the first vaccine against Lyme
disease meets federal requirements, but has advised the manufacturer to
continue testing its safety. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) noted these complaints, which could stifle the vaccine's use:
Nobody yet knows how many booster shots are needed and if getting
boosters year after year will prove safe.
No one knows if it's safe for people with chronic arthritis or
undiagnosed Lyme disease.
Unlike any other vaccine, it takes a year for the vaccine (LYMErix) to
build up optimal immunity.
While children most urgently need a vaccine, the FDA panel noted that
LYMErix will initially be used only by people over age 15 because the
manufacturer (SmithKline) is only now beginning pediatric studies.
The panel voted unanimously that LYMErix meets legal requirements for FDA
approval, but concluded that it is not for people with chronic arthritis or
children. They also agreed that booster shots aren't to be given pending
further study, and demanded that the manufacturer continue to research long-
term safety. Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium carried by pin-size ticks
that live in wooded and grassy areas nationwide, but especially in the
Northeast and upper Midwest. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
counted about 16,000 new cases in 1996. Typically, Lyme disease causes a
telltale bull's-eye rash plus fatigue, chills, fevers and joint pain.
Antibiotics can cure this disease; however, if left untreated, Lyme disease
can severely damage the heart and nervous system. If you have any questions,
please contact your regional public health consultant or park sanitarian, or
call WASO PHS for more information at 202-565-1120. [Jerry Johnson,
PHS/WASO]
Morning Report Dissemination Problems - The Morning Report is regularly
passed on from the National Park Service to other agencies, then in turn
disseminated by agency post office administrators, system operators and
program managers to interested employees in those agencies. The NPS has no
problem with this practice, as the Morning Report is meant to be shared with
other federal and state employees, particularly in land management agencies.
There is a small problem, however. When addresses change at the far end of
the line and the corrections are not picked up by those who are managing the
dissemination lists, the Morning Reports frequently come back to the
originator, i.e. your editor. This is also true with National Park Service
addresses. Each morning, dozens of Morning Reports get returned to this
office as undeliverable. Many of those in the NPS can be and are corrected
quickly, but some, particularly in other agencies, persist. Here are four
that need to be fixed at present. A "public" notice appears to be the only
way to go, as messages to the hubs have not gotten through:
Lorenz@usgs.gov
MPOSPAHA@nifc.blm.gov
INTELL@nifc.blm.gov
billrow@compuserve.com
Requests to fix addresses will appear intermittently in future Morning
Reports. [Editor]
MEMORANDA
No entries.
EXCHANGE
No entries.
* * * * *
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.
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