National Capital Parks-Central (DC)
Demonstration Results in 68 Arrests
On March 26th, a demonstration against the war took place in
Lafayette Park. Park Police officers and two SET rangers secured the
park and issued warnings to the demonstrators. Within two hours, the
Park Police had made 68 arrests. Fifty-eight of the arrests were made
for demonstrating without a permit; the other ten were for crossing a
police line. The Park Police have been dealing with demonstrations
throughout the capital and on the National Mall since prior to the start
of the war. This was the largest number of arrests to date.
[Submitted by Sergeant Scott R. Fear, US Park Police]
Zion National Park (UT)
Rescue of Injured Hiker from Angels Landing
A visitor reported that a woman had sustained an injury on the Angels
Landing trail around 3 p.m. on March 25th. Resource management staff in
the area found that J.M., 59, had sustained a hip injury and
could not walk out on her own. Due to the rugged nature of the trail,
rescuers concluded that they would have to use either a complicated
technical lowering or a helicopter short haul extrication to evacuate
her. The latter proved feasible, so the park asked Grand Canyon to send
its helicopter down to lift her out. Meanwhile, park medics arrived on
scene and determined that J.M. had sustained a fractured right hip.
She was stabilized and prepared for evacuation. J.M. was flown off
Angels Landing at 6 p.m. to a waiting ambulance. She was subsequently
flown to a hospital in Denver. A total of 17 people from Zion and Grand
Canyon worked on the incident. The IC was Cody Cole.
[Submitted by
David Eaker, PIO]
Padre Island National Seashore (TX)
Arrests for Smuggling Illegal Immigrants
Around 1 a.m. on March 8th, Customs officials advised rangers that a
"shark" boat had been spotted in the Gulf of Mexico heading toward the
park. They did not know if it was smuggling undocumented aliens or
drugs. Two hours later, rangers and Customs special agents stopped a
truck driving at a high rate of speed and found that it contained
illegal aliens. A few minutes later, a second vehicle approached; it was
stopped and found to also contain undocumented immigrants. A short time
later, a third vehicle approached the scene, but stopped abruptly when
the driver saw the commotion ahead. Numerous people scattered from the
vehicle into the dunes, leaving the driver behind. A total of 14 illegal
immigrants from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala were arrested along with
three smugglers and three vehicles. As rangers and agents traveled down
island later that morning to search for a cache of illegal drugs, they
spotted and stopped a suspicious northbound vehicle. The driver admitted
that he was a smuggler and a criminal history check confirmed several
past smuggling arrests. A drug dog alerted on the vehicle, but no
contraband was found within it. The man had no driver's license, so
rangers impounded his vehicle, issued several traffic violation notices,
and later transported him to town where he could telephone for a ride.
On March 10th, rangers intercepted two vehicles heading north on the
beach at a high rate of speed. Both contained illegal immigrants.
Rangers arrested ten of them and two smugglers and seized both vehicles.
Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the smugglers was the same man who had
been released the previous day.
[Submitted by Randy Larson, Chief
Ranger]
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (AZ)
Fugitive from Justice; Suicide
On the morning of March 22nd, rangers received a call from officers
of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (formerly two agencies
— Customs and Border Patrol) reporting that a man had just fled
from the Lukeville port of entry into the park. Officers were able to
stop his vehicle several miles north of Lukeville on Highway 85. When he
got out of his car, though, he had a .357 magnum handgun in his hand and
immediately threatened to shoot himself. Before rangers arrived, he shot
himself in the head. Investigators found that he was wanted on numerous
felony warrants from Idaho on charges of sexual misconduct with a child
and weapons violations. No contraband was found in the vehicle. The
investigation continues.
[Submitted by Robert E. Stinson, Acting
Chief Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - March 31, 2003
Preparedness Level 2
A total of 167 new fires were reported over the weekend. Four became large fires.
On March 27th, a Texas Forest Service employee and a contract helicopter pilot were killed when the helicopter they were riding in crashed while searching for debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Three Type 1 teams and two Type 2 teams are now committed to the Columbia Response recovery effort.
