NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, June 3, 1999

INCIDENTS

99-214 - Western Arctic NP (AK) - Follow-up: Search in Progress

On May 28th, the NPS completed its seventh and final day of searching Cape
Krustenstern NM area for two missing Inupiat hunters - D.S., 69, and
R.B., 61.  Although park staff logged more than 75 hours of aircraft
search time (35 in an NPS Cessna, 40 in chartered air taxis), they found no
sign of either man.  The NPS was notified that they were missing on May 22nd. 
D.S. and R.B. had last been seen departing from their hunting camp in
Cape Krusenstern NM two days previously.  Both maintain traditional,
subsistence-oriented lifestyles and are highly regarded in the Inupiat Eskimo
community as expert hunters and travelers.  The interagency search covered
more than 10,000 square miles.  One local volunteer reportedly flew within 50
miles of the Russian coast on a hunch that the men were caught on a fast-
moving ice flow.  The state formally terminated the search on May 31st, but
local volunteers plan to continue searching the Cape Krusenstern coast until
donated fuel and funds are depleted.  [Greg Dudgeon, CR, WEAR, 6/1]

99-229 - Canyonlands NP (UT) - Boating Accident; Rescue

The oarsman and a passenger on a group boating trip on the Colorado River
were thrown from a 18-foot row boat in Big Drop Three in Cataract Canyon on
May 27th.  The oarsman was able to regain the boat, but passenger J.J.
floated about a mile down river in high-volume, Class IV whitewater
before being reached by others in the group.  J.J. was floating face down
in the river and was breathless and pulseless.  Members of her party began
CPR and revived her after about 20 minutes. An aircraft flying overhead was
notified of the incident via mobile radio and relayed it to the park.  A
medical helicopter was dispatched to the scene.  J.J. was picked up and
flown to a trauma center in Grand Junction, where she is expected to fully
recover.  Cataract Canyon was flowing at about 39,000 cubic feet per second
at the time, and the water temperature was about 55 degrees.  Glen Canyon NRA
ranger Kerry Haut served as incident commander.  [Steve Swanke, CANY, 6/1]

99-230 - Denali NP&P (AK) - Assist: Boating Accident with Fatalities

Park dispatch received a request for assistance in responding to a rafting
accident with fatalities at 11:15 p.m. on May 29th.  A MAST helicopter from
Fort Wainwright was also requested.  The incident occurred at the confluence
of the Yanert and Nenana Rivers, just outside the park's eastern boundary. 
Two rangers and a Tri-Valley Volunteer Fire Department medic were flown to a
helispot just upstream of the accident site.  The raft, operated by Alaska
Raft Adventures, was part of a three raft group of senior citizens from
Georgia.  It had been caught in a hydralic, spilling five of the senior
citizen passengers into the river.  Two 75-year-old women drowned and the
others were hypothermic.  The husband of one of the victims also began
exhibiting multiple medical problems.  A joint command post was established
at the McKinley Park airstrip.  Nineteen patients, five guides and three
rescuers were flown out in seven flights.  One person was flown to Fairbanks
Memorial Hospital for treatment; the others were cared for by park rangers
and local ambulance personnel.  The rescue took place during the long Alaska
twilight hours and concluded at 2 a.m.  The rafting operation has been
suspended pending an investigation by the Alaska state troopers.  [Ken
Kehrer, CR, DENA, 6/1]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                      Mon     Tue    %   Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident   IMT      5/31    6/1   Con  Con

FL    Osceola NF             Friendly         T1    53,000  53,800   20  6/15
      State                * Broken Creek     --         -     300   50  NR

NV    Ely District           Rainbow Ranch    --     1,900   1,900  100  CND 
                             Blue Garden      T2    10,000  10,000   80  6/2

MN    Superior NF            Little Trout     --       177     177   NR  6/3

AZ    State                  Jump Cx          T2    11,000  17,000  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; UNK = unknown; NR = no report
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

Saturday, 5/29       0      1        10       0       35     19        65
Sunday, 5/30         1      4        16       0       56     29       106
Monday, 5/31         4      4         6       0       63     22        99
Tuesday, 6/1         0      5         4       0      246     26       281  

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Saturday, 5/29      51         97          22             2           364
Sunday, 5/30       108        132          38             2           700
Monday, 5/31       114        106          40             0           720
Tuesday, 6/1        93        142          34             0           737

CURRENT SITUATION

Moderate initial attack was reported on Tuesday in the Southwest, South and
southern California.  There was little activity elsewhere.  Very high or
extreme fire indices were reported in New Mexico, Arizona and Georgia.  [NICC
Incident Management Situation Report, 6/21]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

Death Valley NP (CA) - Feral Burro Roundup

The park recently completed this year's roundup and live capture removal of
wild burros, removing 191 of the animals.  This was the first year that wild
burros were removed from lands that were added to the old national monument
as part of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994.  The Bureau of Land
Management previously administered most of these lands.  The two phases of
the roundup took place in isolated areas in the western part of the park. 
The first phase - live capture of 87 animals - was done through a park-
administered contract.  These animals were transferred to a private burro
advocacy group that will place them with private homes or ranches.  The
second phase of the removal - a helicopter roundup of 94 burros from the
Panamint Mountains - was undertaken by park employees and BLM crews.  These
animals were transported to the Ridgecrest Regional Wild Horse and Burro
Corrals in California.  The burros were prepared for adoption at this
facility, a process that includes vaccinations, worming, blood tests and
branding.  During their first 30 to 45 days there, the burros are fed daily,
acclimating them to domestically grown hay.  The corrals prepare more than
1,000 animals for adoption in an average year.  The BLM, NPS and the Navy
jointly established the Ridgecrest facility.  Anyone wishing to adopt a burro
can call 1-800-951-8720 for further information.  The feral burros are
descendents of animals released by miners around the turn of the century. 
The burros are being removed to protect limited water sources and critical
riparian habitat from overuse, which can ultimately lead to elimination of
native plant and animal species, such as the desert bighorn sheep.  Park
resource management staff estimate that as many as 500 feral burros remain on
park lands.  The removal efforts are slated to continue through 2003, with
the goal of removing all burros.   This year's burro removal was funded
through the park's recreational fee demonstration program.  [Tim Stone, MA,
DEVA, 6/2]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

No entries.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

No entries.

WEB DIRECTORY

Not surprisingly, the increasingly popular web site directory that appears in
the Morning Report each month (more or less) is now too long to run as part
of the MR itself (cc:Mail has a text buffer of about six pages - or at least
your editor's version has that limit).  It therefore comes to you as a
separate cc:Mail message and should be the next one on your directory....

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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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