INCIDENTS

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Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (AZ)
Vehicle Fire and EMS Response

On July 26th, rangers responded to a serious motor vehicle accident on State Route 85. A tire blew on a northbound Chevy min-van, causing it to cross the centerline of the highway, climb a high embankment, hit a boulder, and roll back onto the road. The five passengers — two adults and three children — were all wearing their seatbelts. The first person to arrive was a Border Patrol agent, who helped all five from their vehicle. Moments later, it burst into flame. Rangers provided emergency medical assistance and traffic control, and park firefighters responded in the park's structural fire engine. The five occupants of the van were treated for spinal injuries and numerous abrasions and taken to a hospital for evaluation. Both lanes of the highway were closed for three hours.
[Submitted by Fred Patton, Chief Ranger]

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Operator of Rental Motor Scooter Killed in Accident

On August 4th, D.L., 48, of Kingsport, Tennessee, was operating a rental motor scooter on Little River Road when she crossed the double yellow line on a blind curve and ran into two Harley-Davidson motorcycles coming from the opposite direction. A car following the scooter then stopped to avoid the accident and was hit from behind by a pickup truck. Resource management personnel were first on scene, followed by rangers from Cades Cove and North District. Maintenance personnel assisted with traffic. D.L. and one of the motorcycle operators were taken by ambulance to Townsend, then flown from there to the trauma center at University of Tennessee Hospital. D.L. died there during surgery; the operator of the Harley was treated and released. This is the second fatality involving rental scooters on Little River Road in the past week. The case ranger is Bill Ramsey. IC at the scene was district ranger Jack Piepenbring.
[Submitted by Communications Center]

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (AZ)
Arrest for Smuggling Illegal Aliens

Rangers attempted to stop the driver of a Chevy pickup suspected of illegally entering the country on Route 85 on July 27th. Efforts had twice been made the previous week to stop this truck, but on both occasions the driver was successful in his efforts to elude officers. This time, the driver turned around in oncoming traffic and fled south at speeds up to 95 mph. He passed seven cars in oncoming traffic and crossed double yellow lines on a blind curve. Rangers spiked the truck's tires and were able to stop it about a mile further down the road. Sixteen illegal aliens who had been lying on the floor of the pickup's bed jumped out and fled a short distance before surrendering. The driver and three others made it another three-quarters of a mile before they were apprehended. The driver, J.R.-V., 21, was found to be an undocumented alien from Sonora, Mexico. He was seen carrying a portable radio that was never found, and a cell phone was taken from his person. He's facing charges of smuggling undocumented aliens, reckless endangerment, and possession of a stolen vehicle. The Border Patrol and Pima County Sheriff's Office assisted in this incident.
[Submitted by Fred Patton, Chief Ranger]

Independence National Historical Park (PA)
Theft from Eastern National Bookstore

On July 27th, a contract custodial employee alerted the protection ranger on duty in the Independence Visitor Center that a man had just stolen a large number of shirts from the Eastern National bookstore. The ranger responded, broadcast a description of the man, and began an investigation. The man was not immediately located, but the investigation and a video camera revealed that a man had entered the bookstore just prior to the report, gone immediately to the shirt bins, and taken 19 embroidered t-shirts valued at approximately $350. His description was shared with other rangers, one of whom spotted a man meeting the description several blocks from the Independence Visitor Center on the afternoon of July 30th. The person who witnessed the original theft positively identified him, as he was wearing the same clothes as he had on the day of the theft. He was arrested and transported to the Philadelphia Police Department for processing. A check of his criminal history revealed that he had a lengthy record for larceny and drug-related offenses. He was charged with felony retail theft and held pending his preliminary hearing. The shirts have not been recovered.
[Submitted by Ian Crane, District Ranger]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Thursday, August 7, 2003

Preparedness Level 4

Initial attack was again heavy in the Northwest yesterday. It was also heavy in the northern Rockies, moderate in the eastern Great Basin and light elsewhere. A total of 370 new fires were reported, five of which became large fires.

Fire Danger

Day	8/2	8/3	8/4	8/5	8/6	8/7
Alaska	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
New York	VX	--	--	--	--	--
Oklahoma	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Oregon	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
South Dakota	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 strong winds, low relative humidity and very high fire danger for southern Nevada, northwest Nevada and northeast California.

National Resource Commitments

Day	8/1	8/2	8/3	8/4	8/5	8/6	8/7
Crews	489	405	353	315	271	270	265
Engines	826	648	601	461	356	411	438
Helicopters	167	160	134	131	111	110	115
Air Tankers	3	1	1	2	0	1	0
Overhead	3,472	3,310	3,148	3,472	3,201	3,335	3,079

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
MT	ACT	Mann	Flathead NF/Glacier NP Fires	---	---	---
MT	T1	Ferguson	Robert Fire Flathead NF/Glacier NP	23,950	55%	UNK
MT	T1	Raley	Trapper Creek Complex Glacier NP	20,450	50%	9/5
MT	T1	Bennett	Wedge Canyon Fire Flathead NF	25,723	50%	UNK
MT	T1	Frye	Black Frog Complex Bitterroot NF	7,275	90%	UNK
ID	T1	Mortier	Slims Fire Nez Perce NF	8,920	35%	8/20
ID	T1	Sexton	Hot Creek Fire Boise NF	26,560	90%	8/7
WA	T1	Lohrey	Fawn Peak Complex Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	79,770	60%	UNK
ID	T2	Brunner	North Fork Lick Fire Payette NF	625	50%	8/8
ID	T2	Van Bruggen	Deep Fire Upper Snake River, BLM	23,000	15%	UNK

Fire and Aviation Management
NPS Fire Summary - Thursday, August 7, 2003

Glacier National Park

An area command team (Mann) is coordinating the Type 1 teams assigned to the Robert, Trapper Creek Complex, and Wedge Canyon Fires.

