American Memorial Park (MP)
Typhoon Tingting Set to Hit Park
The National Weather Service issued a typhoon warning for Saipan and
a storm warning for Guam this weekend due to the imminent arrival of
Typhoon Tingting. The typhoon was expected to pass just north of Saipan
yesterday, but could also pass directly over the island. The park
accordingly began making preparations. Operations were suspended at the
Smiling Cove and Outer Cove marinas. Boats from around the area sought
refuge in the former, as it has been designated as the only safe small
boat harborage during typhoons.
[Submitted by Chuck Sayon, Site
Manager]
Zion National Park (UT)
Fatal Fall from Angel's Landing
On Friday, June 25th, Boy Scout K.J., 14, of Long Beach, California,
fell to his death from Angels Landing. Park dispatch received a call
reporting that a person had fallen from Angels Landing around 3 p.m.that
afternoon. Rangers were immediately dispatched to the scene. A search
and rescue operation was begun, employing a helicopter and a five person
technical search and rescue team. The boy's body was located from the
air and the technical rescue team was flown to the top of Angels Landing
to descend by ropes to that location. The team rappelled about
three-quarters of the way down the cliff face on Friday evening and
reached the body at 6 a.m.on Saturday morning. The body was then
airlifted out by helicopter. On Friday evening, the scout group was
taken to the LDS Church in nearby Springdale, where they were cared for
by park staff trained in critical incident stress debriefing and by
members of the Springdale Ward of the LDS Church. Angels Landing is a
popular hiking destination in the park. The vertical drop to the base of
the cliff is approximately 1,000 feet at the location of the fall. The
fatality is being investigated by the Washington County Sheriff's Office
in cooperation with the National Park Service.
[Submitted by Public Affairs Office]
Blue Ridge Parkway
Plane Crashes Near Rattlesnake Lodge
A private plane went down in Buncombe County on the night of
Thursday, June 24th. The county emergency operations center contacted
ranger Tim Francis early on Friday morning and told him that the plane
might have crashed in the park near Craggy Garden Visitor Center.
Meanwhile, the pilot had walked from the crash site to a local residence
and called 911. He reported that there was still a passenger in the
plane and that the passenger had a broken leg and possible spinal
injury. He was able to lead a search and rescue crew to the crash site,
which was near Rattlesnake Lodge at milepost 374. Rescuers stabilized
the passenger and evacuated him to the parkway via a park trail. He was
then taken to a hospital in Asheville. Ranger Tim Francis is working
with the FAA on the crash site investigation.
[Submitted by Chief
Rangers Office]
Lake Mead National Recreation Area (AZ,NV)
Two Drownings and a Near Drowning
The park reports two drownings and a near-drowning over the past two weeks:
June 11 — The body of T.S., 37, was recovered near Lake
Mead Marina. Selden disappeared on June 9th and was believed to have
drowned after she and her daughter were blown off their air mattress
near Saddle Cove. Neither was wearing a lifejacket. The daughter was
rescued.
June 19 — Dispatch received a 911 call via Las Vegas Metro
dispatch, reporting that a patio boat was adrift in Boulder Basin with
people on board and in the water. An immediate water and air search was
begun. When rangers arrived, they learned what had happened: A.F.
had been washed overboard by a wave while riding on the bow of the
boat. Her husband, Kenneth, who was operating the boat at the time,
grabbed a lifejacket and jumped into the water. None of the remaining
passengers could operate the vessel, nor were any familiar with the
area. About 45 minutes elapsed before A.F. was spotted from the
park plane and rescued by rangers. During that time, K.F., who
was not wearing a lifejacket, disappeared below the surface. Winds were
blowing at about 20 mph at the time, and the waves were running one to
two feet. The search for A.F. was unsuccessful. The water at this point
is about 300 feet deep.
June 25 — Staff at Overton Beach Marina received a report of a
drowning at Ann Margaret Beach. A concession employee notified park
dispatch, then responded on jet ski. Rangers and rescue units were
dispatched. A 17-year-old Boy Scout who'd been playing in about eight
feet of water went under and did not resurface. Another Scout dove twice
and eventually found the boy face down on the bottom of the lake. He
pulled him to shore, and CPR was begun. He soon resumed breathing in
irregular and wheezing breaths and was taken to Overton Beach in a
visitor's boat. Rangers then transported him to an ambulance, where he
was intubated, then transferred to Mercy Air Helicopter. He was flown to
Sunrise Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition at the time
of the report. Witnesses said that he'd had a life jacket on earlier in
the day, but not at the time of the accident.
[Submitted by Mary
Hinson, Acting Deputy Chief Ranger]
War In The Pacific National Historical Park (GU)
Man Indicted for Burglary in Park Facility
On December 9, 2003, a thief broke into the park's
maintenance/administrative compound, located across the highway
from Asan Beach, and stole about $10,000 worth of government property,
including cellular phones, digital still and video cameras, and SCUBA
gear. An NPS special agent identified a suspect — I.T.
