Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (DC,MD,WV)
Follow-up on Shooting Incident
On March 13th, a Montgomery County (Maryland) grand jury ruled that
the January shooting death of a carjacking suspect by ranger Derek
Anderson was justifiable. Anderson contacted the man at the Edwards
Ferry boat ramp on the morning of January 18th. A struggle ensued,
during which Anderson employed pepper spray and his baton in a
unsuccessful effort to subdue his assailant. Anderson then shot him in
self defense. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
[Submitted
by Keith Kelly]
Yosemite National Park (CA)
Technical Rescue from Grizzly Peak
Around 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 30th, campers in Yosemite Valley
reported that two men from their group had failed to return from a day
hike. H.Y.L., 22, from Singapore, and S.S., 23, from
Kazakhstan, were last seen at approximately 11:15 a.m. scrambling up the
southwest ridge of Grizzly Peak. Hasty searchers hiked the trails in the
area that night with light and sound attractors, but were unable to
locate the pair. At approximately 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, searchers at the
Vernal Fall footbridge met S.S. hiking toward Yosemite Valley. He
told them that H.Y.L. was stranded on a ledge near Grizzly Peak. Air and
ground spotters were sent out, and at about 12:50 p.m. H.Y.L. was sighted
sitting on a ledge near the Grizzly Peak summit. Ranger Ed Visnovske led
a five-person technical rescue team up Grizzly Peak from Happy Isles.
They reached H.Y.L. at 4:00 p.m. and gave him water and technical gear. He
was then lowered down several hundred feet of steep loose terrain. The
rescue team and H.Y.L. then walked out to Happy Isles at 6:00 p.m.
[Submitted by Jack Hoeflich, Incident Commander]
Blue Ridge Parkway
Victim of Overdose Found at Beaver Dam Gap Overlook
On the morning of April 3rd, dispatch received a report from a park
VIP of a body at the Beaver Dam Gap overlook at milepost 401. The body
of a 63-year-old man from Asheville was found at the edge of the
overlook next to his vehicle. It appeared that he'd ingested a large
quantity of prescription drugs, and he was also found to have cuts on
his wrists. A note at his residence indicated that he had intended to
take his life. His wife was notified by rangers at the same time that
she was reporting her missing husband to local officials. DR Tim Francis
is the investigating ranger.
[Submitted by Ed Clar, Acting
Protection Specialist]
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (MT)
Visitor Suicide
Chief ranger Michael Stops was making a final patrol of the
Reno-Benteen Battlefield site around 4 p.m. on April 2nd when a visitor
contacted him and reported that someone was lying out on the
battlefield. Stops found a man's body and his vehicle at the site. He
was subsequently identified as a resident of the state of Minnesota and
determined to have died at his own hand. The FBI was notified. A joint
investigation by the park, FBI, BIA and Big Horn County Sheriff's Office
is underway.
[Submitted by Michael Stops, Chief Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Tuesday, April 8, 2003
Preparedness Level 2
Initial attack was light on Monday, with only 95 new fires reported.
Three Type 1 teams and two Type 2 teams are currently committed to the Columbia Response recovery effort. Approximately 482,000 acres (75% of the current assigned areas) have been searched to date.
Fire Danger
| State |
3/31 |
4/1 |
4/2 |
4/3 |
4/4 |
4/7 |
4/8 |
| Colorado |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
EX |
-- |
-- |
| Illinois |
-- |
-- |
EX |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Indiana |
-- |
-- |
VH |
VH |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Kentucky |
-- |
-- |
VH |
VH |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Missouri |
-- |
VH |
VH |
VH |
VH |
-- |
-- |
| Oklahoma |
-- |
-- |
VH |
VH |
VH |
-- |
-- |
VH — Very high EX — Extreme
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
3/31 |
4/1 |
4/2 |
4/3 |
4/4 |
4/7 |
4/8 |
| Crews |
160 |
176 |
167 |
177 |
182 |
161 |
162 |
| Engines |
15 |
49 |
42 |
77 |
63 |
6 |
14 |
| Helicopters |
1 |
7 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
| Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Overhead |
2,594 |
2,572 |
2,581 |
2,143 |
2,174 |
2,452 |
2,382 |
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 |
Bennett |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T1 |
Gelobter |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Houseman |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Gray |
" |
" |
" |
" |
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Cape Cod National Seashore (MA)
GS-025-12 Supervisory Park Ranger
The park has issued an announcement for a GS-025-12 supervisory park ranger (LE). The announcement number is CACO-VA03-08; the USA Jobs ID number is IM4725. It's open until April 30th. The person in this position serves as the North District Ranger, duty-stationed in Provincetown, and is responsible for planning, development, coordination and direction of the visitor and resource protection program for the North District. She/he supervises a permanent staff of seven — a supervisory park ranger, park rangers, a supervisory fee and revenue specialist, administrative clerk) and a large seasonal staff of lifeguards and park rangers (LE). The person selected for this position will have to deal with numerous challenging issues, including off-road vehicle use, hunting, private and municipal properties within the park, extensive neighbor and adjacent community involvement, public transportation and so on. The position is designated as secondary (administrative) under law enforcement retirement and requires a one year probationary period for new supervisors. No government housing is available. For more information, contact chief ranger Kevin FitzGerald at 508-349-3785 ext. 213.
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.