NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, October 28, 1999

INCIDENTS

95-786 - Petrified Forest (Arizona) - Follow-up: Theft of Government Vehicle

A man driving a van from California to Arizona picked up a hitchhiker near
the state line on December 7, 1995.  The hitchhiker, later identified as
R.M., 55, a career criminal, subsequently threatened the driver
and made him pull of Interstate 40 at the Petrified Forest exit.  The driver
complied, but fled on foot with the van's keys after stopping.  R.M. then 
forced open a gate to the park maintenance yard and stole a GSA Ford Ranger
pickup truck.  Investigation led to discovery of his whereabouts by a USFS
special agent.  A pursuit ensued.  The chase was broken off due high speeds,
but R.M. continued on, eventually crashing.  He was admitted to the
hospital with serious injuries.  Investigation revealed that R.M. had a
25-year criminal history, that he'd been arrested 25 times, and that he
operated under at least eight other names.  R.M. was indicted in state
court and a bench warrant was issued for him in March, 1996.  By that time,
however, he'd been released from the hospital.  R.M. eluded authorities
for over two years, but was finally apprehended last December.  He was tried
on one misdemeanor and four felony counts and found guilty; he has been
sentenced to seven years and 364 days in prison.  The sentence was suspended
in favor of five years of supervised probation, abstention from alcohol and
drugs, and attendance at a residential treatment program.  The suspension
occurred because R.M. is now almost legally blind and deaf due to the
injuries suffered in the accident.  [Phil Young, SA, SWSO, 10/27]

99-624 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Fraud

On September 23rd, A.M., a Moroccan national, was arrested by
rangers for making terrorist threats against his girlfriend and being under
the influence of alcohol.  Checks with the Immigration and Naturalization
Service revealed that there was no record of A.M. ever entering or leaving
the U.S., and no fingerprint match could be found.  INS accordingly placed a
custody hold on him.  During booking, jailers found about 25 credit card
numbers in his wallet.  A.M.'s girlfriend had left his luggage in their
hotel room when she checked out; rangers removed the luggage from the room
and stored it at the jail.  With the advice of the U.S. Attorney's Office,
the luggage was inventoried and more than 800 additional credit card numbers
were found.  Initial inquiries with the card companies showed a consistent
pattern of fraudulent charges on many of the credit card numbers.  The Secret
Service took over the case and eventually seized more evidence in Boston,
where A.M. had property stored at his girlfriend's residence.  On October
21st, A.M. was indicted in U.S. District Court in Fresno for possession of
access devices (credit card numbers) with intent to defraud (18 USC
1029(a)(3)), a felony with a penalty of up to ten years in prison. [Dan
Horner, SA, YOSE, 10/27]

99-625 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Stolen Vehicle; Pursuit

South Entrance Station personnel reported that the driver of a vehicle
entering the park on the morning of October 26th had failed to pay the
entrance fee.  Rangers found the vehicle near Mather Point and determined
that it had been stolen in New Hampshire.  When they attempted to stop it,
the driver - later identified as R.A., 19, of Hampton, New
Hampshire - fled southbound at a high rate of speed.  Rangers, county
deputies, DPS officers and park and DPS helicopters pursued the vehicle for
about 30 miles before the pursuit ended when the car was disabled by tire
spikes.  R.A. was arrested and charged with unlawful flight and
possession of a stolen vehicle.  A 17-year-old female runaway was also
arrested and charged with unlawful use of a vehicle.  The investigation
continues.  [David Brennan, DR, South Rim, GRCA, 10/26]

99-626 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Special Event

The 20th annual Bridge Day celebration was held on October 16th.  The event
was attended by about 175,000 people.  The northbound lanes of the world's
largest steel span bridge and the second highest bridge in the United States
were closed to vehicle traffic and visitors were permitted to walk out on the
bridge.  Vendor and exhibition booths were set up in the highway right-of-way
on both sides of the bridge.  Highlights of the day's events included
rappeling by almost 300 rappelers and jumps by over 300 BASE parachutists. 
The rappelers descended over 800 feet from about 20 rope anchor points; the
BASE jumpers made 416 jumps over about six hours.  Several two-person, four-
person and six-person jumps were made.  Six jumpers were injured - two
required advanced life support, one for a broken pelvis and the other for
compound fractures of the fibula and tibia bones in both legs.  Rangers were
involved with both rescues.  The event was managed in cooperation with the
Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and state, county and local police
departments.  Rick Brown served as IC for NPS resources.  [Gary Hartley, CR,
NERI, 10/19]

