Dry Tortugas National Park (FL)
Post-Hurricane Recovery Continues
Storm damage assessment, clean-up and logistical support continue.
The worst of Hurricane Charley struck the park near high tide. The
government docks at Garden Key, the site of Fort Jefferson, were badly
damaged. The main dock was also damaged, but is being used by the park
and incident management team. Everglades firefighters have completed
debris cleanup on the parade ground and have shifted their attention
outside the old brick fortress, starting with the campground, which was
severely pummeled by the storm. Downed trees and debris are being
cleared. A division supervisor, squad boss and squad of four
firefighters are providing labor; two carpenters and an electrician make
up a task force of technical specialists. A diesel mechanic joined the
group yesterday to begin repairs to generators damaged by the storm.
[Submitted by Barb Stewart, PIO, Eastern IMT]
Big Thicket National Preserve (TX)
Investigation into Illegal Dumping
An investigation is underway into a major case of illegal dumping in
the park. Approximately 60 to 100 dump truck loads of debris from the
demolition of a nearby, 30's era high school and gymnasium were dumped
on four private lots adjacent to the Neches River. The debris,
consisting of large concrete blocks, brick walls and even old school
lockers, then spread down the bank and into the river. A Texas Parks and
Wildlife environmental crimes unit was headed to the park at the time of
the report (Tuesday). An evidentiary search warrant will be issued to
permit law enforcement agencies to collect needed evidence from the
private property. The Corps of Engineers will be conducting its own
investigation and will likely file charges under both the Clean Water
Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act.
[Submitted by Cathy Guivas]
Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area (KY,TN)
Two Caught Looting Rock Shelter
On Sunday, August 22nd, rangers arrested D.G. and J.C.,
both of Burnside, Kentucky, for digging up and removing
artifacts from one of the park's numerous prehistoric rock shelters.
While on patrol, rangers had earlier noted signs of fresh digging in the
shelter, one of many that they monitor. Additional patrols were
subsequently made in hopes of catching the thieves. A ranger checking
the site on Sunday saw D.G. and J.C. digging there. They were
arrested on ARPA charges after being observed and taped for about 30
minutes.
[Submitted by Steven Seven]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Preparedness Level 3
Initial attack was light everywhere yesterday, with only 86 new fires reported. Two became large fires; two other large fires were contained.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported yesterday in Alaska, California, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Weather Forecast
A storm system will spread showers across the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. Gusty winds are expected from the Sierra across the Great Basin into the
Rocky Mountains. In Alaska, strong winds are once again expected across the interior due to a dry cold front moving through the region.
Warnings and Watches
A RED FLAG WARNING has been posted today for strong northeast winds in portions of northern, central and eastern interior Alaska.
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/Incident and Location |
8/23 |
8/25 |
% Con |
Est Con |
|
WA |
USFS |
1 |
Anderson |
Fischer Fire, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
16,422 |
16,439 |
95 |
UNK |
|
AK |
BLM |
1 |
Frye |
Central Complex, Upper Yukon Zone |
427,000 |
452,100 |
20 |
UNK |
|
FL |
FEMA |
1 |
Ferguson |
Hurricane Charley recovery |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
WA |
USFS |
1 |
Lohrey |
Williams Butte Complex, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
1,250 |
2,088 |
50 |
UNK |
|
WA |
USFS |
1 |
Lohrey |
Freezeout Complex, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
818 |
838 |
17 |
UNK |
|
FL |
State |
2 |
Beauchamp |
Hurricane Charley, Charlotte County |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
AK |
State |
2 |
Blume |
Camp Creek Fire, Delta Area |
----- |
161,253 |
40 |
9/30 |
|
FL |
State |
2 |
Crow |
Hurricane Charley, DeSoto County |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
WA |
USFS |
2 |
Jennings/ |
Pot Peak Complex, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF |
47,470 |
47,470 |
85 |
UNK |
|
FL |
State |
2 |
Koehler |
Hurricane Charley, City of Lakeland |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
AK |
State |
2 |
Jandt |
Taylor Highway Complex, Tok Area Forestry |
1,203,427 |
1,239,857 |
2 |
UNK |
|
FL |
State |
2 |
Jones |
Hurricane Charley, Hardee County |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
OR |
State |
2 |
Mair * |
Bland Mountain #2, state lands. |
3,666 |
4,677 |
70 |
UNK |
|
FL |
NPS |
2 |
Panko |
Hurricane Charley, Dry Tortugas NP |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
OR |
USFS |
FU |
Hall |
Eagle Cap Complex, Wallowa-Whitman NF |
872 |
872 |
N/A |
N/A |
* State incident management team
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
|
Date |
8/19 |
8/20 |
8/21 |
8/22 |
8/23 |
8/24 |
8/25 |
|
|
|||||||
|
Crews |
295 |
316 |
229 |
225 |
237 |
189 |
185 |
|
Engines |
573 |
639 |
451 |
461 |
340 |
246 |
233 |
|
Helicopters |
139 |
135 |
94 |
116 |
90 |
74 |
62 |
|
Air Tankers |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Overhead |
2,509 |
2,806 |
1,914 |
2,479 |
2,350 |
1,982 |
1,552 |
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
National Capital Region
NCR Forms Museum Emergency Response Team
Regional Director Terry Carlstrom, National Capital Region, has announced the formation of the first formalized Museum Emergency Response Team in the National Park Service. This team, led by Pam West, Director, Museum Resource Center, includes highly skilled and motivated cultural and natural resource professionals who can respond to incidents, such as natural disasters or special events, which may threaten or endanger our museum collections. Participants are from NCR parks, the Regional Office, the Harpers Ferry Center Conservation Laboratories, the Washington Office Museum Management Program and the Museum Resource Center. This leadership team will include members with expertise in the areas of collections management, archeology, archives, natural history, historic preservation, data base management, conservation, finance, maintenance, and other cultural resource management related backgrounds.
The idea for the team was formed in direct response to the impact Hurricane Isabel had upon the cultural resources of Colonial National Historic Park (stored on Jamestown Island). Over one million artifacts were flooded under five feet of salty water. Ms. West and many of the National Capital Region (NCR) curators and archeologists participated in the recovery efforts of this collection, alongside Sara Wolf, Director, Northeast Museum Service Center. This was the first time a large cultural resource team was assembled and participated to that extent at a Type 1 Incident Command (IC) Team. At the Hurricane Isabel debriefing, the role of cultural resource personnel as part of Incident Command Teams was reviewed. It was noted that there is a definite need to have an organized response available from the cultural resource community.
Ms. West and a planning group have been working for 8 months to develop this team and will present a training class the week of August 23-27. Each team member will have an Incident Response Kit available with personal protection equipment and supplies and tools necessary to be a first responder. Members have been selected based on their Incident Command experience, IC training, skill level and potential contribution to the parks in a time of crisis. In addition to responding to an incident, team members will also be available to assist NCR parks in pre-planning for park museum emergencies. It is hoped that this pre-planning will prevent or mitigate a disaster in NCR parks.
[Submitted by Pam West, Pam_West@nps.gov, 301-341-0706]
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.