Cape Cod National Seashore (MA)
Seasonal Worker Killed in Accident
Seasonal maintenance worker Luis Bonilla, 22, of Gardner,
Massachusetts, was killed in a motor vehicle accident shortly after
midnight on July 14th as he was returning
home to his seasonal park quarters. Bonilla was working his second
season at the park on the janitorial crew. Roads were wet at the time,
as it had been raining during the evening. The accident is still under
investigation, but preliminary indications are that excessive speed was
a contributing factor. Eastham PD is conducting the
investigation.
[Submitted by Chief Rangers Office]
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Death of Canyon Runner
On Thursday, July 8th, Chicago resident M.L.B., 24, and a companion began a day run from the South Rim on the Grandview Trail with the objective of crossing the Tonto Plateau and returning to the rim via the South Kaibab Trail — a 27-mile circuit. The runners had five quarts of water between them, but ran out sometime during mid-afternoon. At that point, M.L.B. and her companion decided to separate. She then attempted to make it down to Phantom Ranch to reach water and assistance; he spent the night in the canyon, suffering from dehydration and exhaustion, then managed to reach the South Kaibab Trail, where he sought the assistance of a USGS employee who was hiking out of the canyon. She used her satellite phone to contact park personnel and get directions to a water cache at Tipoff. No information was provided about their itinerary, nor that M.L.B. was missing. He believed that she'd gone on to Phantom Ranch, so asked a trail crew employee to leave a message at the ranch telling her that he'd abandoned his hike, but would shuttle her car back to the South Kaibab Trailhead for her return trip to Flagstaff. M.L.B. was reported missing to Flagstaff PD when she failed to meet her family there on Friday. Flagstaff PD then notified the park, where search efforts were immediately begun. Search dog handlers Marsha and Denny Bratcher from Page, Arizona, were flown to Grand Canyon by Glen Canyon NRA pilot Jim Traub. Ranger Chuck Sypher and court officer Jennifer Sypher interviewed M.L.B.'s companion in Flagstaff and were able to immediately relay information on where to focus search efforts. The park's helicopter was launched, with pilot Mike Brinkworth, helicopter manager Mark Murray, paramedic Tom Clausing and helitacker Mark Peck on board. They located M.L.B.'s body in Cremation Creek between the Tonto Trail and the Colorado River, a thousand feet below the trail. M.L.B. had negotiated three pour-offs (dry waterfalls) while heading toward the river and apparently became stranded above a fourth pour-off which could not be negotiated. The Coconino Country medical examiner has determined her death to have been accidental, caused by dehydration due to environmental heat exposure. The temperature at Phantom Ranch on July 8th reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit. M.L.B. was in excellent physical condition, had been recently featured as an athlete of the month in a Chicago athlete magazine article, and had run the Boston Marathon with a time of 3:05. She had come to Northern Arizona for high altitude training. Running in the canyon is most popular in the fall months. Marc Yeston was incident commander.[Submitted by Ken Phillips, SAR Coordinator]
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site (KY)
Storm Damage
A thunderstorm with high winds passed over the park on the evening of
July 13th, uprooting many trees and tearing down powerlines throughout
the area. The park reports many trees down and limbs and debris
scattered throughout the site. The visitor center suffered roof damage
from falling limbs, but water damage was minimal due to the limited
amount of rain accompanying the storm. The park has been closed since
the storm's passage and efforts are currently underway to remove downed
trees and debris and fix the roof. Due to the extent of power outages,
the power company has not been able to specify when power will be
restored.
[Submitted by Ken Apschnikat, Superintendent]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Friday, July 16, 2004
Preparedness Level 3
Initial attack was moderate in Alaska on Thursday and light elsewhere. There were 272 newly-reported fires, with three becoming large fires. Four other large fires were contained.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
Warnings and Watches
No warnings or watches have been issued for today.
NPS Fires
For a brief supplemental narrative on each fire, click on the bar with the arrow. Internal NPS readers can link directly to full reports on each fire by clicking on the notepad icon; public readers of the Morning Report can obtain similar information by going to http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
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National/State Team Commitments
Newly listed fires (on this report) appear below in boldface. Changes in the status of a fire (type of team, change from a fire to a complex, etc.) are also noted in boldface.
Fires are sorted by type of team; teams are listed in alphabetical order within each type by the IC's last name.
|
State |
Agency |
Team |
IC |
Fire and Location |
7/15 |
7/16 |
% Con |
Est Con |
|
CA |
State |
1 |
Gelobter |
Pine Fire, Los Angeles County |
7,014 |
10,290 |
40 |
UNK |
|
AK |
State |
1 |
Hart |
Boundary Fire, Fairbanks Area |
379,450 |
379,760 |
18 |
UNK |
|
AK |
State |
2 |
Chrisman |
Central Complex, Tok Area Forestry |
100,000 |
160,000 |
0 |
UNK |
|
AK |
State |
2 |
Kurth |
Taylor Complex, Tok Area Forestry |
751,755 |
777,977 |
NR |
8/1 |
|
WA |
USFS |
2 |
Johnson ** |
Pot Peak Fire, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
10,700 |
11,000 |
65 |
UNK |
|
CA |
State |
2 |
McCormick |
Verbenia Fire, Riverside Unit |
3,690 |
3,833 |
95 |
7/17 |
|
AZ |
USFS |
2 |
Philbin |
Willow Fire, Tonto NF |
119,500 |
119,500 |
95 |
7/17 |
|
NV |
USFS |
2 |
Scheuerman |
Waterfall Fire, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF |
2,000 |
8,500 |
0 |
UNK |
|
ID |
USFS |
2 |
Suwyn |
Dollar Fire, Boise NF |
250 |
350 |
0 |
UNK |
|
AZ |
USFS |
2 |
Winchester |
Nuttall Complex, Coronado NF |
29,400 |
29,400 |
80 |
7/18 |
|
AK |
BLM |
FU |
Bird |
Solstice Complex, Upper Yukon Zone |
502,951 |
502,951 |
5 |
UNK |
|
AK |
BLM |
FU |
Cones |
Eagle Complex, Upper Yukon Zone |
503,369 |
574,707 |
NR |
UNK |
|
CA |
NPS |
FU |
Cook |
Meadow Fire, Yosemite NP |
1,700 |
3,000 |
NR |
11/1 |
|
CO |
BLM |
FU |
Weldon |
Oil Springs Fire, White River Field Office |
790 |
792 |
N/A |
N/A |
* CDF Type 1 IMT
** Washington Interagency IMT
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
|
Date |
7/10 |
7/11 |
7/12 |
7/13 |
7/14 |
7/15 |
7/16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crews |
180 |
166 |
147 |
211 |
237 |
274 |
279 |
|
Engines |
200 |
190 |
231 |
435 |
497 |
459 |
520 |
|
Helicopters |
78 |
71 |
81 |
94 |
102 |
114 |
128 |
|
Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
|
Overhead |
1,783 |
1,732 |
1,748 |
1,838 |
1,932 |
1,901 |
2,066 |
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
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Crater Lake National Park (OR)
Resource and Visitor Protection Detail
Dates: 07/16/2004 - 08/16/2004
Crater Lake National Park is seeking a permanent or seasonal commissioned resource and visitor protection ranger to serve a one to two month detail during August and possibly September. This is a beautiful time of year to experience Crater Lake! The park will cover travel and salary as appropriate. Applicant must have supervisor's approval to be considered
For more information, contact Pete Reinhardt, Ranger Operations Supervisor at (541)594-3056 or peter_reinhardt@nps.gov .
[Submitted by Pete Reinhardt, peter_reinhardt@nps.gov, (541)594-3056]
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.