99-627 - Petrified Forest NP (AZ) - Assist; MVA with Twelve Injuries

A pickup truck being driven by 23-year-old E.S. of Window Rock,
Arizona, with a dozen people on board, went off Interstate 40 near the park
and crashed at 8:30 p.m. on October 22nd.  All twelve were injured, including
critical injuries to an adult and an infant.  Rangers Peter Pappas and Dave
Fox responded to a request for assistance from the county sheriff's office. 
Two of the victims were flown by helicopter to Flagstaff Medical Center; the
remaining ten were taken by ambulance to hospitals in Gallup, New Mexico.  As
this incident was coming to a close, a passing motorist stopped and reported
that a passenger in his car was unconscious in a diabetic coma.  Pappas, Fox
and a local paramedic treated 83-year-old A.M.D. for an hour at the
scene until an ambulance could arrive to take her to a hospital in Sage,
Arizona.  [Greg Caffey, ACR, PEFO, 10/25]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Mon     Tue     %  Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident  IMT      10/25   10/26  Con Con
 
CA    Shasta-Trinity NF      Big Bar Cx     AC/2T1 135,152  136,765  86 UNK 
      Los Padres NF          Kirk Cx        T2      86,700   86,700  90 UNK 
      San Diego RU         * Lost           --           -      400 UNK UNK

ID    Sawtooth NF          * Queasy         --           -    1,600  NR NR 

UT    State                  Beaver         --         450      450 100 CND
                             Henefer Ledges T2         500      550  80 10/27

NV    Elko FO                Hanks Creek    --       1,200    1,100 100 CND  

MT    Flathead Agency        McDonald       --         500    1,190 100 CND

OR    Vale District          Battle Creek   --         150      150 100 CND 

MN    State                * McGrath        --           -      120  NR NR

OK    State                * Caney Creek    --           -      500 100 CND
                           * Tamaha II      --           -      400 100 CND

                                  Heading Notes

Unit        Agency or Area Office = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA
            state resource or ranger unit; RD = CA state ranger district;
            Region = CA state region; FO = BLM field office; District = BLM
            district; NWR = USFWS wildlife refuge
Fire        * = newly reported fire (on this report); Cx = complex 
IMT         AC = Area Command; 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; UNK = unknown; NR = no
            report; RBF = resource benefit fire, no containment action being
            taken; LR = last report unless significant activity occurs

NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND)

                    NPS    BIA      BLM     FWS    States   USFS     Total
 
Saturday, 10/23      1      2         2       0       35     20        60
Sunday, 10/24        1      0         2       0        4      2         9
Monday, 10/25        1      5         3       0      125     23       157
Tuesday, 10/26       0     10         3       0      212     19       244

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Saturday, 10/23     93        195          33             1           667
Sunday, 10/24       80         99          16             0           508
Monday, 10/25      145        285          42             0           811
Tuesday, 10/26     151        259          32             0           767

CURRENT SITUATION

Initial attack increased on Tuesday in the East and South and several new
large fires were reported.  Very high to extreme fire indices were reported
in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, California, Oregon, Arizona and
Mississippi.  [NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 10/27]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROTECTION AND EDUCATION 

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

No entries.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

WASO - The NPS has issued its first accessibility achievement awards, which
"recognize park sites and individuals that have identified and eliminated
barriers to equal access for people with disabilities."  Recipients were as
follows:

o     Park Accessibility Achievement: Jefferson NEM - For incorporating
      accessibility into renovations, including access to the top of the
      Gateway Arch.  Also for developing interactive computer kiosks with
      video and audio programs, and for use of sign language, captioning and
      assisted-listening headphones in its interpretive programs.
o     Individual Programmatic Accessibility Award: John Conoboy, Long
      Distance Trails Group Office - For forming community partnerships to
      design accessible wayside exhibits and ensure that visitors with
      hearing, sight or mobility impairments can experience educational
      programs.
o     Architectural Accessibility Achievement Award: Shenandoah NP and Boston
      NHP - Shenandoah for development of Limberlost trail, the first
      accessible trail in the park; Boston for rehabilitating Dorchester
      Heights NHS to improve access while retaining the park's original
      design criteria and preserving historic landscapes.

For more information on the awards, contact Dave Park at 202-565-1255 or Tome
Coleman at 202-565-1256.

Zion NP - The park has two vacancies.  The first is for a GS-025-9 permanent,
full-time backcountry ranger.  Responsibilities include resource monitoring,
emergency medical services, search and rescue, wildland and structural fire
protection, and resource/visitor protection.  Supervision of backcountry
seasonals and volunteers is also possible.  Candidates are sought who have
backcountry experience and experience in the above-noted fields.  Government
housing is required.  The second is for a GS-025-12 permanent, full-time
chief of operations.  The incumbent directly supervises frontcountry,
backcountry, dispatch and emergency service operations; he/she works directly
for the chief ranger and oversees all ranger activities during his absence. 
Government housing is required.  For further information, contact chief
ranger Aniceto Olais, who is on cc:Mail by name.

WASO - Reminder: The closing date for the detail assignment to NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center is November 2nd.  This is a great opportunity for a GS-9
or GS-11 to spend a year working with NASA scientists and NPS managers,
interpreters and resource managers in developing joint earth/space
educational programs.  For more info or a copy of the announcement, contact
bob Huggins (WASO Interpretation and Education) via cc:Mail or Gig Ackers
(WASO Human Resources Group) at 202-208-4315.

                                *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
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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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