Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Park Memorial Service Held for Dan Holmes
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks hosted a memorial service for wildland firefighter Daniel Holmes on Saturday, October 23rd.
The service was held at Kelly's Beach along the Kings River in Reedley, California. Over 700 people attended, including Daniel's mother, brother, girlfriend, members of 29 interagency hotshot crews and representatives from the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Department of Defense, Kern County Fire, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ventura County Fire Department, and the City of Dinuba.
The service began with a procession of Arrowhead crew members, past and present, escorting Dan's family through two long lines formed by all who attended the memorial.
Speeches were delivered by Richard Martin, superintendent of Sequoia-Kings Canyon; John Kraushaar, deputy FMO for Pacific West Region; David Bartlett, FMO, Kings Canyon District; and Brit Rosso, Arrowhead superintendent. Remembering a safety message posted in Arrowhead's office, FMO William Kaage shared his hope that everyone would consider the meaning of "20 out, 20 back."
"It's not just about bringing 20 people back safely from an incident," he said, "it's about the larger circle of families, friends, and co-workers who are touched by our lives."
During a moment of silence, the local tanker base sent Air Attack 15 and Tanker 26 to fly over the memorial.
At the conclusion of the service, participants stayed for a celebration of Dan's life with food, music, and a video of his fire season edited by his crew members. Huge bulletin boards displayed all of the sympathy cards received by the crew, newspaper articles from the New Hampshire funeral, and photos of Dan.
Three members of the Rochester Fire Department, who hosted the Arrowhead Hotshots during Dan's funeral in his hometown of Rochester, New Hampshire, also came to California for the memorial on Saturday. The crew and park staff were honored by their presence.
The Arrowhead Hotshots and the staff at Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Parks wish to thank everyone for their support through this
difficult time. Special thanks go to all who attended the memorial on
Saturday and helped honor Dan's memory. The parks also wish to thank the
Wildland Firefighter Foundation in Boise, Idaho, for their
assistance.
[Submitted by Jody Lyle, Fire Information and Education
Specialist]
United States Park Police
USPP Detectives Capture Homicide Suspect
On the afternoon of October 25th, two Park Police detectives arrested E.D., 34, of Washington, D.C., who was wanted in a homicide that occurred in August in Hyattsville, Maryland.
The murder victim, a courier for Dunbar Armored Car Services, was walking towards a bank in Hyattsville on August 6th when two masked men approached him. Without warning, they shot him multiple times, then took the bank bag he was carrying, jumped into a green Jeep Cherokee and attempted to flee. They were stopped by the victim's partner, who was in the armored truck and rammed their car. The pair then leaped out of the Jeep, stole a bank customer's car at gunpoint, and made good their escape.
On October 21st, Prince George's County PD investigators obtained an arrest warrant charging Davis with first degree murder.
Four days later, the two Park Police detectives learned that Davis was driving a vehicle on Independence Avenue near the World War II Memorial in Washington. They spotted him and arrested him without incident.
The investigation is continuing. Davis may be connected to as many as
20 additional homicides.
[Submitted by Sgt. Scott Fear, USPP]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Thursday, October 28, 2004
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 Situation Report
The full NIFC Incident Management Situation Report for today can be obtained at http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf. NIFC's national fire news is at http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (WA)
Two GS-025-09 Law Enforcement Postions
Dates: 10/22/2004 - 12/03/2004
Lake Roosevelt NRA is seeking interested and eligible permanent NPS candidates for lateral reassignments. Two GS-025-09 law enforcement positions are to be filled, one at Kettle Falls and the other at Spring Canyon, near Coulee Dam. Both are permanent full time positions. No government housing is available, but rentals and homes for purchase are available in both areas.
The rangers in these positions will be supervised by a GS-025-11 district ranger and will work with other permanent GS-9 rangers and two to three seasonal law enforcement rangers. Duties include a wide variety of resource and visitor protection work, including law enforcement, emergency services, and fire management. The incumbent will:
* conduct vehicle, foot, and boat patrols and be involved in all types of investigations
* provide emergency medical services at the first responder or EMT level
* maintain working relations with a wide variety of federal, state, and local agencies, including Colville Confederated and Spokane Indian Tribes
* educate, interpret, and inform park visitors about park resources
* maintain a red card and be part of the parks wild land fire program
* required to work closely with other divisions
If interested and eligible for a lateral reassignment for these positions, by no later than December 3rd. Please send application and SF-50 to the attention of the park's chief ranger at 1008 Crest Driver, Coulee Dam, WA 99116. Please be specific on which position/location you would prefer, or if interested in both, just say "Please consider me for both positions." If you have further questions about the positions, please contact Daniel R. Mason, chief ranger (509-633-9441, ext. 123, Dan_Mason@nps.gov), Gig Lebret, Kettle Falls district ranger (509-738-6266, ext. 109, Gig_lebret@nps.gov), Karl Pearson, Spring Canyon district ranger (509-633-9188, ext.10, Karl_Pearson@nps.gov), or Deb Mason, human resource specialist (509-633-9441, ext. 120, Deb_Mason@nps.gov)
[Submitted by Dan Mason, Dan_Mason@nps.gov, (509)-633-9441, Ext. 123]
Servicewide
"Dam Walkers" Complete 60-Mile Breast Cancer Walk
The "Dam Walkers" successfully completed the Susan G. Koman Three-Day Walk for breast cancer in Scottsdale, Arizona, on the weekend of October 22nd through the 24th.
The walk covered 60 miles in three days. Participants walked 21.9 miles on Friday, 23.4 on Saturday and an easy 15.4 on Sunday.
The team name came from Hoover Dam as several team members were from the Lake Mead area. Mary Hinson, deputy chief ranger at Lake Mead and a two-year breast cancer survivor, was the team lead. The other NPS walkers were Sherrie Collins, deputy chief ranger at Grand Canyon, Jen Flynn, chief ranger at Harpers Ferry, Peggy Kolar, ranger at Phantom Ranch at Grand Canyon, and Jenny Dems, facility management specialist at WASO.
In addition to the five NPS participants, the Dam Walkers included three other dedicated and enthusiastic individuals. The team raised $17,000!
There were a total of 2,000 walkers at the first ever Arizona three-day walk. Of these, there were about 87 survivors, 150 men and 1,900 very enthusiastic and determined women of all ages. Together, they raised $5.3 million!
The money will help the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund save lives and go toward vital breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment.
The team has already formed for the 2005 Arizona three-day walk — training begins after the blisters have healed and the aches have faded but the fight continues and so will the "Dam Walkers".
For further information, please feel free to contact any of the members or go to www.the3day.org and search for the team name or individual names.
[Submitted by Jenny Dems, Facility Management Division, WASO]
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.