Fire Danger
| State |
3/20 |
3/24 |
3/25 |
3/26 |
3/27 |
3/28 |
3/31 |
| California |
VH |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Colorado |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VH |
VH |
-- |
| Indiana |
-- |
-- |
VH |
-- |
VH |
VH |
-- |
VH — Very high EX — Extreme
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
3/20 |
3/24 |
3/25 |
3/26 |
3/27 |
3/28 |
3/31 |
| Crews |
155 |
174 |
172 |
176 |
160 |
161 |
160 |
| Engines |
10 |
50 |
29 |
68 |
59 |
37 |
15 |
| Helicopters |
1 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
| Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Overhead |
2,407 |
2,296 |
2,308 |
2,147 |
2,241 |
2,618 |
2,594 |
National Team Commitments
| State |
Type Team |
Team IC |
Incident/Fire |
Acres |
Percent Contain |
Est Full Contain |
| TX |
T1 |
Studebaker |
Columbia Response |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| TX |
T1 |
Anderson |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T1 |
Gelobter |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Houseman |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Gray |
" |
" |
" |
" |
Park Fire Situation
No park fires reported
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Director/Deputy Directors
Memorandum: Respirator Clearances for Law Enforcement Personnel
The following memorandum was issued on March 28th. Please note that the referenced form and instructions are available on InsideNPS at:
http://inside.nps.gov/programs/divisioncustommenu.cfm?menuid=943&div=88
Memorandum
To: Regional Directors
From: (for) Director /s/ A. Durand Jones
Subject: Respirator Clearances for Law Enforcement Personnel
Effective immediately, all law enforcement personnel, to include U.S. Park Police and Commissioned Park Rangers, must complete the attached medical history form, ("FOH 22,") as the initial step in the issuance of respirators for official use. These forms will be reviewed by an occupational health physician to determine if the individual may go to the next step of respirator fitting. Notification of clearance/non-clearance will be done electronically by the National Park Service Division of Health and Fitness, to the Chief Park Ranger or U.S. Park Police Commander of the submitting unit. A list of clearances will also be sent to the Regional Chief Park Rangers.
NPS areas where respirators have already been purchased should fax the forms to:
Donna Goldsmith, R.N.
404/562-7930
NPS areas that have not purchased respirators should used expedited mailing to:
Donna Goldsmith, R.N.
Federal Occupational Health
U.S. Public Health Service
101 Marietta Tower
Atlanta, Georgia 30323
These medical clearances will facilitate the issuance of respirators should the need arise, however at this time, parks are not being directed to purchase this equipment. If you have any questions on the respirators clearances, please contact Pat Buccello, Chief, Division of Health and Fitness, Washington Office, at 202/513-7131. Thank you for your cooperation with this important safety program.
Law Enforcement and Emergency Services
NPS Uniform Program Update
The following is an update on the NPS uniform program provided by uniform program manager Ramie Lynch:
- We are currently sold out of the Men's Low Quarter Dress Shoe. This is due to the fact that the manufacturing company discontinued the shoe. We are working with VF Solutions to find a replacement.
- The Wellington Boot has been discontinued. Employees will have until July 31st to place an order. This will be your last chance to order them. We have roughly 130 in the Male boot and 125 in the female boot.
- The Lightweight Walker is being reintroduced to the uniform program. The old lightweight walkers will be placed on the website to sell out the rest of the inventory. There are 5 male walkers and 22 female walkers. The new replacement walker will be coming out in the near future; hopefully by the end of this summer.
- We are currently sold out of the women's low heel pump. This is due to the fact that the manufacturing company discontinued the shoe. We are working with VF Solutions to find a replacement.
- The Insulated, Uninsulated, and Twill coveralls have been discontinued. Limited sizes are available. We will be selling out of these items until May 31st. This is your last chance to order these items. After these items are gone, only the new Unisex Uninsulated Coveralls and Unisex Bib Coveralls will be available.
- Due to a fabric shortage and the low number of orders, the Service Dress Jackets are no longer a stock item. They will be Made to Measure once the order is received. This means that it will take between 45 to 60 days to receive the Service Dress Jacket.
- We are in the process of adding a Magnetic Service Namebar and Cardigan Sweater to the program.
- We are currently conducting a field test on cargo pants used by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The test will last roughly 6 weeks. If we receive positive results, they will be added to the uniform program. They will replace the field trousers.
- Recently, you may have noticed that uniform orders have taken a long time to be processed. This was due to a number of issues. These included: 1)The uniform distribution warehouse was moved from Nashville, TN to Martinsville, VA. and 2)This was a very bad winter on the East Coast. Snow, ice, etc. delayed the shipment of orders. These problems have been resolved. Employees should start receiving their orders shortly.
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.