— by tracking cellular phone calls made on the stolen phones and by
employing other investigative techniques. When confronted by the agent,
I.T. confessed to the break-in. On June 16th, I.T. was indicted by a
grand jury on charges of theft of government property. He was arrested
by warrant the next day. When the break-in occurred, I.T. was on
supervised release from a federal probation office and performing
community service in the park. Other agencies assisting in the
investigation included the Department of Homeland Security/TSA and the
U.S. Probation Office.
[Submitted by Scott Hinson, SAC, PWRO]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report Highlights — Monday, June 28, 2004
Preparedness Level 2
Initial attack was moderate in southern California and the eastern Great Basin yesterday. A total of 288 new fires were reported nationally.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
Warnings and Watches
No warnings or watches posted today.
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
|
Date |
6/22 |
6/23 |
6/24 |
6/25 |
6/26 |
6/27 |
6/28 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crews |
58 |
62 |
87 |
130 |
149 |
135 |
145 |
|
Engines |
90 |
112 |
151 |
142 |
197 |
171 |
187 |
|
Helicopters |
34 |
39 |
47 |
65 |
69 |
74 |
81 |
|
Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Overhead |
389 |
364 |
401 |
409 |
404 |
365 |
532 |
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.
|
ST |
AGCY |
TM |
IC |
Fire/Location |
6/27 |
6/28 |
% |
Est |
|
AZ |
USFS |
1 |
Oltrogge |
Nuttall Fire |
----- |
300 |
0 |
UNK |
|
AZ |
USFS |
1 |
Whitney |
Willow Fire |
----- |
14,200 |
0 |
UNK |
|
UT |
BLM |
2 |
Broyles |
Square Complex |
----- |
12,000 |
0 |
7/4 |
|
NV |
USFS |
2 |
Brunner |
Cole Complex |
----- |
2,188 |
45 |
6/29 |
|
AK |
BLM |
2* |
Jandt |
Solstice Complex |
134,310 |
225,740 |
0 |
UNK |
|
CA |
USFS |
2 |
Kerr |
Crag Fire |
600 |
786 |
73 |
6/30 |
|
AK |
State |
2* |
Kurth |
Taylor Complex |
125,000 |
218,000 |
0 |
UNK |
|
| ||||||||
|
WA |
USFS |
FU |
Cook |
Freezeout Fire |
500 |
2,500 |
40 |
UNK |
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 NPS Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) and on park fires can be found at:
FAM — http://www.nps.gov/fire
Park fires — http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Long Jim Rx Fire (Wildland Fire)
Prescribed fire that developed spots north of fire with suppression actions taken immediately. (full report)
Fire has shown no activity, this is last report
Acreage: 285
Estimated containment date: 05/09/2004
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Servicewide Training
Operations Training Opportunities
This calendar appears in Monday editions of the Morning Report and InsideNPS. Please note:
- New and revised entries are in bold face.
- Submissions for other training courses should conform to the style used here.
- Please include the URL to the web sites where readers can obtain the requisite forms and/or find out additional information about the training course. If a URL is not specifically listed, the announcement can likely be found on the Learning Place, the NPS training page found at http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc.
- Closing dates for applications are underscored.
**********************************************************************************************
July
---
August
August 9 — August 13: Fundamentals of Special Park Uses, Albuquerque, NM. Sign-up deadline on My Learning Manager is June 30th. [Lee Dickinson, WASO]
September
---
October
October 4 — October 8: National Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (XP-WFOCD-501), Harrisburg, PA. NWCG training in wildland fire investigations. The course will include lectures, case studies and practical exercises. Closes on August 26th. For more information, contact Wiley Golden (912-267-2246) or JR Tomasovic (912-554-4694) at FLETC. [Wiley Golden, NPS/FLETC]
October 18 — October 22: National Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (XP-WFOCD-502), Nashville, TN. NWCG training in wildland fire investigations. The course will include lectures, case studies and practical exercises. Closes on September 2nd. For more information, contact Wiley Golden (912-267-2246) or JR Tomasovic (912-554-4694) at FLETC. [Wiley Golden, NPS/FLETC]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Pinnacles National Monument (CA)
GS-9 Law Enforcement Ranger
Pinnacles National Monument is seeking interested applicants for a lateral reassignment opportunity as a GS-9 field protection ranger. The emphasis will be on patrol of visitor use and park backcountry areas. The protection operation encompasses law enforcement, EMS, wildland fire, and SAR. There are a moderate number of EMS and LE incidents. Knowledge and experience and/or interest in wildland fire would be a plus An EMTB certification and climbing experience would be helpful but not required. There are many opportunities to interface with a variety of resource issues including the release and protection of condors, wilderness, over flight issues, and ARPA. This is a required occupancy position If you are interested in pursuing such a reassignment, please submit an application to Pinnacles NM, 5000 Highway 146, Paicines, CA 95043, Attn. Dana Sullivan by June 30th. Contact Protection Operations Supervisor Dana Sullivan at 831-389-4485 ext. 237 for more information on the position.[Submitted by Dana Sullivan, Protection Operations Supervisor]
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.