Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Rescue from Starlight Peak
On the afternoon of July 12th, a climbing accident occurred on a
route to the summit of Starlight Peak, which is near North Palisades
Peak along the eastern boundary of Kings Canyon National Park. The lead
climber pulled out a large rock and took a 15-foot fall, injuring an arm
and a shoulder. The rock also struck his belayer, who suffered facial
lacerations and fractures, broken teeth, a broken arm, and internal
organ injuries. The belayer swung into a third climbing partner and
broke two of her fingers. The incident was reported by another climber
in the area who had a satellite phone. Parkmedic/ranger Debbie Brenchley
and EMT Fred Mason were inserted by helicopter just before dark.
Brenchley and another climber reached the injured climbers after
nightfall. She stabilized and administered pain medication to the lead
climber and determined that a technical litter lowering was required.
Brenchley remained with the patient overnight at an elevation of about
13,000 feet. It took about 20 rescuers about five hours to move the
patient from the rock face to the landing zone for a helicopter
transport. He was delivered to the Northern Inyo Hospital in Bishop,
California, by late afternoon on July 13th. Six rescuers remained in the
field overnight and were extracted on the morning of July 14th. Park
rescue personnel were assisted by personnel from Yosemite National Park
and Inyo County with helicopter support from the park contracted
helicopter and the Inyo National Forest's contract helicopter. Kinsey
Shilling served as the incident commander.
[Submitted by Bob Wilson,
Law Enforcement Specialist]
Padre Island National Seashore (TX)
Follow-up on Hurricane Claudette
The impacts of the hurricane on the park were minimal and it reopened
for business on Wednesday morning. Although Padre Island remained in the
high probability area through Monday night, the Category I hurricane
made landfall about 100 miles north of the park's northern boundary.
High tides and waves sheared dunes and vegetation along the beach, and
some signs were lost on the shore. Park staff were patrolling the 66
miles of beach yesterday to assess the hurricane's impacts and protect
any archeological sites that might have been exposed.
[Submitted by
Jock Whitworth, Superintendent]
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (AZ,UT)
Marijuana Seizure and Arrests
Rangers Brian Lake and Samuel Arnberger made a traffic stop on a 1991
Chevy pickup on Highway 89 at 2 a.m. on July 9th after observing erratic
driving behavior. Lake contacted the driver and passenger — R.H.,
43, and J.G., 53 — and asked and received consent
to search the truck. The rangers found that the driver's side door had
evidently been removed, then reattached with tape. Arnberger opened the
hood of the truck and found a large duffel bag and a smaller bag,
secured with tape and emitting a very strong odor of raw marijuana. The
bags contained 13 bread-loaf sized bundles of marijuana. The two men
were arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance.
[Submitted by Eric Scott, Subdistrict Ranger, Wahweap
Subdistrict]
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (DC,MD,WV)
Drowning at Violettes Lock
A 50-year-old man from North Potomac fell from the cliffs above the
lock onto rocks in the canal just after 5 p.m. on July 4th. He was
pronounced dead at the scene by medics with Montgomery County FD.
[Submitted by Scott Fear, PIO, USPP]
Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD)
Accident with Fatality
Park Police officers responded to a report of a one-car accident on
the parkway north of Route 197 at 12:15 a.m. on July 5th. They found
that a Dodge Durango had veered into the woods and struck a tree. The
operator, a 25-year-old woman, was dead at the scene. Her passenger was
taken to Prince George County Hospital and treated for minor injuries.
[Submitted by Scott Fear, PIO, USPP]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Thursday, July 17, 2003
Preparedness Level 3
Initial attack was moderate on Wednesday in the Rockies, Northwest, Southwest and southern California and light elsewhere. A total of 225 new fires were reported, five of which became large fires.
Fire Danger
|
Day |
7/12 |
7/13 |
7/14 |
7/15 |
7/16 |
7/17 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
VX |
|
Wyoming |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VH — Very high
EX — Extreme
VX — Very high to extreme
Fire Weather Watches and Warnings
FIRE WEATHER WATCHES have been issued for dry lightning, low relative humidity, warm temperatures and dry fuels for western Wyoming, and for low relative humidity and dry lightning for the Bridger-Teton NF.
A RED FLAG WARNING has been issued for dry lightning over the mountains of San Bernadino, Riverside and San Diego counties, except for the Santa Ana ranger.
