INCIDENTS

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Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL,MS)
Update on Hurricane Ivan Recovery

Gordon Wissinger's Eastern incident management team will travel to the park today to begin transition with Rick Brown's Eastern team (the three Eastern regions — SER, NCR and NER — jointly field three trans-regional teams which are on rotation for field assignments). Brown's team has been on-site since three days after Hurricane Ivan hit the northern Gulf Coast.

Additional members of the cultural assessment team arrived Tuesday night and are now in a spike camp on Santa Rosa Island, documenting damage to historic structures.

Almost 3,000 cubic yards of debris have been removed from the visitor center/headquarters area at Naval Live Oaks — just a small percentage of what remains to be cleaned up in the future. Deputy superintendent Nina Kelson and chief of interpretation Gail Bishop will guide members of the local media through the Fort Pickens area today for their first close-up look at the damage.

The cost of the incident has reached $1 million, with almost 250 people assigned and several contracts being let for decking and pier construction.

Office trailers for headquarters staff will begin arriving tomorrow.

The Eastern National relief donation account now has more than $16,000 in it and several park employees had funds wired into their accounts on Tuesday.[Submitted by Peter Givens, IO, Eastern IMT]

Denali National Park & Preserve (AK)
Arrest of Concession Employees

On August 30th, rangers arrested two park concession employees for felony theft and misappropriation of property. Lithuanian nationals E.D. and A.B., who were in the country on J-1 visas, were hired to clean concession tour buses. An investigation revealed that the pair would board empty buses which had just returned from tours and take any valuable items  unintentionally left on the buses by visitors. They would then sell the items to other concession employees. Rangers executed a search warrant of the suspects' residence and recovered $3,500 worth of stolen cameras, binoculars and cell phones. The two had also placed $1,000 in calls to Lithuania using the stolen phones. They each pled guilty to 17 counts of misdemeanor theft and to two counts of misappropriation of property; each was sentenced to 15 days in jail and ordered to pay $1,500 each in restitution to the park. At the conclusion of their sentences, both defendants were turned over to the INS for deportation. Other concession employees were implicated in the theft ring but not charged. Ranger John Leonard led the investigation, assisted by district ranger Ann Marie Chytra.
[Submitted by Peter Armington, Chief Ranger]

Blue Ridge Parkway
Hurricane Jeanne Cleanup Progresses

The parkway reopened between Asheville and Mt. Mitchell State Park yesterday, as did the 26-mile section of the parkway between US23/74 near Waynesville and Cherokee. Campgrounds and picnic areas also reopened, except for the campground at Crabtree Meadows, which is expected to open Friday, and those at Linville Falls, where most facilities, including trails, visitor center and restrooms, will remain closed for the season. The water system at the Linville Falls campground is under repair, and this campground may reopen. An update will be issued if that occurs.

The firm of Taylor and Murphy is removing the slide at mile 413, just south of US 276. Technicians with the Federal Highway Administration are also drilling at the collapsed roadway sections to determine the geological stability of those areas. This analysis is necessary before repairs can be engineered.

Approximately 50 miles of the Parkway remain closed:  From Linville Falls at US 221 to just north of NC 226 near Spruce Pine (mile 317-325), from NC 80 near Marion to Mt. Mitchell (mile 344-355), and from US 276 below Mt. Pisgah to US 23/74 near Waynesville (mile 412-443). 

All visitor centers and concessioner-operated facilities are open. Trails are being assessed; those at Price Lake and Boone Fork are closed. 

Updates on road and facility openings will be issued.  Road closures and conditions are also available by calling the park's information line at 828-298-0398.
[Submitted by Phil Noblitt, Public Affairs Officer]

Yosemite National Park (CA)
Search for Lost Hiker

J.B., 61, of Aptos, California, hiked to Half Dome on September 19th as part of a large, loosely organized group of sponsored hikers for a charity. While descending, she got off the trail somewhere below the shoulder of the dome and was last seen about 1:00 p.m. during an unseasonable early snow storm. J.B. was not equipped to spend the night out in cold conditions. A large scale search was started in the late morning under clearing skies when J.B. was reported overdue. Searchers found her in the Lost Lake area on the back (south) side of Half Dome within two hours of the initial report. When she was picked up by the park's fire management helicopter, she was moderately hypothermic, tired and hungry. About 20 minutes after she was rescued, a second snow storm swept through the area.
[Submitted by Leslie Reynolds, IC]

