Blue Ridge Parkway
Update on Ranger Brian Stackowicz
Ranger Brian Stackowicz, who suffered serious leg and arm injuries in a
collision with another vehicle on August 8th, remains in the ICU at
Mission Memorial Hospital but has gone through what will likely be his
last round of surgery and is doing well. His left hip, femur, knee and
arm were all repaired, and the surgeons said that everything went well
and looks good. He will probably remain in the ICU through tomorrow.
Brian's wife, Alisha, extends her sincere thanks to everyone for their
calls and notes and support. Please send cards to Brian c/o Blue Ridge
Parkway, 199 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, NC 28803, Attention: Teresa
Lovelace. [Submitted by Tim Francis, Pisgah District Ranger]
Mojave National Preserve (CA)
Train Burglary
Arrests
On August 5th, a Budget rental box truck was observed parked two miles
from the Union Pacific Railroad tracks near Cima, California, within the
park. Rangers Kirk Gebicke and Joe Spillane contacted the two men —
A.Z. and A.C.-B. — seated in the
truck. They determined that the men had been drinking and that their
reasons for being parked in the area did not add up. The two men gave
the rangers permission to search the vehicle, which proved to be empty.
While a computer check was being run on the pair, ranger Wayne Dingman
found a bindle of cocaine four feet from the point where
A.C.-B. had thrown it into the roadside grass. Both men were
arrested. The rangers consulted with Union Pacific special agents and
found that the duo had possibly been involved in thefts from trains and
were in the park to collect stolen property. The two men were turned
over to Union Pacific police for follow-up interviews, then taken to
jail. A ground and aerial search of the railroad tracks the next day led
to the discovery of 75 stolen television sets that had been thrown from
a train. The estimated value is in excess of $225,000. Rangers and UP
special agents watched the property throughout the night to see if other
gang members would return for the property, but without results.
[Submitted by Kirk Gebicke, Supervisory Park Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Thursday, August 18, 2005
Preparedness Level 3
NIFC reports 172 new fires yesterday. Two became large fires, and another large fire was contained.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, California, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Weather Forecast
An upper trough will cover the Northern Rockies while high pressure begins to build over the Pacific Northwest. Elsewhere, a moist south to southwest flow will continue to feed moisture into the Southwest, Great Basin and Rocky Mountain Areas. In Alaska, a low pressure system will bring gusty winds to portions of the northern interior.
Red Flag Warnings
None today.
Fire Weather Watches
Two fire weather watches have been issued. The first is for gusty winds and low relative humidity this afternoon and evening in northeastern Nevada; the second is for strong northeast winds in the central interior of 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
| Park | State | Fire | Type | Acres | Percent Contain |
Est. Full Contain |
| Yosemite National Park | CA | Crane Flat (PW-05) | Prescribed Fire Treatment | 163 acres on 6/27/05; Plus 30 acres on 6/29/05 | 06/29/05 | |
 |
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| Yosemite National Park | CA | Wawona Soupbowl | Wildland-Urban Interface Fire | 100 acres | June 2, 2005 | |
|
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| Glacier National Park | MT | Cummings Fire | Wildland Fire Use | .1 | N/A | N/A |
|
||||||
| Glacier National Park | MT | Cummings Fire | Wildland Fire Use | .1 | N/A | N/A |
|
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| Glacier National Park | MT | Nyack Fires | Wildland Fire | .1 | 100 | 08/14/2005 |
|
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| Glacier National Park | MT | Nyack Fires | Wildland Fire | .1 | 100 | 08/14/2005 |
|
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| Glacier National Park | MT | Walton Fire | Wildland Fire Use | .1 | N/A | N/A |
