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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