Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Passenger Jumps To Death From Helicopter
A passenger on board a commercial air tour helicopter flying at about
4,000 feet opened the door while in mid-flight and jumped to his death
just before noon on Thursday, June 10th.
The man, who was in his mid-20s, landed near White's Butte, about two
miles northwest of Hermit's Rest. The pilot and five remaining
passengers on the Papillon Airways sightseeing tour returned to the
Tusayan Airport, shaken but unharmed. Rangers attempted to recover the
body that day, but high winds, steep terrain and the remote location
hindered their efforts. A recovery team was flown to the site the next
morning to investigate, document the incident, and recover his remains.
Although the death appears to be a suicide, a joint investigation
by the NPS, NTSP, FAA and sheriff's office is currently underway.
[Submitted by Hunter Bailey, IC]
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Sentencing for Assault on Ranger
On June 24, 2003, ranger Joe Pond stopped a car in the park for
traffic violations. The driver, D.H., 37, was acting
suspiciously, so Pond attempted to frisk him. D.H. resisted the frisk
and ended up struggling with Pond, who took D.H. to the ground. D.H.
continued to resist and attempted to remove Pond's pistol from its
holster. Pond sprayed D.H. several times with OC spray. D.H.
continued his resistance and knocked the OC from Pond's hand before Pond
gained control and handcuffed him. D.H. was treated for OC exposure.
The entire incident was recorded on the patrol vehicle's in-car video
system. A search of his car led to the discovery of marijuana and
a number of firearms in the trunk. Investigation revealed that D.H.
was a convicted felon who was wanted in Tennessee on four counts of
attempted murder. The attempted murder charges stemmed from a shooting
incident that occurred several days before Pond stopped D.H.'s
vehicle. On August 4, 2003,
D.H. was indicted for assaulting, resisting and opposing a federal
officer, drug possession, and weapons possession by a convicted felon.
On April 29th, D.H. was sentenced to a total of six years and two
months active time to be followed by five years of supervised probation
for all three charges in the indictment. The state of Tennessee is
pursuing their prosecution of D.H. on four counts of attempted first
degree murder and one count of reckless endangerment stemming from the
shooting incident that occurred in Tennessee. One of the weapons
that ranger Pond secured from D.H. at the scene is expected to be a
key piece of evidence in the Tennessee case due to its being
ballistically matched to the Tennessee crime scene, and it was a key
evidence item that enhanced D.H.'s federal sentence.
[Submitted by
Walt West, Supervisory Park Ranger]
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (AZ,NV)
Woman Drowns; Daughter and Dog Rescued
Late on the afternoon of June 9th, park dispatch received a report of
two females and a dog in need of help near Saddle Cove. Witnesses told
rangers that a mother, her daughter and their dog had entered the water
on an air mattress — the kind used for a bed — and were
floating near the cove. Before they entered the water, they were warned
of high and dangerous winds, but disregarded the warning. Neither the
mother nor her daughter was wearing a life jacket. When witnesses saw
the air mattress flip over in the wind, one of them called dispatch. A
search by air, water and foot (along the shoreline) was immediately
begun. Rangers found the dog in the water north of Saddle Island and
found the daughter on land in good condition shortly thereafter.
According to the girl, the wind blew the air mattress over and they were
all knocked off. The wind then continued to blow the air mattress
farther and farther away from them. It was later found on Black Island
approximately two miles northeast of Saddle Island. The search for the
mother continued, with the park dive team called in to assist with the
effort. The area the dive team searched is at least 110 feet deep. No
sign of the woman has yet been found. The park continues to urge all
visitors to wear their life jackets and exercise extreme caution when
recreating on the lake. This is the third drowning in the last month in
which the victim was not wearing a life jacket.
[Submitted by
Talmadge Magno, Boulder Basin District Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report Highlights — Thursday, June 17, 2004
Preparedness Level 1
Initial attack was light on Wednesday. A total of 201 new fires were reported, with two becoming large fires — one in the eastern Great Basin, the other in southern California.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
Warnings and Watches
RED FLAG WARNINGS have been posted today for breezy north winds and low relative humidity in the northern and western sections of the Sacramento Valley in northern California, and for strong south winds along the North Slope of the Alaska Range and in the Copper River Basin.
