Natchez Trace Parkway (AL,MS,TN)
Guilty Verdict in Accident with Five Fatalities
On June 28th, a Madison County jury returned a guilty verdict on all
six counts stemming against a man charged in an accident which killed
five children in the park last August. D.L., 24, was found
guilty of one count of DUI homicide, four counts of culpable negligence
manslaughter, and one count of aggravated assault. Just prior to the
accident, D.L. had been boating and drinking on waters outside the
park. He then got into a vehicle and, while traveling at 81 mph, failed
to heed a stop sign as he approached a parkway intersection. His vehicle
struck a car driven by Lisa Miller, who had five children with her.
Miller was the only survivor; all five children, who ranged between 7
and 10 years of age, were killed. Judge Samac Richardson sentenced
D.L. to 85 years, with 20 years suspended. D.L. will not be
eligible for parole for 40 years. The Madison County district attorney
prosecuted the case.
[Submitted by Jackie Henman, Assistant Chief
Ranger]
Morristown National Historical Park (NJ)
Special Event: "Mansion in May"
During the month of May, the park was the site of the twelfth annual
"Mansion in May" event, sponsored by the Women's Association of
Morristown Memorial Hospital. The Cross Estate, owned by the National
Park Service since the early 1970s, was completely redecorated for the
event by hundreds of interior and landscape designers and craftsmen.
Over 18,000 visitors toured the estate and grounds during May, raising
over $500,000 for the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital. In
addition to many permanent improvements to the estate and grounds, this
event provided a unique opportunity for park staff to highlight
lesser-known park resources to a previously untapped constituency of
park visitors.
[Submitted by Gregory Smith, Chief Ranger]
Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River (NY,PA)
Drowning in Barryville/Shohola Rapids
R.D. and his wife were paddling a rental canoe on the
Delaware River in the vicinity of the Barryville/Shohola rapids around
11 a.m. on the morning of July 4th when their canoe hit a rock, capsized
and ejected them into the river. They attempted to hold onto the canoe
as they passed through the rapids, but R.D. became unconscious
and floated downstream. Other visitors removed him from the river and
began CPR. Responding rangers and EMS personnel employed an AED in an
effort to resuscitate him; their efforts were continued by ALS personnel
until just after noon. R.D. was subsequently pronounced dead by
the coroner. Neither he nor his wife was wearing a life jacket at the
time of the accident.
[Submitted by Al Henry, Chief of
Protection]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Thursday, July 10, 2003
Preparedness Level 3
Initial attack was moderate in the Northwest on Wednesday and light elsewhere. Three of the 159 newly-reported fires became large fires — one in the western Great Basin and two in the Rockies. Four large fires were contained.
Fire Danger
|
Day |
7/5 |
7/6 |
7/7 |
7/8 |
7/9 |
7/10 |
|
Alaska |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
VX |
|
Arizona |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
California |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Colorado |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Hawaii |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Idaho |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Montana |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Nevada |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
New Mexico |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Oklahoma |
-- |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Oregon |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Texas |
-- |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Utah |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
|
Washington |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
|
Wyoming |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VH — Very high
EX — Extreme
VX — Very high to extreme
Fire Weather Watches and Warnings
No watches or warnings have been posted for today.
National Resource Commitments
|
Day |
7/4 |
7/5 |
7/6 |
7/7 |
7/8 |
7/9 |
7/10 |
|
Crews |
205 |
215 |
207 |
233 |
206 |
495 |
246 |
|
Engines |
371 |
372 |
406 |
483 |
449 |
491 |
358 |
|
Helicopters |
61 |
61 |
72 |
78 |
93 |
142 |
81 |
|
Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Overhead |
1,138 |
1,119 |
1,200 |
1,371 |
1,992 |
1,648 |
2,142 |
National Team Commitments
New team commitments indicated in bold face.