National Resource Commitments
|
Day |
7/11 |
7/12 |
7/13 |
7/14 |
7/15 |
7/16 |
7/17 |
|
Crews |
278 |
279 |
253 |
273 |
293 |
365 |
406 |
|
Engines |
398 |
369 |
394 |
425 |
457 |
507 |
608 |
|
Helicopters |
84 |
91 |
93 |
102 |
101 |
129 |
127 |
|
Air Tankers |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
|
Overhead |
2,416 |
1,834 |
2,457 |
2,615 |
2,598 |
2,885 |
3,126 |
National Team Commitments
New team commitments or changes in teams are indicated in bold face.
|
State |
Type Team |
Team IC |
Fire/Location |
Acres |
Percent Contain |
Est Full Contain |
|
UT |
T1 |
Hart |
Farmington Fire Wasatch-Cache NF |
1,935 |
95% |
UNK |
|
AZ |
T1 |
Humphrey |
Kinishba Fire Fort Apache Agency |
17,700 |
15% |
UNK |
|
WA |
T1 |
Lohrey |
Fawn Peak Complex Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
16,250 |
30% |
UNK |
|
CO |
T2 |
--- |
Balcony House Complex Mesa Verde NP |
1,500 |
0% |
UNK |
|
NM |
T2 |
Raley |
Encebado Fire Taos Northern Pueblo |
5,382 |
100% |
CND |
|
CO |
T2 |
Blume |
Brush Mountain Fire Grand Junction County |
4,908 |
70% |
UNK |
|
UT |
T2 |
Brunner |
Bulldog Fire Richfield FO, BLM |
33,080 |
30% |
UNK |
|
WY |
T2 |
Broyles |
East Table Fire Bridger-Teton NF |
3,400 |
30% |
7/20 |
|
ID |
T2 |
Kechter |
Blackwall Fire Salmon-Challis NF |
325 |
10% |
UNK |
|
ID |
T2 |
Van Bruggen |
Tobias Fire Salmon-Challis NF |
14,500 |
40% |
7/22 |
|
OR |
T2 ST |
Gardner Labhart |
Clark Fire Willamette NF |
1,400 |
10% |
UNK |
|
NM |
T2 |
Philbin |
Molina Complex Santa Fe NF |
6,000 |
15% |
UNK |
|
NM |
T2 |
Bateman |
Spruce Complex Gila NF |
5,480 |
0% |
8/13 |
|
WY |
T2 |
Mullenix |
Gramm Fire Medicine Bow NF |
630 |
10% |
UNK |
|
OR |
ST |
Keith |
Jenkins Cabin Fire State Lands |
772 |
95% |
7/17 |
|
WA |
ST |
Bernt/ Andring |
Middle Fork Fire State Lands |
2,100 |
90% |
7/17 |
|
MT |
T2 |
Swope |
Jimtown Fire Helena NF |
1,061 |
80% |
7/17 |
|
NM |
FUM |
Rath |
Dry Lake Complex Gila NF |
91,000 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
NM |
FUM |
Rath |
Turnbo Fire Gila NF |
8,000 |
20% |
UNK |
|
CO |
FUM |
Clark |
Bear Creek Fire San Juan NF |
1,869 |
N/A |
N/A |
Mesa Verde National Park (CO)
Balcony House Complex
The 1,500-acre Balcony House Complex is burning in pinyon pine and juniper. Extreme fire behavior was reported yesterday. The park has been closed. For further details, see one or more of the following newspaper stories:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0716mesaverdefires-ON.html
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2115322,00.html
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~23447~1516618,00.html
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Alexandra Guier-Picavet To Become PAO
Alexandra Guier-Picavet, North District Interpretive Ranger at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, has accepted the Public Affairs Specialist position at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Her first day at SEKI will be August 4, 2003. Her previous park service experience includes Death Valley NP, Hopewell Furnace NHS, as well as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island National Monument. Alexandra has extensive community relations experience and is fluent in German. Her husband, Fred, has accepted a position as the Contract Specialist. He comes to SEKI from the private sector where he has been the Contract Specialist for a Fortune 500 company for many years.
Alexandra and Fred will be living in Three Rivers, CA, a community near park headquarters.
[Submitted by Bob Clopine- Interim PIO SEKI, Jody_Lyle@nps.gov, 559-565-3703]
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.