NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Friday, June 5, 1998

INCIDENTS

98-244 - Lake Mead NRA (AZ/NV) - Memorial Day Weekend 

The park had a number of significant incidents over the holiday weekend in
addition to those already reported.  On Saturday, May 23rd, rangers at
Katherine Landing responded to a report of a riot in progress on the beach at
North Telephone Cove.  As they approached the area, between 20 and 30 of the
people involved in the fracas dispersed and attempted to flea.  Bystanders
reported seeing one of them with a gun, and that others used rocks, bottles,
full beer cans and tent poles to inflict injuries on each other.  The rangers
took control and arrested four people.  The crowd of several hundred people
cheered as the four were handcuffed.  The rangers also provided initial
medical treatment, with follow-up care administered at a local hospital. 
Investigation revealed that the dispute that led to the riot was caused by
waterguns used by four-year-olds and 20-year-olds of differing ethnic
origins.  Katherine rangers were summoned to another disturbance at Telephone
Cove the following day.  A large fight involving 15 to 20 people had broken
out between two ethnic groups.  The fight stemmed from an inappropriate
comment made by a male from one group to a female in the other group.  Three
people were arrested, and EMS was again provided.  Alcohol played a
significant role in both of these events.  There were also four helicopter
medivacs and numerous other significant EMS incidents in the district over
the weekend.  [Jan Kirwan, Mohave District, LAME, 6/4]

98-261 - Great Sand Dunes NM (CO) - Search; Disorderly Horse

On the afternoon of May 17th, rangers received a 911 call reporting a
saddled, riderless horse in the vicinity of the park's entrance station,
heading south through brushlands.  The on-duty ranger and a maintenance
worker responded and spotted the rider, who appeared uninjured, chasing the
horse.  She managed to catch the horse and began leading it north.  A few
minutes later, the ranger was flagged down by one member of a group of four
people (the rider who'd been unseated was one of them) who had purchased four
horses from BLM's Adopt-A-Wild-Horse program and were using the park as a
starting point for a cross-country ride to Montana.  None of the horses had
been quite broken in.  The group resumed its attempt later that evening, with
three riders following one route and the fourth, who was riding the horse
that had caused the earlier problem, following a second route.  They planned
on meeting at an already-established camp in the Rio Grande National Forest. 
The ranger received a call with the hour, reporting that the horse had again
dumped its rider and that the rider, after chasing it in the dark for half an
hour, had walked to headquarters and was seeking assistance.  Efforts to find
the horse proved fruitless, so ranger and rider headed for the camp, only to
find it empty.  Within a few minutes, one of the other three members of the
group appeared.  He reported that the trio had lost the trail in the dark;
since they had no flashlights with them, they decided to build a fire and sit
tight.  After a while, however, he decided to try to find the camp, contact
the fourth member of the group, and bring flashlights back.  A search was
begun and the two riders were found around 11:30 p.m.  The party made its way
back to the trail and followed it toward the camp until, as feared, the
horses refused to cross through the high water.  They eventually were able to
ford the stream and made it to camp.  Efforts to recapture the missing horse
resumed the next day, but were abandoned after five hours of chasing it along
the park's south and west boundaries.  The horse had not yet been captured at
the time of the report and was still roaming inside the park.  [Kevin Moses,
ACR, GRSA, 5/21]

98-262 - Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD) - Pursuit; Injury to Officer

Washington metro police officers pursued a vehicle wanted in connection with
a shooting onto the parkway on May 21st.  Park Police units joined the
pursuit.  The vehicle struck a Park Police cruiser near Route 95, causing it
to crash into the highway's center divider and inflicting minor injuries on
officer J. White.  The vehicle continued north on the parkway, but became
disabled when the driver tried to cross the median.  He was arrested and
charged with assault on a police officer and numerous traffic charges. 
[Henry Berberich, RLES, NCRO, 5/21]

98-263 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Rescue

On the evening of May 31st, dispatch notified ranger Ken Mehne that a 15-
year-old girl, S.C., was experiencing extreme fatigue and possible
dehydration on the Jones Run Falls trail.  Mehne learned from S.C. that she
had a congenital heart condition.  Ranger/parkmedic John Waterman assessed
her condition and found that she was unable to walk out due to chest pain and
nausea.  A litter team of Central and South District rangers, SCAs and
FIREPRO personnel evacuated S.C. to the trailhead on a litter while Waterman
provided medical assistance.  She was subsequently released to her family
without additional medical care.  [Rick Childs, DR, South District, SHEN,
6/1]