Lake Mead National Recreation Area (AZ,NV)
Domestic Violence Conviction

On September 9th, K.G.S., 54, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pled guilty to battery domestic violence in Las Vegas Justice Court and was given the minimum sentence for a second domestic violence conviction — 90 days suspended sentence, pending good behavior for a year; a $560 fine; 10 days' house arrest; community service; and mandatory domestic violence counseling. His conviction was based on an assault he committed against his wife while they were camping along the shoreline of Lake Mead on June 23rd. She was able to escape with the help of friends who responded by boat to pick her up, transport her back to the marina, and take her to a hospital for treatment of her injuries (internal and external bruising). When interviewed at the hospital, she said that she did not want to file charges against her husband. Additional interviews were conducted with friends of the victim involved in the rescue. The case was originally submitted the United States Attorneys Office for prosecution. In consultation with that office, the decision was made to take the case to the Clark County District Attorneys Office for prosecution under the state of Nevada's domestic violence law.[Submitted by Scott Hinson]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Thursday, September 30, 2004

Preparedness Level 2

Initial attack remains light. Only one of the 135 newly-reported fires escaped initial attack. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Nebraska and Nevada.

Presidential disaster declarations have been issued and are in effect for Hurricane Frances in Florida; for Hurricane Ivan in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi; and for Hurricane Jeanne in Florida.

Weather Forecast

An upper low pressure system over the Great Basin will continue to produce scattered thunderstorms from the Sierra to Rockies, including Arizona and New Mexico. A cold front dropping down out of Canada will bring gusty winds and showers to portions of Montana.

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/Incident and Location	9/28	9/30	% Con	Est Con
FL	FEMA	ACT	Ribar	Hurricane Response, Orlando	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Frye	Hurricane Response, NAS Jacksonville	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Hart	Hurricane Response, Saufley Field NAS	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T1	Kearney	Hurricane Response, Martin County	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AL	FEMA	T1	Lohrey	Hurricane Response, Baldwin County	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AL	FEMA	T1	Sexton	Hurricane Response, Maxwell AFB	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T2 @	Beauchamp	Hurricane Recovery, Indian River County	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T2 *	Cline	Hurricane Response, Saufley Field NAS	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T2 @	Johnson	Hurricane Recovery, St. Lucie County	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FL	FEMA	T2 @	Jones	Hurricane Recovery, Polk County	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AL	FEMA	T2	Mullenix	Hurricane Response, Central Alabama	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

@ Florida state team

* Georgia state team

National Resource Commitments

Day	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu
Date	9/24	9/25	9/26	9/27	9/28	9/29	9/30
Crews	43	87	89	40	38	42	32
Engines	60	69	72	39	56	56	46
Helicopters	7	20	13	10	10	14	12
Air Tankers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Overhead	677	913	883	809	740	777	874

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

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Alaska Region
GS-9/11/12 Protection/Pilot Position

Adventure beckons! Experience travel by small fixed-wing & rotor aircraft, dog sled, snow machine, ATV's, and motorized and non-motorized boats. Enjoy rural town life north of the Arctic Circle. Try world-class fishing. Help manage spectacular natural and cultural resources. Find out what it's like to live with 24 hours of daylight in the summer, & 24 hours of moonlight during the winter. Gaze at the Aurora Borealis. Experience the challenges--and rewards--of living in a remote setting that is off the beaten path.

Western Arctic National Parklands is seeking applications from people eligible for a full-time position of Park Ranger (Protection/Airplane Pilot), GS-025-9/11/12. Applicants must hold, or be eligible to obtain, a Type I commission, be an OAS certified pilot (or be able to obtain OAS certification within a short time) and meet the qualification requirements outlined in the job announcements.

Western Arctic National Parklands comprises 4 national parks in northwest Alaska. The duty station is Kotzebue, Alaska. Like some other Alaska parks, there are no roads to Kotzebue. It's a small bush community with the typical facilities you would expect of a remote town with a population of less than 1,000. Park housing is available.

This assignment provides a rare opportunity to experience a memorable lifestyle. Other perks -- because of the remote location, employees in Alaska receive a non-taxable 25% cost-of-living allowance in addition to base pay. Also, don't think you're going so far away that you won't see family in the contiguous 48 states while you're living in the Land of the Last Frontier. Tour renewal travel is provided to employees who relocate from outside Alaska to parks in Alaska. This means that transportation costs are provided for round trip travel for employees & their immediate family to travel outside Alaska after completing 2 years of continuous service at the park. (Entitlement is limited to 2 round-trips within the first 5 years of continuous duty in Alaska, and is based on the equivalent of round-trip costs between the employee's home of record and duty station in Alaska.).

