NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, July 2, 1998

INCIDENTS

97-424 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Follow-up: Search for Missing Aircraft

On the morning of July 23, 1997, a single-engine 1962 Navion with two men on
board disappeared from radar as it crossed the Sierra Nevada range.  An
extensive search was launched which involved over two dozen Civil Air Patrol
aircraft, a park helicopter and an Air Force C-130; although two brief ELT
transmissions were detected by the C-130, they could not be plotted.  No sign
of the aircraft was found.  On May 18th, a rancher riding horseback in a
remote area southeast of Gabbs, Nevada, found the remains of the Navion.  The
preliminary report from the NTSB indicates in-flight structural failure.  The
wreckage was spread over a mile-long path on rolling hills between 5,400 and
5,700 feet.  The remains of both the pilot and passenger were found with the
wreckage.  Firearms and cash were recovered from the plane.  [Steve
Stockdale, Mather District, YOSE, 7/1]

98-331 - Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP (CA) - Follow-up: Search for Employee

Additional information has been received on the search for seasonal trail
crew employee Tami Skaggs, who was found by searchers on Monday afternoon. 
Skaggs had departed from a trail crew camp at Buck Creek on the High Sierra
trail at noon on Sunday and headed for her own crew's camp at Panther Creek,
some six to seven miles to the west.  She left the trail at Nine Mile Creek
to find a safe place to cross the stream; after crossing, she lost the route
back to the trail.  She spent the next two days on steep slopes, attempting
to find the trail and to signal the helicopters that she saw intermittently. 
Skaggs was located by a team of ground searchers who heard her calls for
help.  [Debbie Bird, CR, SEKI, 7/1]

98-334 - Theodore Roosevelt NP (ND) - Rescue

S.V. of Fosston, Minnesota, was thrown from her horse in a rugged
section of the South Unit backcountry on June 29th and sustained a cracked C5
vertebra, minor dislocations in the lumbar area of her back, and other
injuries.  S.V. was stabilized and flown by helicopter to St. Alexis
Hospital in Bismarck.  Twenty NPS and county personnel were involved in the
rescue, which took from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. to complete.  [Gary Kiramidjian,
CR, THRO, 6/30]

98-335 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Rescue 

On the evening of June 14th, valley rangers received a report of an injured
climber on the Selaginella route below the Upper Yosemite Falls trail.  A
ground team hiked up the trail to the top of the climb; two rangers, one a
paramedic, rappelled from the park helicopter to the trail.  The medic was
lowered to the victim, who has found to have shattered his leg in a 60-foot
leader fall.  A splint was applied and he was short-hauled in his climbing
harness about a half mile to a waiting ambulance, then flown to a hospital in
Modesto for surgery.  [Brian Smith, IC, YOSE, 6/30]

98-336 - Lake Mead NRA (AZ/NV) - DUI Operation

A DUI checkpoint was set up on Northshore Drive near Echo Bay for most of the
afternoon of Saturday, June 13th.  Eight rangers participated under the
supervision of criminal investigator Mike Blanford.  A total of 378 vehicles
were checked; eleven field sobriety tests were conducted, resulting in one
arrest for drunk driving.  A second arrest was made for an outstanding
warrant and 18 violation notices were issued for a variety of offenses,
including possession of open containers and a controlled substance.  Another
30 drivers were warned about using seatbelts.  Many visitors expressed their
thanks to the NPS for being out there and making the roads safer for their
families.  [Bud Inman, LAME, 6/17]

98-337 - Catoctin Mountain Park (MD) - Severe Storm 

A violent thunderstorm struck the park on the evening of June 30th.  Downed
trees forced the closure of Park Central Road for about three hours.  Tree
branches and heavy debris covered park roads, Owens Creek campground, and
Camp Misty Mount.  Three cabins in the latter area and one RV in the
campground sustained minor structural damage.  Only one minor visitor injury
was reported.  Park Central Road was scheduled to reopen yesterday following
the completion of tree removal and cleanup operations.  Local Marine Corps,
Seabee and YCC crews assisted in the cleanup.  [Mel Poole, CATO, 7/1]

98-338 - Independence NHP (PA) - Special Event

The park celebrated the 50th anniversary of its authorization as a park with
a ceremony in Independence Square on June 28th.  Congressman Robert Borski,
mayor Edward Rendell, and regional director Marie Rust were among the
speakers.  The special guest was Hardie Scott, who introduced the park's
authorizing legislation when he was in Congress in late 1947.  The ceremony
included the opening of a new exhibit in the west wing of Independence Hall
which focuses on the transformation of the park from a heavily developed
urban area and on plans for future reconstruction of Independence Mall.  The
day concluded with a concert.  All events received extensive coverage by
local media.  [Phil Sheridan, INDE, 7/1]

