NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, May 19, 1999

INCIDENTS

99-180 - Zion NP (UT) - Follow-up: Attempted Armed Robbery

On the evening of Thursday, May 13th, an armed man shot at two women in their
vehicle in Zion Canyon after a failed robbery attempt, striking the vehicle
three times.  Fifteen employees from all park divisions searched the roadway
adjacent to the crime scene on Friday, looking for evidence that may have
been discarded as the assailant fled.  Over the weekend, park and concession
employees were screened to rule out a possible suspect living in the park.  A
composite sketch was released to the public on Monday and was to appear in
local newspapers yesterday.  Physical evidence is being analyzed and
individual rangers are being contacted about unusual or suspicious incidents
around the time of the shooting.  Follow-up interviews with the witnesses and
victims were also conducted yesterday.  There's no indication as to whether
the assailant is a local resident or someone passing through the area, or why
he picked the two young women, who were waiting for their boyfriends to
finish climbing.  He is thought to be an amateur, as he was shaking and very
nervous during the attempt.  [Brent McGinn, ZION, 5/18] 

99-187 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Search in Progress

On Tuesday, the park completed the third day in an on-going search for hiker
J.R., 51, of Issaquah.  J.R. was last seen on Sunday afternoon on the
Muir Snowfield.  He was descending from a point near Camp Muir at the time,
having turned back from an ascent due to white-out conditions.  J.R.'s
companions last saw him somewhere above Pebble Creek, probably near the
8,000-foot level.  One of them warned him that he might be heading too far
west.  The group continued, believing he was with them.  They last had verbal
contact with J.R. at 5:30 p.m. during a radio conversation in which he said
that he didn't know his location.  A ranger and a volunteer descended from
Camp Muir to search for J.R. shortly thereafter, but ran into zero
visibility and eventually had to give up.  Four teams comprised of rangers
and rescue team members began a search for him on Monday morning, but were
hampered by poor visibility, bad weather and hazardous terrain.  A helicopter
joined the search later in the day when the weather improved slightly.  A
total of 33 ground searchers scoured the snowy area above Paradise on
Tuesday.  Twenty-four searchers in six composite teams left Paradise
yesterday morning.  Nine more rangers in two teams set out in the afternoon,
returning to the search base shortly before dark. Search parties again
encountered precipitation, wind, cold, and low visibility throughout the day.
A brief window of clearing weather again provided an opportunity for a
helicopter to fly over part of the search area.  No sign of J.R. has yet
been found.  [Maria Gillett, Incident PIO, MORA, 5/18]

99-188 - Denali NP (AK) - Rescue

Spanish climbers J.B., 39, F.P., 33, and Luis Ibanez fell
nearly 600 feet while descending through Denali Pass at the mountain's
18,200-foot level around 8 p.m. on May 13th.  The trio had been turned back
by high winds near the 21,000-foot level.  Although roped together, they were
not using protection.  Ibanez was unhurt, but J.B. sustained rib and ankle
fractures and a punctured lung and F.P. suffered lacerations to the face and
thigh and a fractured right wrist.  The three men were able to descend to the
17,200-foot "high camp" and request assistance.  Mountaineering ranger Kevin
Moore and three volunteers were at that location and stabilized the injuries. 
Winds had calmed by the next day and the park's Lama helicopter was able to
land at the camp and evacuate the two injured climbers.  They were flown to a
waiting aircraft at the Kahiltna base camp and taken to a hospital.  [Ken
Kehrer, CR, DENA, 5/17]

99-189 - Lincoln Home NHS (IL) - Burglary

Ranger Pete Swisher and Springfield police responded to an intrusion alarm at
the park's visitor center at 9 p.m. on May 12th.  Swisher found that a
burglar had pried open a padlocked plywood construction door; additional
units were accordingly summoned, including a state police canine unit.  As
the dog was about to enter the visitor center, Timothy Bennett, 43, exited
from the building's rear.  He was placed under arrest and the building was
searched.  Bennett had broken into several secured lock boxes containing
Golden Age and Eagle Passports and stolen $20, then taken a CD player and
several disposable cameras from the Eastern National bookstore.  The VC is
being renovated, and a temporary plywood wall separates the construction area
from the lobby.  Although the door was padlocked, Bennett had kicked it until
it separated from its hinges.  The door had been modified since the last
burglary on April 23rd; hinges were put on the inside, and 360 degree alarms
sensors were installed.  Bennett subsequently implicated another person in
that earlier burglary.  Rangers are currently pursuing the investigation. 
[Kathy DeHart, Chief of Ops, LIHO, 5/14]

99-190 - Lake Mead NRA (AZ/NV) - Drowning

On May 16th, rangers responded to the report of a drowning at Government
Wash.  D.H-L. of Las Vegas had been swimming with friends when
he went underwater.  Ranger Andy Corriel was first on scene and was soon
joined by ranger/divers Ryan Regnell and Paul Crawford.  Regnell recovered
D.H-L.'s body from 35 feet of water within a minute.  Resuscitation
was begun immediately by rangers Robert Moelder, Tom McDermott, Randy Neal
and local rescue personnel.  D.H-L. was flown to the UMC Trauma
Center, where he was pronounced dead.  This was the fourth drowning in the
park in four days.  [Paul Crawford, SPR, Boulder Basin District, LAME, 5/17]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                      Sun     Mon    %   Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident   IMT      5/16    5/17  Con  Con

AZ   Coronado NF             FHU 634          --       500   1,100  100  CND

                                  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; LSS =
            limited suppression strategy; CSS = containment suppression
            strategy
IMT         T1 = Type 1; 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

Friday, 5/14         1      6         0       4       49     10        70
Saturday, 5/15       0      1         1       0       30      8        40
Sunday, 5/16         0      5         0       0       28     10        43
Monday, 5/17         0      1         1       0       97     10       109

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Friday, 5/14        18         29           4             4           128
Saturday, 5/15      20         40           5             3            90
Sunday, 5/16        31         49           9             3           187
Monday, 5/17        30         35           8             4           198

CURRENT SITUATION

Moderate initial attack activity was reported in the South, East, Alaska and
southern California on Monday.

