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Subject: NPS Morning Report - 9/4/98
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Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 09:40:25 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Friday, September 4, 1998
INCIDENTS
98-546 - Southeast Region - Follow-up on Hurricane Earl
The hurricane, downgraded to a tropical storm, caused some damage as it
crossed the Southeast and headed back toward the Atlantic:
o Gulf Islands NS (FL/MS) - All storm warnings for the Mississippi and
Florida districts were lifted yesterday morning. Both districts are in
the process of reopening and conducting damage assessments.
o Andersonville NHS/Jimmy Carter NHS (GA) - Both parks suffered damage
from high winds and rain on Thursday morning. Andersonville had more
damage, with 105 trees down in the cemetery, on roads, and in the
prison site. One tree hit a maintenance building. There was extensive
water damage to the new POW museum. The Providence Spring area was
flooded. Power was out for about four hours. There were fewer trees
down at Jimmy Carter, but most were in the yard of his home. There
were also several bad leaks at the Plains High School visitor center.
[CRO, GUIS, 9/3; Fred Boyles, Superintendent, ANDE/JICA, 9/3]
98-565 - Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P (AK) - Search and Rescue
The Anchorage Air Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) received an ELT beacon
signal coming from the Jacksina Glacier area of the park at 7:30 a.m. on
August 17th. Due to severe winds and limited visibility, air search
operations could not be begun for 11 hours (one air taxi pilot had reported a
1,000-foot down draft earlier that morning). The ELT signals stopped at 6
p.m. An area search of the coordinates by an HC-130 flying above the cloud
layer picked up a renewed signal just before 10 p.m. On the afternoon of
August 18th, a contract Bell 206 helicopter with district ranger Marshal
Neeck aboard spotted a man in blowing snow near the toe of the glacier, which
is above 6,000 feet. The man, J.Q., who was in the area hunting
Dall sheep, had activated the ELT after his tent and equipment had blown off
the mountain, and had operated the ELT intermittently since that time. The
RCC has classified the rescue effort as one in which a life was saved, as
J.Q. was not scheduled for pickup by an air taxi operator until August
22nd. [Tim Saskowsky, CI, WRST, 9/1]
98-566 - Lava Beds NM (CA) - Assist; Rescue
On August 6th, the county sheriff's office advised the park that G.S. and
F.S., both in their 60s, were lost and possibly in need of medical
aid in the forest to the south of the park. The couple had reportedly been
wandering through the woods for two days without either food or water.
Rangers Terry Harris and Grayson Stanford began searching for the pair and
found them about four miles south of the park. They accepted water and
medical aid, but declined ambulance transport. Stanford and SCA Pascha Bueno
instead drove them to their home in Tulelake. The S.s had set out to
gather firewood on August 4th, but their truck broke down. They stayed with
the vehicle for 24 hours and lit a signal fire. When no help came, they
decided to walk out to the main road. This was no small task, as G.S.
requires the aid of a walker due to a previous stroke and F.S.
lacked the medication she takes for diabetes. Both had also had
back surgery to remove discs. The S.s walked all that day and night,
finally reaching the road the following morning. Both declined to seek
further medical attention. [Terry Harris, LABE, 8/7]
98-567 - Indiana Dunes NL (IN) - Car Clouting Arrests
The park suffered a series of 15 car clouts at the end of July and in early
August, including six on August 14th. An MO was deciphered; this lead to a
stakeout with a government vehicle as bait. Early on the afternoon of August
25th, the third day of the stakeout, three thefts occurred which matched the
MO, but none at the surveillance location. Then, just before 5 p.m., ranger
David Van Nest saw two juvenile males break a window on the government
vehicle and remove a purse containing $1,100 in marked bills. The two
juveniles went into the woods to look through the purse, stopping at a point
just 15 feet from the ranger, who was in camouflage. They saw a pack
belonging to Van Nest and rifled through it, taking $16 from his wallet.
Rangers arrested them. The stolen property was recovered from their car,
where rangers also found a bag taken in another theft that had occurred
earlier that day. The juveniles, aged 16 and 17, were interviewed with their
parents present. They admitted to these thefts and others that had occurred
in the park and in beach parking lots in nearby communities. The case has
been referred to the local juvenile court. One of the two has a prior arrest
for theft and was on probation at the time he was arrested. The
investigation continues. [Joe Wieszczyk, CI, INDU, 9/2]
98-568 - Lake Mead NRA (AZ/NV) - Arrest; Assault, Felony DUI
Rangers Todd Austin and Jan Kirwan investigated a fight in North Telephone
Cove at 9 p.m. on August 17th. After calming the situation, they stepped
back into the darkness to see how things would go. They heard someone
declare that his wallet had been stolen, and that he was going to drive
through the alleged thief's campsite with his pickup. The truck started up
and began to move toward the campsite. Austin and Kirwan intercepted the
truck, jerked the door open, and dragged the driver off the seat before he
could get any further. He was found to be completely naked. The wallet he
said had been stolen was on the seat beside him. Investigation revealed that
he was P.W. of Bullhead, Arizona, that he was intoxicated, and that
this was his third DUI offense this year alone. He was charged with
aggravated driving, driving under the influence, and driving on a suspended
license. [Bud Inman, LAME, 9/1]
98-569 - Crater Lake NP (OR) - Drowning
T.C., 23, and S.C., 23, both from Winchester, Virginia,
climbed down the caldera wall from the Watchman overlook to the shore of
Crater Lake around the middle of the day on Tuesday, August 11th, and went
swimming in Skell Channel about 20 feet from shore. T.C. began having
difficulties and called for help; S.C. attempted to save him, but was
unsuccessful. S.C. then located T.C. on the bottom in seven to ten feet
of water and dragged him to shore with difficulty. She began CPR and shouted
for help. After a considerable period of time, estimated at about an hour,
hikers at the rim heard her cries and reported the incident at the visitor
center. Rangers on the lake research vessel got to the scene shortly
thereafter and began CPR. Two other rangers rappelled down to the location.
