INCIDENTS

---

Boston National Historical Park (MA)
Convention Special Event Coverage Continues

National Park Service law enforcement rangers have been providing coverage at all park sites and have assisted with several special events. No incidents have been reported. A private reception sponsored by the Black Congressional Caucus was held at the Museum of Afro-American History at Boston African American NHS yesterday, and CNN broadcast its issue-oriented program "Crossfire" live from Pier 1 at Boston NHP. CBS Newspath arrived at Pier 1 at 2 a.m. this morning to prepare for live broadcasts from the USS Constitution from 5:00 to 9:30 a.m. EDT. The Democratic National Convention begins at the Fleet Center in Boston at 4:00 p.m.
[Submitted by Nancy Woods, Public Affairs Specialist]

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (AZ)
Follow-up on Eggle Homicide

On July 7th, pursuant to a plea agreement D.R.-L., a Mexican national, entered a plea of guilty to one count of aggravated assault (18 U.S.C. ß 113 (a) (3)), one count of discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. ß 924(c)), one count of interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle (19 U.S.C. ß 2312), and one count of aiding and abetting (18 U.S.C. ß 2).  D.R.-L. was arrested on August 9, 2002, in connection with the murder of ranger Kristopher Eggle. The sentencing is set for September 13th, and the sentencing range is ten to twenty years.  D.R.-L. was not charged with Eggle's murder because he had abandoned his weapon and was in custody prior to the homicide.
[Submitted by Susan Morton, Special Agent]

Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Pipe Safe Burglary Arrest, Investigation

In mid-May, Forest Service and BLM law enforcement officers and special agents launched an investigation into a large number of burglaries and thefts from pipe safes in campgrounds in Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Idaho. The standard MO included use of a welding torch and cutting instruments. Several campground pipe safes and numerous map safes were entered in this manner in Yellowstone during the week of July 2nd. Yellowstone agents and rangers subsequently joined in the investigation, which led to an arrest on July 20th. Investigators, however, still need information and reports from any parks that have had pipe safe thefts who haven't previously contacted agents. They are particularly interested in any recovered physical evidence. The point of contact is special agent Bruce Applin at 307-344-2121.
[Submitted by Brian Smith, Supervisory Special Agent]

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (AZ,UT)
Drowning and Near Drowning

Two brothers — ages twelve and nine — were walking along a steep slickrock shoreline near the mouth of Moqui Canyon when the older boy slipped and fell into the lake. His younger brother attempted to save him, but also slipped and fell in. The boys were not strong swimmers and were unable to climb back up the steep shoreline. The older boy was unable to help his brother, who disappeared under the water. The older boy's uncle heard his cries for help and was able to rescue him, but couldn't find the nine-year-old. The uncle took the older boy to Bullfrog and reported the incident to rangers. The twelve-year-old was then flown from the Bullfrog Clinic to a hospital in Price, where he was treated as a near drowning victim. Rangers/divers Laurie Axelsen, Jason Lux and Derek Dalrymple found the missing nine-year-old in 22 feet of water within the hour. The older boy was released form the hospital the next day and is expected to fully recover. The park and county sheriff's department are investigating.
[Submitted by Steve Luckesen, District Ranger, Uplake District]

Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL,MS)
Capture of Wanted Felon

On the evening of June 9th, ranger Gavin Chappel came upon a man — later identified as R.N.S. of Tennessee — who was violating a closure regulation. R.N.S. was cooperative at first and returned to his vehicle with Chappel. Chappel then attempted to identify him, which caused R.N.S. to become agitated and eventually to flee into the dunes. A search was conducted that evening, but he couldn't be found. An investigation led to his identification and also to the discovery that he was a wanted fugitive from Tennessee, where warrants were out for possession of narcotics and drug paraphernalia, manufacture of methamphetamine, felony possession of a firearm, and aggravated domestic assault. Information that Chappel collected on R.N.S. was forwarded to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and led to R.N.S.'s capture on July 9th by the local US Marshals' fugitive task force. NPS charges are pending.
[Submitted by J.D. Lee, Chief Ranger]

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (AZ,UT)
High-Speed Pursuit of Drunk Driver

Ranger Jared St. Clair stopped a vehicle at Lake Powell Motel on Highway 89 inside the park for a speeding violation just after 8 p.m. on July 2nd. The dispatcher told St. Clair that the vehicle's registration was expired and that the vehicle was uninsured. When St. Clair approached the vehicle, he noted that the driver — Lyle Holiday — and passenger were both intoxicated. Holiday was also seen to be making furtive movements to reach under his seat for an unknown object. St. Clair ordered him out of the car, but Holiday declined to comply and took off at high speed, nearly hitting the ranger. A pursuit ensued in which rangers St. Clair and Brendon Voss, Coconino County deputies and Arizona DPS officers chased Holiday for almost 24 miles at speeds up to 115 mph. Holiday at that point lost control of the vehicle and crashed. The passenger was ejected; Holiday was trapped inside. Following extrication, he was airlifted to a hospital in Flagstaff in critical condition. The passenger was flown to a hospital in Page, where he was released the following day. Charges were to be filed against Holiday for criminal damage, felony flight and aggravated DUI. The county sheriff's office is investigating. The passenger was charged with possession of a controlled substance and minor consumption of alcohol.
[Submitted by Rick Bennett, District Ranger, Downlake District]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