98-339 - Sagamore Hill NHS (NY) - Special Event

On June 15th, the park hosted the annual Theodore Roosevelt Association
Police Award ceremony.  The award, sponsored by that association and the
Friends of Sagamore Hill, commemorates Roosevelt's triumph over childhood
ailments and his service as New York City police commissioner.  Officers are
recognized who have overcome major physical challenges and continued to
render outstanding service to their departments.  Officer Allan Wickland was
cited for serving as a dive team leader in the TWA 800 disaster and for
counseling others facing life-threatening circumstances while in the midst of
his own debilitating surgeries for prostate and bladder cancer.  Officer
Anthony Molfetta, who was blinded in one eye while helping to control a
violent party of 45 people, was cited for declining disability retirement,
reteaching himself basic life skills, and resuming his career as an academy
trainer.  Congressman Peter King was the speaker and presented the awards,
which are also presented annually in New York, Long Island, Boston, Dallas,
Philadelphia and Nashville.  [Michael Shaver, PR, SAHI, 6/21]

98-340 - Lake Mead NRA (AZ/NV) - Apparent Suicide

On June 30th, rangers responded to a visitor's report of a man sleeping in a
locked vehicle at the Lake Mead Lodge at Boulder Beach.  The found the body
of S.G., 26, of Fullerton, California, in the back seat of a rental
1997 Ford Explorer.  He appeared to have died as a result of a plastic tie,
similar to a Flexicuff, tightly secured around his neck.  Metro homicide
detectives are investigating the case as a suspicious death, but it appears
at present that there is a high probability that the death is a suicide.  The
death apparently occurred two to three days previously.  This is the
eighteenth fatality recorded in the park this year.  [Bud Inman, LAME, 6/30]

                       [Additional reports pending...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Tue      Wed    %   Est
State      Unit             Fire/Incident     IMT    6/30     7/1   Con  Con

FL   Osceola NF             Oak Head          T1   20,120   20,120   90  7/3 
     Merritt Island NWR     Merritt Island Cx --    4,987    4,987   80  NEC
     State                  Suwanee Cx        T1   16,326   16,356   99  7/15
                            Bunnel Cx         T1   20,556   25,656  UNK  NEC
                            Bunnel-Volusia Cx T2   67,385   67,385   45  NEC
                            Orlando Cx        T1       NR       NR   NR  NR 
                            Withlacoochee Cx  T2    3,807    3,807   90  NEC
                            Jacksonville Cx   --      UNK      UNK  UNK  NEC
                            Waccasassa Cx     T2   11,927   12,077   98  NEC
                          * Jacksonville 2    T1        -      UNK  UNK  NEC

TX   Lake Meredith NRA      Palo Duro         --    5,000    5,000  100  CND
     State                * Don Ranson Ranch  --        -      800   35  7/2
     Ouachita NF          * DOC=S Campfire    --        -      210   80  7/6

CO   Arapaho-Roosevelt NF   Bear Tracks       T2      485      485   70  7/4 
     Pike-San Isabel NF     Muddy Creek       T2      135      140  100  CND
                            White             T2      160      150   50  7/3

NM   Santa Fe NF            Oso               T1    2,560    5,120   10  7/5

AZ   Pima Agency            Riverbed          --      100      120  100  CND

WA   Spokane District     * Rattlesnake       --        -    1,000  UNK  NEC
     Yakima Agency        * Athtanum          --        -      597  100  CND

AK   Fort Greely            Carla Lake        T2   60,520   60,420   80  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; UNK = unknown
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

Sunday, 6/28         1     15         3       0       40     21        80
Monday, 6/29         2      3         5       2      192     37       241
Tuesday, 6/30        1     13         3       0      262     23       302
Wednesday, 7/1       4      9         7       2      275     58       355

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Sunday, 6/28        69        159          44            14           551 @#
Monday, 6/29       143        225          63            34           771 @&
Tuesday, 6/30      152        266          63            29           986 @
Wednesday, 7/1     179        315          61            28         1,266 @

Overhead notes: Footnotes indicate that reporting was incomplete on resource
commitments on fires in either the South (@), the Southwest (#), and/or the
Rockies (&).

CURRENT SITUATION

The fire situation in northern and central Florida escalated yesterday.  High
winds caused extreme fire behavior on most incidents.  Firefighters made
significant progress on the fires in the Rockies and Southwest.  Large fire
activity increased in the Northwest.  NICC processed orders for a Type I IMT,
equipment, crews, and overhead for the South.  Minor initial attack was
reported in most other regions.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported yesterday in units in
Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas,
Utah, Nevada, and California.

NICC has continued the FIRE WEATHER WATCH posted Monday for low relative
humidity in northern Florida.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/2]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

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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