NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Monday, August 2, 1999 [Early Release]

INCIDENTS

99-396 - Lassen Volcanic NP (CA) - Rescue

On the afternoon of July 17th, rangers received a report of a visitor inside
the caldera of Cinder Cone who had been struck on the head with a rock and
was unconscious.  Butte Lake ranger Chris Williams responded on foot,
assessed the 17-year-old female, and ordered medical and rescue assistance. 
Two helicopters, three fire crew members and four rangers were dispatched to
the scene.  The girl, who was a member of a UC Davis youth group, had been
off-trail when one of her friends dislodged a fist-sized rock which struck
her in the temple.  She was carried to the rim of Cinder Cone, then airlifted
and flown to a hospital in Redding.  This was the fifth SAR operation of the
season in the park; these included one overnight search and three similar
backcountry medical evacuations due to injuries.  [Mark McCutcheon, DR, North
District, LAVO, 7/20]

99-397 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Search

L.-H.H., 31, of Auckland, New Zealand, was hiking with a companion around
the Heart Lake Geyser Basin on the evening of July 30th when the two became
separated.  L.-H.H.'s companion attempted to find her, but was unsuccessful.  He
then hiked out about six miles and notified rangers at 8:30 p.m.  A search
was immediately begun, employing dogs, aircraft and several ground search
teams.  HL.-H.H.o was spotted from the helicopter two miles north of the Heart Lake
cabin at 1:50 p.m. the following afternoon.  She told park staff that she'd
become disoriented and had wandered around for a while, then had slept under
a fallen log, using tree branches to keep her warm.  [Public Affairs, YELL,
7/31]

99-398 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Tent Cabin Fire

Fire personnel and rangers responded to a tent fire at Tuolumne Meadows at
10:45 p.m. on July 9th.  When they arrived, they found that local residents
had put out the fire with an extinguisher, but that the concession employee
who resided there had suffered first and second degree burns to his face and
hands.  He was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Mammoth Lakes.  The fire
occurred when he attempted to light a propane lantern inside the tent cabin
and it caught fire.  The lantern was knocked over, spreading fire to the tent
fly and contents.  The resident escaped by making a hole in the rear corner
of the tent, as the door was blocked by fire.  Damage to the tent and its
contents is estimated at $2,0000.  [Deron Mills, FMO, YOSE, 7/19]

99-399 - Hopewell Culture NHP (OH) - Arson

Suspicious fires were discovered in the park on the afternoon of July 2nd and
in the early morning and afternoon hours of July 16th.  In each case, rolled
bales of hay were found on fire.  The first two fires were confined to small
areas; the third burned four bales of hay and spread to about three acres. 
The fire that occurred in the early morning hours of the 16th happened at
about the same time as a suspicious house fire on private property near the
park.  All were extinguished by a volunteer fire department.  A joint
investigation is underway.  The area where the latter fire occurred is farmed
under the agricultural lease program.  Southern Ohio has been experiencing
severe drought conditions for the past two months.  [Wayne Rose, PR, HOCU,
7/18]

99-400 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Train-Car MVA

On the evening of July 15th, a 23-year-old local man who had been "four-
wheeling" in his 1998 Dodge pickup truck on the Gauley rail trail (closed to
vehicles) became lost.  He decided to follow an active railroad track toward
the town of Swiss by straddling the tracks, but got stuck when he popped a
front tire and the truck frame became wedged and hopelessly stuck on the
tracks.  He decided to stay in the truck on the tracks all night, as he was
"afraid of snakes," but bailed out at dawn, walked to a campground, called
home, then continued walking home.  When he got there, he found a spare tire
and rim, and arrived back at his truck around 11:30 a.m.  By that time,
however, a train had come by and knocked the truck off the tracks, doing
about $2,500 in damage to it.  Nobody was injured in the accident, and the
truck was driven away.  Rangers and Norfolk and Southern Railroad agents are
investigating.  [Rick Brown, Protection Operations Leader, NERI, 7/18]

  [Numerous reports pending; all will appear over the coming week...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Fri      Sat    %   Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident   IMT     7/30     7/31  Con  Con

MT    Gallatin NF          * Six Mile         T2      400    1,135   30  UNK
      State                * Bar Z Ridge      T2      130      130    0  8/1
      Flathead NF          * Swaney           T2       88       88   60  7/31
      Lewis and Clark NF   * Spring Creek     T2      350      300   75  8/1
      Bitterroot NF        * Devil Storm      T2    1,100    1,364   50  8/2

ID    Salmon/Challis NF    * Soldier         FUM    1,109    1,609    0  UNK

WY    Big Horn NF          * Bull Elk Park    T2      402      402   85  UNK

FL    Florida NF's         * Bill Branch      --      227      227   90  UNK

                                  Heading Notes

Unit        Agency or Area Office = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA
            state resource or ranger unit; RD = state ranger district; FO =
            BLM field office; 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 I Team; T2 = Type II Team; T3 = Type III Team; ST =
            State Team; FUM = Fire Use Management 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

Wednesday, 7/28      4     10        28       0      113     49        88
Thursday, 7/29       2      8        26       0       84     38       158
Friday, 7/30         1    113         8       1      104     42       269
Saturday, 7/31       1      5         6       0       58     31       101

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Wednesday, 7/28    124        146          40             2           975
Thursday, 7/29      91        139          37             5           528
Friday, 7/30       113        181          49             6           520
Saturday, 7/31     128        161          47             6           819

CURRENT SITUATION

Only minimal initial attack was reported nationwide on Saturday, and
significant progress was made on several fires.

High to extreme fire indices were reported in Oregon, Washington, California,
Montana, North Dakota, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and South Dakota.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/29-8/1]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

No entries.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

No entries.

CALENDAR

The biweekly calendar of training courses and meetings now appears as a
separate addendum to the Morning Report and follows in the next message.

                                *  *  *  *  *

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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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