---

NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Preparedness Level 3

Initial attack was moderate in Alaska on Monday, but light elsewhere. Overall, 256 new fires were reported. Five became large fires.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

Weather Forecast

A mainly dry cold front will continue to press across the Northern Rockies today, keeping winds high from central Washington through northern Montana. Some

thunderstorm activity is also expected from north-central Montana southward through the Rocky Mountain and Southwest Areas. Conditions will remain quite dry south of the front in Oregon and California. Ahead of the cold front, windy and dry conditions will also spread over much of northern Minnesota, raising fire danger significantly today. In Alaska, one more day of high wind is expected on north slopes of the Alaska Range.

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

{||inc|http://data2.itc.nps.gov/fire/includes/bill_table.cfm||}

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	7/26	7/27	% Con	Est Con
AK	State	1	Anderson	Boundary Fire, Fairbanks Area	498,075	498,075	25	UNK
WA	USFS	1	Lohrey	Pot Peak Complex, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF	14,650	15,090	50	UNK
NV	USGS	1	Sexton	Robbers Fire, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF	---	1,500	NR	UNK
CA	State	1	Streblow @	Irongate Fire, CDF Siskiyou Unit	2,400	2,400	100	CND
AK	State	2	Bateman	Taylor Complex, Tok Area Forestry	470,267	865,430	10	UNK
WA	State	2	Berndt/ Andring	Lauderdale Fire, DNR/Southeast	150	250	90	7/28
AK	BLM	2	Furlong/ Gormley	Central Complex, Upper Yukon Zone	248,600	252,700	0	UNK
OR	BIA	2	West #	Log Springs Fire, Warm Springs Agency	1,400	2,500	0	UNK
CA	NPS	FU	Cook	Meadow Complex, Yosemite NP	4,584	4,634	N/A	N/A
MN	NPS	FU	Hall	Section 33 Fire, Voyageurs NP	331	400	N/A	N/A

@ California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection IMT
* Washington Interagency IMT
# Oregon Department of Forestry IMT

National Resource Commitments

Day	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue
Date	7/21	7/22	7/23	7/24	7/25	7/26	7/27
Crews	261	257	230	216	--	212	243
Engines	481	587	384	269	--	357	428
Helicopters	98	91	82	79	--	103	89
Air Tankers	0	2	0	0	--	1	0
Overhead	2,506	2,134	1,734	1,850	--	1,495	1,701

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

OPERATIONAL NOTES

---

Alaska Region
Alaskan Fires Burn On - With Little Relief Forecast

This week typically marks the beginning of the end for Alaska's fire season, but as the firefighters in the Interior say, this year has been anything but typical.

Normally, the weather pattern shifts and Bering Sea winds bring rain and humidity after the third week in July, making wildfires more manageable, but no such relief is in sight for this record-setting year in which 117 wildfires continue to blaze across the state.

The tab for the wildfire season is now estimated at $31.2 million, according to Callie Berg, a fire information officer with the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center. More than 3.85 million acres have burned across Alaska, making it the third-largest season since the state began keeping track.

And more blazes are igniting. Lightning strikes have touched off eight fires in the Interior since last Monday. One new blaze 29 miles north of Fairbanks spread from 80 acres on Monday to 4,500 acres Wednesday. Earlier in the month, some hot, dry days brought thousands of lightning strikes, starting multiple fires.

Northern Alaska's national park units have been among the areas with significant fire activity, particularly Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve and Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. The Eagle Complex of fires, consisting of 15 fires in and around the town of Eagle and Yukon-Charley, now totals an estimated 615,000 acres. About half the burned acreage is within the 2-million acre preserve.

Unlike most big fires in the Lower 48, the Eagle Complex has relatively little staffing, with about 180 personnel on the fires this week. Some of the firefighter work has been aimed at protecting historic buildings in Yukon-Charley, such as those at Coal Creek, and many more firefighters have worked on protecting homes and other structures near Eagle. Light rain on Wednesday and Thursday helped hold down the growth of fires near Eagle. Statewide, about 2,700 firefighters are assigned this week. The vast majority of the acreage involved is classified as areas where fires are monitored but not actively fought.

Bettles, south of Gates of the Arctic National Park, and many other northern Alaska communities have suffered through several weeks of dense smoke. Superintendent Dave Mills issued a travel advisory last week in Bettles cautioning potential park visitors that air and water transportation into and out of the park was spotty at best because of dense smoke and a fire near the small town that had grown to about 60,000 acres.

The Alaska Interagency Coordination Center reported diminished fire activity in many of the state's other major fire complexes early Wednesday due to smoke cover and higher humidity.

At least 641 homes, 85 commercial properties and 296 other structures across the state remain at risk, according to the Alaska National Guard. No serious injuries among firefighters have been reported.

While the acreage burned this year is significant, property loss has been relatively light. Sixteen secondary residences or cabins, two commercial properties and 17 other structures have been destroyed so far.
[Submitted by John Quinley, ARD/Communications]

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.