Very high and extreme fire indices were reported in California, Maine, New
Hampshire, Michigan, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.  [NICC Incident
Management Situation Report, 5/18]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Facility Management Program Update - The facility management program software
selection committee met the week before last to evaluate the final vendor
products before making a selection of a preferred computerized off-the-shelf
facility management program. Based on the committee's recommendations, the
names of the program and vendor - Maximo, by PSDI - were released to the
field via a memorandum transmitted on May 10th. The release was made with the
understanding that there are continuing negotiations that must be completed
before an implementation can begin.  Negotiations with PSDI will continue
through the balance of this month.  Additional information on Maximo can be
found at PSDI's web site: http://Maximo.com.  At this time, parks should
continue to use their existing systems in order to ensure continuity of data
collection.  Do NOT stop using current systems, as it will be important to
have current park data when the new system comes on line over the coming
year.  Parks should NOT purchase Maximo or any other facility management
software system (FMSS) products, and should consider keeping maintenance
agreements current with existing contractors in order to continue support of
existing software until implementation of the new system is complete. WASO is
working on a servicewide procurement so that individual parks will not have
to cover software costs.  The new facility management program web page
(http://165.83.218.50/FacMgmt) has additional information on the new FMSS.  
You may also send questions via the associated cc:Mail mailbox, or obtain
additional information on the maintenance bulletin board.  [Rick Shireman,
Project Manager]

Lyme Disease Vaccine Update - The Center for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) is currently reviewing the recommended procedures for the
administration of the LYMErix vaccine (SmithKline Beecham) recently approved
by the FDA.  The recommendations should be published in the May, 1999,
edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The document
will be entitled "Prevention of Lyme Disease Through Active Immunization:
Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)." 
The NPS public health and risk management programs have been working very
closely with the CDC and SmithKline Beecham to develop a plan for
implementation of a vaccine program in select NPS populations based on
individual activities and geographic areas of high/moderate risk.  Further
information to follow.  [George Vaughan, PHS]

FLETC Graduation - Land management training program class 903 graduated from
FLETC on May 13th.  During the ceremony, four students - Mary Hinson from
this class and John Evans, Stephen Willis and Karyl Yeston from LMTP-905 -
received special letters of commendation for their resuscitation efforts on
another student during a training incident at the center.  LMTP-903 set new
standards for NPS training at FLETC.  In addition to an overall academic
class average of 93.41, other high points included:
     
o     Kathleen Stuart attained a perfect 500 on her physical efficiency
      battery (PEB).  Her name will be added to the "500 Club" plaque in the
      entrance to the physical techniques building.  Also scoring above 95%
      in the PEB were Michael Haubert (499.02), Peter Christian (498.73),
      Walter Merritt (495.09), Sean Brennan (490.36), Mary Hinson (490.00),
      Mark Davison (485.00) and Edward Kelleher (480.00).
o     Class president Marc Yeston was the high firearms expert with a 293 out
      of a possible 300 points in firearms qualifications.  Also qualifying
      as experts were William Brooks (292), Peter Christian (292), Zeph
      Cunningham (289), Keith Flanery (289), Donald Whyte (287), Robert
      Conway (286), Michael Haubert (286) and Kyle Nelson (285).
o     The highest academic honors were obtained by Raymond O'Neil with a
      98.84 average for five written examinations.  Also maintaining an
      academic average over 95% were James Barnes (98.46), Edward Kelleher
      (98.46), William Brooks (97.32), Robert Conway (96.84), Marc Yeston
      (96.42), Keith Flanery (96.20), Steven Demske (95.66), Kathleen Stuart
      (95.46), Walter Merritt (95.24) and Peter Christian (95.00).
     
Students who attain a 95% average in all three areas of training and have not
had to remediate any practical exercises are recognized as distinguished
graduates, and the student attaining the highest average among the
distinguished graduates is the honor graduate.  That distinction went to
Peter Christian, who is now eligible for selection as FLETC's honor graduate
of the year.  Congratulations to Peter and to the entire class for their
outstanding individual and group performances.  [Paul Henry, Superintendent]

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

No entries.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Little Bighorn Battlefield NM - VIP Bill Dunn, 61, of Bellaire, Texas, died
suddenly of a heart attack in Deadwood, South Dakota, on May 9th.  He was
driving home with his wife, Betsy, when the accident occurred.  Bill was
cremated and his remains were sent to Texas, where services are to be held. 
The Dunn family requests that donations in lieu of flowers be sent to Little
Bighorn Battlefield NM, PO Box 39, Crow Agency MT 59022 to support the Indian
Memorial Fund. [Neil Mangum, Superintendent]

Timucuan E&HP - The park has advertised for a GS-401-11 natural resource
specialist.  The 46,000 acre preserve protects vast areas of estuarine
habitat, tidal marsh, pine and oak uplands and several historic sites.  The
position is general in nature, with responsibilities for coastal processes,
compliance, research coordination, GIS, and oversight of other agency
planning processes.  Park housing may be available; the housing market in
Jacksonville is good.  The announcement is on USAJOBS.  Call Rich Bryant at
904-221-7567 x 15 for more info.

                                *  *  *  *  *

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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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