And, if you are currently employed by the National Park Service, this position is covered by the Return Rights policy as outlined in HR Bulletin Number 03-8 dated 10/28/03. This policy applies to all current NPS career and career-conditional employees who transfer from a NPS unit (park or office) within the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia to remote sites within a Non-Foreign area (this includes Alaska). Under this policy, current National Park Service employees will be given the opportunity to return to the region they were in prior to accepting the position in Alaska. To be eligible for return rights, the employee must complete a minimum tour of three calendar years at the Alaska park, and may elect a possible two year extension.

Transportation: Moving expenses will be covered in accordance with Federal travel regulations.For specific information about the position or the area, please contact Chief Ranger Lindy Russell at (907)442-8311. If you are interested in applying for the position, there are four announcements for this position open in the OPM web site, USAJOBS. The announcement numbers are :WEAR-04-74MP; WEAR-04-75MP (open to Federal employees with competitive status) and WEAR-04-76DE and WEAR-04-77DE open to all qualified U. S. Citizens. Please read the "how to Apply" section on these announcements to decide which you should apply to.

Quyanaq (Inupiaq for thank you).
[Submitted by Lindy Russell, lindy_russell@nps.gov, 907-442-8311]

Alaska Region
Jed Davis Named Wrangell-St. Elias Superintendent

A veteran National Park Service manager has been named superintendent of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest unit in the national park system and visitor destination of increasing popularity.

Jed Davis began his National Park Service career in 1971 as a seasonal at Grand Canyon National Park. He has held major facility management positions for the Service at Mount Rainier, Capital Reef, Glen Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Isle Royale and Death Valley National Parks. He has been called on to serve in many management detail assignments including the assistant superintendent position at Denali National Park and Preserve. For the last 4 years, Davis has been the deputy superintendent at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. He will begin his new position in November.

With headquarters in Copper Center, the 13.2 million acre park and preserve stretches from the Copper River to the Canadian border and from the Gulf of Alaska to nearly the Alaska Highway. "I am honored to have the support and confidence shown to me by the Service with this assignment. The challenges are certainly great but I look forward to working with a very talented and dedicated staff, our partners and the truly unique local communities that are greater than any challenge," Davis said. " I expect to continue the work of developing a park that demonstrates the overwhelming beauty and wildness of Alaska; a park that demonstrates vast wilderness, rich history and a subsistence lifestyle that goes to the core of how man has and can continue to live in accord with the environment."

"Jed exemplifies the manager who understands contemporary concerns regarding access and Bush living, and he's a clear match for what I heard from local residents as I looked for a person who would meet their expectations as well as those of the Service," said NPS Alaska Regional Director Marcia Blaszak. The park receives about 45,000 visitors a year and is developing new visitor facilities. A visitor center and headquarters building recently opened in Copper Center, and major restoration and stabilization work is underway at the historic Kennecott copper mine near the center of the park. Davis enjoys hunting and is an avid fisherman. He currently holds a subsistence permit for the Gustavus area. He and his wife, Nancy, have three adult children, Ben, Abe and Bethan, all of them living in Alaska.
[Submitted by Jane Tranel, jane_tranel@nps.gov, 907-644-3513]

National Capital Region
Regional Director Terry Carlstrom To Retire in January

Regional Director Terry Carlstrom recently announced his plan to retire effective January 3, 2005.  Terry has been the Regional Director at National Capital Region for the last eight years, culminating 32 years of service with the National Park Service, and a 41 year career in Federal Service.  

Both Director Mainella and Secretary Norton had the opportunity to recognize and congratulate Regional Director Carlstrom at the National Leadership Council meeting held in Washington on September 15 and 16.  

A retirement celebration is being planned for early January 2005 in Washington DC.  More information will follow on the event, as well as additional information on Regional Director Carlstrom's career with the National Park Service.

Also, Director Mainella is pleased to announce that Joe Lawler has been appointed as the next Regional Director at the National Capital Region, succeeding Terry immediately upon his retirement.  Joe has served as NCR's Deputy Regional Director for the last eight years and has a 30 year career with the National Park Service, which includes twenty years of field experience and three superintendent positions.

And completing the transition of top management positions at the National Capital Region, Lisa Mendelson-Ielmini, Associate to the Director since November 2002, has accepted the position of Deputy Regional Director, also effective on January 3, 2005.  Prior to her selection as Associate to the Director Ms. Mendelson-Ielmini was a member of the management team at National Capital Parks-Central.

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.