INCIDENTS

---

Padre Island National Seashore (TX)
Tropical Storm Claudette Threatens Texas Coast

On Friday, the park began implementing its hurricane plan in preparation for Tropical Storm Claudette, which is heading towards south Texas. The National Weather Service is predicting that Claudette will strengthen as it hits the warmer waters of the northern Gulf. Facility and infrastructure preparations are underway and visitor notifications were begun on Friday in advance of the weekend. Landfall is expected to occur south of the park in the Brownsville area early on Tuesday morning. If the projected track of the storm continues towards southwest Texas, the park could see up to 10 inches of rain on the windward side of the hurricane and some coastal flooding.
[Submitted by Randy Larson, Chief Ranger]

Grand Teton National Park (WY)
Body of Missing Park Employee Found

On Tuesday, July 8th, a highly-coordinated interagency search effort involving more than 100 searchers from Grand Teton National Park, Teton County Search and Rescue, Wyoming K-9 Search and Rescue, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Exum Mountain Guides, the Forest Service, and two interagency helicopters culminated in the discovery of the body of missing 22-year-old park employee Lori Sievers of Langley, Washington. The search covered rugged, snowy, and steep mountainous terrain and had been underway since early the previous morning. Friends and coworkers reported Sievers missing when she did not return from her solo hike on Sunday. Strong gusty winds on Tuesday grounded air reconnaissance flights much of the day, but searchers continued to scour the Hanging Canyon area and adjacent terrain on foot. As winds subsided on Tuesday evening, spotters from one of the helicopters located Sievers' body on the lower slopes of Symmetry Spire, southwest of Baxter's Pinnacle. It appears that Sievers took a significant fall and died of traumatic injuries sometime on Sunday afternoon. Lori Sievers was working her first summer season as a biological science technician in the park. In the past, she worked in Arizona at both the Tonto National Forest and Grand Canyon National Park. Sievers had graduated from Colorado State University in December, 2002, with a BS in wildlife biology, achieving a 4.0 GPA and graduating cum laude. She was the recipient of many scholarly and work-related awards and a member of various honor societies. Lori Sievers was an outstanding employee and a wonderful asset to our park community and she will be greatly missed. This marks the second mountain fatality in the park this year.
[Submitted by Bill Holda, Acting Chief Ranger]

Sitka National Historical Park (AK)
Assault on Chief Ranger

Chief ranger Clair Roberts contacted P.D. on the afternoon of July 11th and told him not to ride his bicycle in the park. P.D. responded by assaulting Roberts. During the ensuring effort to arrest P.D., Roberts sustained cuts and abrasions and a sprained ankle. A seasonal ranger responded, but P.D. had fled before she arrived. Roberts was treated at a local hospital. P.D. was subsequently located and arrested by Sitka PD officers. He will be charged with felony assault.
[Submitted by Scott Taylor, Special Agent, Alaska Regional Office]

Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park (VA)
Auto Accident with Visitor Fatality

On July 6th, a family visiting from Ohio was touring the Chancellorsville Battlefield when the vehicle they were driving in was struck broadside by another vehicle traveling west on State Route 3, resulting in the death of one of the passengers. At the time of the accident, M.G. and his family were crossing over busy Route 3 from the park's Stuart Drive tour road in an effort to return to the park's visitor center. In the M.G.' vehicle were his wife, Celeste, and two children. She was seated in the back seat on the passenger side when the collision occurred, and was the only one in the car not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. M.G. was pronounced dead at the scene from the injuries she received. Everyone else, including the driver of the second vehicle, was treated at Mary Washington Hospital and released. Ranger Ryan Levins responded to the scene and assisted Virginia State Police, who investigated the accident.
[Submitted by Mike Johnson, Chief Ranger]

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (MO)
EMS Rescue

A 53-year-old man who entered the Arch complex on July 6th complained to rangers of dizziness. While he sat in the visitor's center waiting for his family to clear the security checkpoint, he took a nitroglycerin pill and was monitored by ranger Tracey Whitaker, on detail from Buffalo NR. Shortly after taking the nitro pill, he collapsed. Dispatchers immediately activated the St. Louis City EMS system while park guards secured the checkpoint and kept on-lookers from gathering. Ranger Dan Stark quickly assessed the patient as being pulseless and breathless. Stark and ranger Mark Plona, on detail from Cuyahoga Valley NP, began CPR while Whitaker retrieved the AED. Ranger Robert Baron cleared the area and placed the AED leads on the man. After an assessment, a shock was delivered, giving him a weak pulse. A city ACLS unit was on scene in minutes and took over treatment of the patient. The ambulance transported him to a local hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
[Submitted by Joel Musick, Acting Chief Ranger]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

---

National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Monday, July 14, 2003

Preparedness Level 3

A total of 497 fires were reported over the weekend — 149 on Friday, 167 on Saturday, and 181 on Sunday. Yesterday, initial attack was heavy in the Southwest, moderate in southern California and the Northwest, and light elsewhere. Eight new large fires were reported; another five were contained.