Wedge Canyon Fire (25,723 acres; 50% contained) — Approximately 1,000 acres of the fire are within the park. Crews worked on the north flank of the fire on Tuesday to increase security of the structures on Trail Creek Road. Other firefighters were working on the east side of the Flathead River in Glacier National Park, mopping up hot spots. A burnout was planned on the southeast flank near Whale Creek to strengthen the lines in that area. Work yesterday concentrated on the southeast corner of the fire. Crews also continued suppression activities on portions of the fire inside Glacier National Park. Resource commitments as of yesterday (Tuesday's figure in parentheses):

• Firefighters/overhead — 1,293 (1,286)
• Crews — 33 (33)
• Engines — 59 (61)
• Helicopters — 8 (8)

Robert Fire (23,950 acres; 55% containment) — Thunderstorms in the areas to the west and east on Tuesday missed the Robert Fire, area giving firefighters a break from the winds and dry lighting that accompanied those storms. Crews continued to make progress in constructing direct lines and in snuffing hot spots. The largest concern right now is that lightning strikes from Tuesday night's storms in surrounding areas will strain the ability of firefighters to respond to any new fires while continuing to make progress on the existing complexes. Crews will concentrate on the north and west sides of the fire and continue to create as much direct line as possible while the weather continues to cooperate with fire crews. Engines will continue with structure protection. A Type 1 Incident Management Team led by Joe Ferguson from the southeastern United States is now managing the fire. Resource commitments as of yesterday (Tuesday's figure in parentheses):

• Firefighters/overhead — 977 (1,031)
• Crews — 27 (15)
• Engines — 32 (41)
• Helicopters — 6 (6)

Trapper Creek Complex (20,540 acres; 50% containment) — Slow burning surface fire was

observed. Smoke continues to impact Glacier National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, and Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Structure protection is in place for three commercial properties. Resource commitments as of yesterday (Tuesday's figure in parentheses):

• Firefighters/overhead — 250 (233)
• Crews — 5 (4)
• Engines — 6 (6)
• Helicopters — 7 (7)

Yellowstone National Park

Rain fell on the Grizzly Fire (20 acres) earlier this week, moderating fire behavior — likely a temporary situation. Burnout operations continued yesterday on the southern flank. The crew is constructing hand lines and burning out fuels along the ridge connecting a series of meadows. The operations are going well. Burnout along the southern flank is planned for today.

A new start — the Sportsman Fire — was detected on Tuesday. The fire was worked all day by four smokejumpers. It burned about a fifth of an acre and was declared out yesterday.

The park received considerable lightning on Tuesday night, so there's high potential for holdover fires. A fire recon flight will be flown today which will also check the other fires that are still in patrol status.

Yosemite National Park

The park continues to monitor/manage about 20 small fires, half of which are inactive. With one exception, the largest is about four acres. The exception is the Kibbie Fire, now 37 acres. It's showing smoke, but not much growth.

Other Park Fires

Fire operations elsewhere in the system include:

• North Cascades NP — A good deal of lightning struck the park on Tuesday and there were reports of at least 16 fires. Most are single trees at very high elevations; the largest is two acres. A fire use management team will be ordered.
• Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs — No significant changes reported from previous summaries.
• El Malpais NP — The planned prescribed fire was cancelled due to rain.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

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Fire and Aviation Management
Fire Safety Alert for Central and Southern Idaho

United States Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
Office of Safety and Occupational Health
Safety Alert

No. 2003-02 Aug 4, 2003 Page 1 of 1

Subject: Extreme Fire Behavior in Mid-elevation Brush Stands

Area of Concern: Central and Southern Idaho

Discussion:

Most of central and southern Idaho is recording Energy Release Components above the 97th percentile level (Extreme). The area is in the fifth year of an extended drought, and the U.S. Drought Monitor has placed this area in Extreme drought. Live fuel moistures for brush and conifer species are extremely low for this time of year and approaching record low levels.

Stands of shiny-leaf ceanothus and bitterbrush that have become established in previous stand-replacement burns, and reached a height of two feet or more, will not serve as a barrier to fire spread as in past years. With moderate winds (10-15 mph at eye-level), these areas can become explosive, with rapid spread rates and flame lengths exceeding 30 feet. In addition, with poor night time humidity recovery and thermal belt effects, fires are backing readily through brush fields well into the night through grasses, sedges, and leaf litter, drying the live foliage and increasing the likelihood of extreme fire behavior.

All personnel working in these conditions and vegetation types on wildland fires must be aware and use EXTREME CAUTION during wildland fire fighting activities. These areas will NOT serve as survival zones or safety zones under any circumstances.
[Submitted by Paul Broyles, paul_broyles@nps.gov, 208-387-5226]

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.