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
|
Date |
6/11 |
6/12 |
6/13 |
6/14 |
6/15 |
6/16 |
6/17 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crews |
63 |
--- |
41 |
44 |
53 |
66 |
53 |
|
Engines |
157 |
--- |
77 |
86 |
115 |
175 |
129 |
|
Helicopters |
34 |
--- |
18 |
12 |
17 |
20 |
22 |
|
Air Tankers |
0 |
--- |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Overhead |
375 |
--- |
247 |
249 |
333 |
361 |
115 |
National/State Team Commitments
Newly listed fires (on this report) appear below in boldface. Fires are sorted by type of team; teams are listed in alphabetical order within each type by the IC's last name. Asterisks indicate state teams.
|
State |
Type |
Team IC |
Fire/Location |
Acres |
Acres |
Percent |
Est Full |
|
UT |
T1 |
Sexton |
Dammeron Complex |
---- |
1,000 |
0 |
UNK |
|
AZ |
T2 |
Kvale |
Three Forks Fire |
7,905 |
7,905 |
90 |
6/17 |
|
NM |
T2 |
Winchester |
Sedgwick Fire |
6,000 |
6,000 |
20 |
6/25 |
Further Information
This report is meant to present just highlights of the current fire situation. Two other NIFC sites provide much greater detail:
Full NIFC Situation Report (PDF file) — http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
National Fire News — http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
Information on the NPS Fire Management Program Center (FMPC) and on park fires can be found at:
FMPC — http://www.nps.gov/fire
Park fires — http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Temporary Winter Use Plan EA Process Begun
On Monday, the NPS announced that the public scoping phase has started for the Temporary Winter Use Plan Environmental Assessment (EA) for Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway. The temporary winter use plan will provide a management plan for winter use for an interim period, beginning with the 2004-2005 winter season, and will allow the NPS sufficient time to complete a long-term analysis of the environmental impacts of winter use in the parks.
The EA would examine the environmental impacts of a temporary winter use plan with strict limitations on snowmobiles and snowcoaches and would provide the public with some degree of certainty about winter use management for an interim period. It will also provide the NPS with sufficient time to collect additional monitoring data on strictly limited snowmobile and snowcoach use, which will be used in the long-term analysis and in a permanent regulation for winter use management in the three parks.
Public scoping will last for a period of 30 days. The NPS intends to have an EA available for a 30-day public review no later than August 20, 2004, with a proposed regulation with public review to be published in the Federal Register also in late August. A final decision and final regulation would be promulgated prior to the start of the 2004-2005 winter season on approximately December 15, 2004.
Public comments are being accepted on the issues and alternatives the EA should address. To be most useful, and because of the tight deadlines of the EA process, comments should be received by midnight, July 13, 2004 . Comments should be substantive, pertinent, and provide new information not available in earlier winter use planning processes.
Comments may be mailed to: Temporary Winter Use Plan, Management Assistant's Office, Yellowstone National Park, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190. Comments may also be submitted online by clicking on "More Information" below.
Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file, avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include "Attn: Temporary Winter Use Plan" and your name and return address in your Internet message. Your name and address will become part of the public record unless you specifically request that they be withheld.
[Submitted by Public Affairs, Yellowstone ] More Information...
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Intermountain Region
GS-025-09L Park Ranger
Dates: 06/10/2004 - 06/30/2004
Grand Canyon NP is recruiting for a person to fill the permanent, full-time GS-025-09L Tuweep Area Ranger position. This position - and the associated living situation - is not for the faint of heart. Tuweep remains one of the loveliest and loneliest of isolated high desert duty stations in the National Park Service. The ranger selected will live and work out of a beautiful stone house built in the 1930's five miles from a 3000 foot vertical drop down to the Colorado River and 61 miles down a desert dirt road. The 21st Century, along with most of its technological advantages, is left behind once you turn off the pavement of Highway 389. CAUTION: Those applying should do so with their eyes wide open. Want to learn more? Call Mark McCutcheon at 928-638-7872. [Submitted by Mark McCutcheon, mark_mccutcheon@nps.gov, 928-638-7872]
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (GA)
Passing of "Mo" Martin
Mike "Mo" Martin succumbed to cancer at his home in Morrow, Georgia, on Sunday morning, June 13th. Martin was a long time volunteer at Kennesaw Mountain and was vital to the park's Civil War living history program. He began volunteering at the park in December of 1979 and continued without fail until his death. His light-hearted spirit and ability to teach Civil War soldier life will be sorely missed among park staff and visitors alike. His knowledge of Civil War artillery and Park Service black powder safety guidelines will leave a void among other volunteers. He is survived by his mother, Betty Anne, son and daughter, Brad and Tracy, and a sister, Marcelle.
[Submitted by Paul Winegar]
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.