NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, September 24, 1998

INCIDENTS

98-591 - Glen Canyon NRA (AZ/UT) - Follow-up: Search for Drowning Victim

The body of V.C., 51, of Newton, Connecticut, was recovered
from 230 feet of water by the park's dive team on September 20th. 
V.C. was riding in a ski boat being towed by a houseboat near
Stateline marina on the afternoon of September 9th.  He attempted to swim
from the ski boat to the houseboat, a distance of less than 50 feet, but
began calling for help while en route and soon disappeared.  Although the
park's dive team was on scene within 15 minutes, they were unable to find
him.  A 12-day search ensued.  A commercial remote operated vehicle (ROV) and
high resolution sonar images were employed to find his remains.  Weather,
water depth, underwater terrain features, and limited visibility were factors
in the search.  The commercial companies involved were Inshore Divers of
Pittsburgh, California, and Marine Sonic Technology of White March, Virginia. 
The incident commander was Mike Archer; Pat Horning was operations chief. 
[David Sandbakken, Acting CR, GLCA, 9/24]

98-612 - Southeast Region - Hurricane Georges

Hurricane George continues to bear down on southern Florida, with landfall
expected as early as tomorrow morning.  The storm had winds of 75 mph this
morning, but is expected to strengthen over the next 24 hours.  It is about
400 miles southeast of Miami and moving west-northwest at 12 mph.  Hurricane
warnings extend from Fort Myers on the Gulf coast around the tip of Florida
to Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic coast.  Mandatory evacuations have been
ordered for the Keys; voluntary evacuations for Key Biscayne and Miami Beach. 
Today's updates from affected parks:

o     Virgin Islands NP (VI)/San Juan NHP (PR) - The parks received less
      structural damage than expected.  The hurricane inflicted serious
      damage to the island of Puerto Rico, however.  Power poles were snapped
      off by strong winds, and it's expected that power will be out for some
      time.  Trees are down everywhere, blocking many roads.  The two Eastern
      NPS incident management teams staged in Atlanta will not be needed in
      either park.  One team was demobilized yesterday; the other will stay
      on standby until the hurricane passes.

o     Everglades NP (FL) - The entire park was shut down yesterday afternoon. 
      Concession employees, any remaining overnight guests in Flamingo, and
      contractors will leave by 10 a.m. this morning.  Most park employees
      were released yesterday afternoon; those who reside in the Keys were
      released on Tuesday afternoon, since evacuations were already beginning
      there.  Highways to the Keys closed yesterday.  The incident management
      team has transitioned to the team that will remain in the park for the
      duration of the storm.  Bob Panko is IC.

o     Big Cypress NP (FL) - Park staff concluded the shutdown of the park
      yesterday.  All but a few visitor protection and fire staff were
      released yesterday.  Joe O'Haver will be the on-site IC during the
      hurricane's passage; he and his staff will be at the Oasis visitor
      center.  A few other members of the park's staff will return
      immediately after the storm to assess damage and begin recovery
      actions.  All other employees have been instructed to call in before
      returning to the park.

o     Biscayne NP (FL) - The park has shut down and is closed to the public. 
      Minimal visitor protection patrols will continue as long as it is safe
      to do so.

[Ken Garvin, SERO, 9/23; Bob Panko, IC, EVER, 9/23; Larry Belles, BICY, 9/23;
Rob Shanks, BICY, 9/23] 

98-619 - Lake Mead NRA (AZ/NV) - Boating Accident with Fatality

G.W., 33, of Costa Mesa, California, was killed in a boating
accident near Katharine Landing on September 19th.  G.W., who had
consumed eight or nine beers over a four-hour period, left his beach campsite
on a rented personal watercraft (PWC) around 10:30 p.m.  When he failed to
return by 2 a.m., a friend called rangers.  A water search was begun at 3:45
a.m.  G.W.'s body was found floating about 10 feet from his PWC.  It
appears that he was killed when he ran into a slight rock outcropping at a
high rate of speed.  This was the park's 35th fatality this year.  [Jan
Kirwan, LAME, 9/20]

                       [Additional reports pending...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Tue      Wed    %  Est
State      Unit             Fire/Incident     IMT    9/22     9/23  Con Con
-----      ----             -------------     ---    ----     ----  --- ---

PR   Roosevelt Roads NB     Hurricane Georges T1     Distribution center
     Caribbean NF           Hurricane Georges T1     Clean-up operations
     
GA   Dobbins AFB            Hurricane Georges T1     Staged
                            Hurricane Georges T1     Staged

                                  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
                    ---    ---      ---     ---    ------   ----     ----
Sunday, 9/20         0      4         3       0       42     17        56
Monday, 9/21         0      5         2       0       60     19        86
Tuesday, 9/22        1      1         1       0       48     10        61
Wednesday, 9/23      0      2         2       0       54     17        75

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead
                  ----      -------    -----------    ----------   --------
Sunday, 9/20        15         93          18             2            18
Monday, 9/21         9         90          13             2            16
Tuesday, 9/22        4         88          14             2             8
Wednesday, 9/23     13        102          11             2             5

CURRENT SITUATION

Fire activity remains minimal.  Four Type 1 incident management teams have
been dispatched to operations associated with Hurricane Georges.

Very high and extreme fire indices were reported yesterday in North Dakota,
South Dakota, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon.

No fire weather watches or warnings have been posted for today.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/24]

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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