|
State |
Type Team |
Team IC |
Fire/Location |
Acres |
Percent Contain |
Est Full Contain |
|
AZ |
T1 |
Oltrogge |
Aspen Fire Coronado NF |
84,000 |
75% |
UNK |
|
WA |
T1 |
Lohrey |
Fawn Peak/Sweet Grass Okanogan/Wenatchee NF |
1,875 |
0% |
UNK |
|
CA |
T2 |
Rios |
Woodlot Fire Yosemite National Park |
395 |
50% |
7/12 |
|
NM |
T2 |
Raley |
Encebado Fire Taos Northern Pueblo |
3,950 |
10% |
UNK |
|
WA |
T2 |
Johnson |
Rattlesnake Canyon Colville Agency |
10,600 |
50% |
7/13 |
|
OR |
T2 |
Morcom |
Link Fire Deschutes NF |
1,101 |
70% |
7/12 |
|
CO |
T2 |
Blume |
Brush Mountain Fire Grand Junction County |
2,250 |
0% |
7/16 |
|
UT |
T2 |
Brunner |
Bulldog Fire Richfield FO, BLM |
5,000 |
0% |
7/20 |
|
NM |
FUM |
Duncan |
Dry Lakes Complex Gila NF |
72,400 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
AZ |
FUM |
Hiatt |
Powell Fire Grand Canyon NP |
3,606 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
UT |
FUM |
Bonefeld |
Woodenshoe Fire Manti-LaSal NF |
2,710 |
70% |
7/10 |
|
CO |
FUM |
Farns-worth |
Bear Creek Fire San Juan NF |
175 |
N/A |
N/A |
Yosemite National Park (CA)
Woodlot Fire
The 395-acre Woodlot Fire is being managed by Rios' Type 2 team. The fire is burning in chaparral and pine a half-mile southwest of El Portal. Active fire behavior was reported yesterday, with most activity on the northwest flank.
[Submitted by NIFC Situation Report, July 10, 2003]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center
New Edition of "The Learning Curve" Posted
The new edition of The Learning Curve, a publication which contains lessons learned and best practices from recent after incident reports (AIR), features key lessons learned from Eastern wildfires, the Exotic Newcastle Disease incident, and the Columbia shuttle recovery incident. This 4th edition is available on the Lessons Learned Center Web site at http://www.wildfirelessons.net/Learning_Curve/Learning_Curve_4th_Edition_Final.doc.
The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center web site (http://www.wildfirelessons.net) is expanding to meet the needs of the professional wildland firefighter.
The "Hot Tips" section contains a toolbox of tips that really work in incident management, other web sites, and information on training, film, grants, technology, and personal protective equipment.
The Web site "Center Library" now has 20 subject areas with information on wildland fire. Some of the subject areas in the navigation table include:
- Current Issues and News (articles, books, videos)
- Firefighting Tools, Products and Equipment
- Fire Behavior and Research
- Incident Management
- Incident Reviews (over 100 incident reviews are posted)
- Safety and Health
- Wildland Urban Interface
[Submitted by Paula Nasiatka, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center Manager]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
NPS Office at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Tom Cherry Retires
On June 30th, Tom Cherry, the law enforcement training manager at FLETC, retired after 34 years of government service. Tom started in Yellowstone on a blister rust crew at the age of 18. He served as a Navy corpsman with the Marine Corps in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart on several separate occasions. His NPS career assignments included Cape Cod and Cuyahoga Valley. In 1992, Tom transferred to FLETC as the law enforcement training manager for the ranger career field, with additional responsibilities for Servicewide seasonal law enforcement training programs, drug abuse and resistance education, the Department of the Interior MOCC and MOICC training programs, and safety and risk management training. He was also a member of the DO/RM-9 and DO/RM-57 task forces and the NPS representative to historically black colleges and universities. Tom and his wife Norma will continue to reside in the Brunswick area for the immediate future. He will continue to work for the office on a contract basis; his new phone number is 912-267-3302. With Tom's retirement and until his position can be filled, please contact Don Usher with issues and concerns regarding seasonal law enforcement academies, basic training requirements and national park ranger integrated program (NPRI). Contact JR Tomasovic regarding all advanced training issues, including the criminal investigator training program, field training evaluation program and WMD personal protective equipment.
[Submitted by D. Paul Henry, Superintendent]
Alaska Region
Retirement Luncheon for Rob Arnberger
An all employee luncheon potluck will be held on July 17th in celebration of Rob Arnberger's retirement. Letters of congratulation, stories, photos and other memorabilia are being collected to mark Rob and Elvira's transition into retirement. If you have anything to contribute, please contact either Marcia Blaszak, Karen Weerheim or Suzy Wooliver as soon as possible.
[Submitted by Marcia Blaszak]
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.