Fire Danger

Day	7/9	7/10	7/11	7/12	7/13	7/14
Alaska	VX	VX	VX	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
Michigan	--	--	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	VX
Oregon	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Texas	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Utah	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Washington	--	VX	VX	VX	VX	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	7/8	7/9	7/10	7/11	7/12	7/13	7/14
Crews	206	495	246	278	279	253	273
Engines	449	491	358	398	369	394	425
Helicopters	93	142	81	84	91	93	102
Air Tankers	1	0	0	0	1	1	3
Overhead	1,992	1,648	2,142	2,416	1,834	2,457	2,615

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	84,750	90%	7/15
WA	T1	Lohrey	Fawn Peak/Sweet Grass Fire Okanogan/Wenatchee NF	9,050	10%	UNK
UT	T1	Hart	Farmington Fire Wasatch-Cache NF	1,840	50%	UNK
AZ	T1	Humphries	Kinishba Fire Fort Apache Agency	1,500	0%	UNK
NM	T2	Raley	Encebado Fire Taos Northern Pueblo	5,400	65%	7/15
WA	T2	Johnson	Rattlesnake Canyon Colville Agency	10,600	90%	7/14
OR	T2	Morcom	Link Fire Deschutes NF	3,574	100%	CND
CO	T2	Blume	Brush Mountain Fire Grand Junction County	4,500	35%	7/16
UT	T2	Brunner	Bulldog Fire Richfield FO, BLM	22,131	15%	7/20
CO	T2	Mullenix	Campbell Fire Park County	505	100%	CND
CO	T2	Blume	Brush Mountain Fire Mesa County	4,500	35%	7/16
WY	T2	Broyles	East Table Fire Bridger-Teton NF	1,100	10%	7/20
ID	T2	Kechter	Blackwall Fire Salmon-Challis NF	369	10%	UNK
MT	T2	Swope	Jimtown Fire Helena NF	600	0%	UNK
NM	FUM	Rath	Dry Lake Complex Gila NF	85,000	N/A	N/A
NM	FUM	Rath	Turnbo Fire Gila NF	2,500	20%	UNK
CO	FUM	Clark	Bear Creek Fire San Juan NF	1,679	N/A	N/A

Yosemite National Park (CA)
Woodlot Fire (Other Treatment)

The Woodlot Fire began on the afternoon of July 8th in the El Portal Administrative Site of Yosemite National Park. As of the morning of July 9th, the fire has burned approximately 300 acres. The ignition source is unknown at this time and is under ivestigation. (full report)
As of this morning, July 11th, the Woodlot Fire is considered to be 100% contained.
Status
All park operations,roads, and visitor services are open and running as normal.
Acreage: 458: National Park land= 84 acres, National Forest land=374 acres
Resources Committed: Total personnel is 341: 8 Hand Crews, 4 Helicopters, 5 Engines, 1 Water Tender, 99 Overhead, 2 Camp Crews.
Estimated containment date: contained[Submitted by Marea Ortiz, marea_ortiz@nps.gov, (209) 372-0491]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

---

Joshua Tree National Park (CA)
GS-5/7/9 Protection Ranger

The park is seeking candidates for a permanent GS-5/7/9 protection ranger position in the Lost Horse District. The position is currently advertised on USA Jobs under announcement number JOTR-03-10. The announcement closes on July 25th. This is a 6(c) position and requires the ability to qualify for a Level II law enforcement commission. Full performance candidates are highly encouraged to apply and may be considered for lateral transfer. The person in this position is responsible for the full range of frontcountry and backcountry law enforcement and all risk management operations, including EMS and high angle search and rescue. Rangers have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities, including backcountry patrol, resource management, and proactive frontcountry law enforcement. Government housing is not available. Joshua Tree National Park is one of the world's premier climbing areas. More than 75% of the park is designated wilderness. Over 18 million people live within three hours of the park, which is about 50 miles northeast of Palm Springs and about 140 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Shopping, medical facilities and schools are available in surrounding communities. Skiing, California beaches and Disneyland are within a one to three-hour drive. More information about the park is available at http://www.nps.gov/jotr. For more information on the job, please contact Lost Horse DR Dan Messaros at 760-367-5547.
[Submitted by Curt Sauer, Acting Superintendent]

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.