A helicopter ambulance from Mercy Flights of Medford, Oregon, soon arrived.
All resuscitation efforts proved fruitless. Hiking or climbing into the
caldera is prohibited because of the sensitive environment and the extremely
dangerous slope. [John Miele, CRLA, 9/11]
98-570 - Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD/DC) - MVA with Fatality
Just before 2 a.m. on September 3rd, a green, full-size sedan heading west on
Route 50 at the point where it merges with the parkway ran off the road and
into the woods, struck a tree and burst into flames. The driver and lone
occupant was killed. The victim has not yet been identified. The cause of
the accident is still under investigation. [Henry Berberich, RLES, NCSO,
9/3]
[Additional reports pending...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Wed Thu % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 9/2 9/3 Con Con
CA Mendocino NF Haul T2 60 110 75 NR
Garcia T2 90 100 75 NR
Riverside RU Juniper ST1 6,000 6,000 90 9/3
San Diego RU Wildcat ST1 3,200 3,200 90 9/3
Orange County Santiago Canyon ST2 6,680 8,972 70 9/4
Camp Pendleton Deluz T2 1,830 1,830 85 9/2
MT Bitterroot NF West Fork Fires FUT 3,544 3,544 0 NEC
Bitterroot Cx T1 UNK 1,260 UNK NEC
Beaverhead/
Deerlodge NF Bear Gulch -- 202 202 100 CND
Flathead NF Challenge T1 5,000 6,200 UNK NEC
Kootenai NF Dome T1 1,000 1,070 2 9/10
* Kopsi Creek T2 - 2,024 UNK NEC
Lolo NF Boulder Lake T2 50 40 0 NEC
Gilbert Creek T2 300 1,000 0 NEC
State Bradshaw -- 700 13,000 25 9/4
Boyer T2 300 1,200 10 NEC
Blackfeet Agency Blackfeet Cx T2 1,130 1,130 95 9/4
Miles City District Herman Ridge T2 1,000 4,200 25 NEC
ID Nez Perce NF Moose Cx FUT 1,427 1,427 0 NEC
Salmon-Challis NF Laid Low T1 3,702 3,701 UNK NEC
Main Salmon Cx FUT 13,956 15,045 0 10/15
North Fork Cx T2 7,220 7,220 98 9/6
Clearwater NF Wapito T2 90 70 30 9/6
Fort Hall Agency Buckskin -- 8,000 9,800 80 9/4
WA State Jordan Creek ST 585 1,000 25 NR
OR Deschutes NF Elk Lake T2 200 250 90 NR
McKay Butte T2 200 1,100 50 NR
TX State * Cook Ranch -- - 1,000 NR NR
* Newell -- - 600 NR NR
Sam Houston NF * Boot Hill -- - 200 90 9/4
VA State Stanley -- 100 100 60 9/3
NV Winnemucca District * Crowley Creek -- - 500 75 9/4
Elko District * Toquop -- - 750 UNK 9/4
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; FUT = Interagency
Fire Use Management 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
Monday, 8/31 22 6 19 2 163 66 278
Tuesday, 9/1 4 4 5 1 126 80 220
Wednesday, 9/2 1 6 6 0 94 55 162
Thursday, 9/3 1 8 11 0 93 56 169
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Sunday, 8/30 126 323 72 13 719
Monday, 8/31 209 491 99 15 693
Tuesday, 9/1 263 813 109 18 1,123
Thursday, 9/3 188 470 96 7 1,599
CURRENT SITUATION
Fire activity continued yesterday in the northern Rockies, Northwest, eastern
Great Basin, and northern California.
Very high and extreme fire indices were reported yesterday in Texas, Arizona,
Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, South
Dakota and Nebraska.
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCHES for today for dry conditions, dry
lightning and gusty winds in western Montana, Idaho, northern California, and
all of Oregon except for the state's northwest corner.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/4]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION
No entries.
PARK DISPATCHES
No entries.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No entries.
MEMORANDA
No entries.
INTERCHANGE
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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