98-264 - National Capital Parks Central (DC) - Carjacking

On Monday, June 1st, a cab driver who'd picked up two people in Arlington was
choked and robbed of cash while in downtown Washington.  The two men then
forced the driver out of the cab and drove off in it, eventually crashing the
cab along the George Washington Parkway at Route 123.  The pair fled on foot,
but were arrested by Arlington police officers.  Robbery-related charges have
been filed in Virginia; Park Police officers are pursuing carjacking charges
in the District of Columbia.  [Henry Berberich, RLES, NCRO, 6/2]

98-265 - Chattahoochee River NRA (GA) - Apparent Suicide

On the morning of June 3rd, D.M., 34, telephoned an Atlanta-area
911 operator from a pay phone near the Paces Mill Unit of the park and said
that he was going to kill himself with a rifle "in the park."  He then hung
up the phone.  Rangers and county officers immediately responded; they found
D.M.'s body after a brief search of a wooded area.  The apparent cause of
death was a shotgun wound to the head.  Based on evidence found at the scene
and a preliminary investigation, the incident is being investigated by the
park and county as an apparent suicide.  [Gil Goodrich, CR, CHAT, 6/4]

        [Remaining pending reports will appear on Monday...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Wed      Thu    %   Est
State      Unit             Fire/Incident     IMT    6/3      6/4   Con  Con

FL   Apalachicola NF        Holiday           T2    3,292    4,025   70  6/4
     Osceola NF             Oak               T2      800    1,500   80  6/5

MI   Huron NF               Tuttle Marsh      --      200      200  100  CND 

AK   Fort Greely            Carla Lake        T1   42,530   43,300   20  NEC 

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

Monday, 6/1          0     14         3       0      200     19       236
Tuesday, 6/2         0      3         0       1       47      3        54
Wednesday, 6/3       0     16         5       0       57     11        89
Thursday, 6/4        4     11         2       0       96     14       127

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Monday, 6/1         26         18          11             1            23
Tuesday, 6/2         3         16           5             1           217#
Wednesday, 6/3      28         58          18             1           405
Thursday, 6/4       27         40          18             0           429 

Figures do not include totals from Alaska.

CURRENT SITUATION

Initial attack increased moderately throughout the country yesterday.  Large
fires continue to burn in the South.

High to extreme fire indices were reported in units in Texas, New Mexico,
Arizona, and Utah.

NICC has not posted any fire watches or warnings for today.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/5]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Yosemite NP (CA) - Bear Management and Visitor Education

Last year, the park experienced a record amount of property damage caused by
bears breaking into cars.  Over 1,000 bear incidents were reported, with
property damage totaling $500,000; more than 250 incidents have been reported
so far this year, with another $125,000 in property damage.  The park's
public information office and resource management division are spearheading a
public education campaign stressing the importance of proper food storage
while visiting the park.  Efforts to date have included the distribution of
flyers at park entrances, placement of signs through the park, media events
at local zoos, and a major press conference with Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP
which was held in the park on May 20th.  Reporters from about 15 media
outlets covered the event, which received extensive national attention. 
These efforts will be expanded in the coming summer months in the hopes of
reducing both car break-ins and other bear-human conflicts.  [Scott Gediman
and PIO staff, YOSE, 5/21]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

"Recreational Fee Demonstration Program Economic Evaluation," signed on May
29th by the associate director, park operations and education, and sent to
all fee demo park superintendents.  An informational copy follows:

"The National Park Service is currently funding an economic evaluation of the
impacts associated with the ongoing Recreational Fee Demonstration Program at
your park.  The researchers conducting this study are associated with the
University of Montana and include Chris Neher, John Duffield, and David
Patterson.

"Sometime during June, July, or August of 1998, the University of Montana
researchers will be conducting an on-site survey of visitors to your park. 
This survey will be completed over a 5-day period.

"Chris Neher will be contacting you within the next month in order to discuss
specific issues related to conducting a visitor survey at your park unit.  I
encourage you to provide Chris with any requested information regarding your
park and its visitation patterns.

"If you have any specific questions regarding this research, please feel free
to call Chris Neher at 406/721-2265 or Tim Stone at 202/208-4205."

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.

                           --- ### ---