|
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| Glacier National Park | MT | Walton Fire | Wildland Fire Use | .1 | N/A | N/A |
|
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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 |
8/16 |
8/17 |
% Con |
Est Con |
|
WA |
USFS |
T1 |
Anderson |
School Fire, Umatilla NF |
49,515 |
49,515 |
95 |
8/18 |
|
ID |
USFS |
T1 |
Bennett |
Clear Red Complex, Nex Perce NF |
658 |
658 |
0 |
UNK |
|
OR |
USFS |
T1 |
Lohrey |
Blossom Complex, Siskiyou NF |
8,780 |
8,839 |
30 |
UNK |
|
MT |
USFS |
T1 |
Sandman |
I-90 Fire, Lolo NF |
11,000 |
11,000 |
100 |
CND |
|
MT |
USFS |
T2 |
Benes |
Rockin Fire, Bitterroot NF |
3,859 |
3,859 |
68 |
UNK |
|
MT |
USFS |
T2 |
Benes |
Signal Rock Fire, Beaverhead/Deerlodge NF |
950 |
1,260 |
0 |
UNK |
|
ID |
State |
T2 |
Blume |
Long Ruggles Fire, Craig Mountain Area |
4,731 |
4,731 |
65 |
UNK |
|
ID |
USFS |
T2 |
Brunner |
Cadagan Complex, Salmon-Challis NF |
2,400 |
2,600 |
90 |
8/18 |
|
MT |
USFS |
T2 |
Cowin |
Prospect Fire, Lolo NF |
3,177 |
3,210 |
25 |
8/30 |
|
OR |
USFS |
T2 |
Johnson |
Burnt Cabin Fire, Umatilla NF |
1,000 |
1,200 |
35 |
UNK |
|
ID |
State |
T2 |
Larsen |
Blackerby Fire, Maggie Creek Area |
4,800 |
4,950 |
80 |
8/20 |
|
OR |
USFS |
T2 |
Lunde |
Tryon Complex, Wallowa-Whitman NF |
42,733 |
42,736 |
55 |
8/22 |
|
MN |
USFS |
T2 |
Stegmier |
Alpine Lake Fire, Superior NF |
1,335 |
1,335 |
77 |
8/19 |
|
ID |
USFS |
T2 |
Suwyn |
West Fork Fire, Nez Perce NF |
369 |
369 |
80 |
8/19 |
|
ID |
USFS |
T2 |
Thomas |
China Ten Fire, Nez Perce NF |
1,859 |
1,859 |
40 |
8/24 |
|
ID |
USFS |
FUM |
Bonefeld |
Frank Church Fire, Payette NF |
1,598 |
2,725 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
CA |
NPS |
FUM |
Clark |
Comb Complex, Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP |
4,765 |
4,785 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
OR |
USFS |
FUM |
Cones |
Granite Complex, Wallowa-Whitman NF |
13,411 |
14,264 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
MT |
USFS |
FUM |
Cook |
Selway-Salmon Complex, Bitterroot NF |
3,737 |
4,137 |
N/A |
N/A |
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
|
Date |
8/9 |
8/10 |
8/11 |
8/14 |
8/15 |
8/16 |
8/17 |
|
Crews |
323 |
363 |
355 |
325 |
314 |
330 |
310 |
|
Engines |
564 |
593 |
786 |
493 |
457 |
412 |
464 |
|
Helicopters |
115 |
129 |
145 |
123 |
126 |
145 |
101 |
|
Air Tankers |
14 |
14 |
1 |
16 |
14 |
17 |
15 |
|
Overhead |
2,381 |
2,624 |
2,944 |
2,914 |
2,640 |
2,933 |
2,938 |
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
Horace M. Albright Training Center
NPS Founder's Day Photo Event
Founder's Day is on Thursday, August 25th. In honor of this event, which celebrates the birth of the National Park Service, the Horace M. Albright Training Center is asking that parks and offices all over the country take a moment during the day to take group and individual photos of employees. These photos will become part of new exhibits at the training center that highlight the people of the National Park Service.
As far as we know, this will be the first time that the NPS has undertaken an effort on this scale to photograph as many current employees as possible. The goal is to show the many faces of the National Park Service to students and the public who visit the Albright Training Center at the Grand Canyon.
It would be great to get as many photos as possible. Group photos are encouraged but any photos of employees are welcome. Photos should be in the highest digital resolution jpeg format available and uploaded to the "Park Employees and Volunteers" section of the NPS Digital Photo Website at http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/ imagebase.html.
We hope to get as many employee photos as we can to create a "snapshot" of the NPS on the 2005 Founders Day.
For more information, contact Constantine Dillon, superintendent of Albright
Training Center at Constantine_Dillon@nps.gov.
[Submitted by Costa Dillon, Superintendent]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Intermountain Region
Gail Menard Announces Retirement
Gail Mendard started her NPS career as an administrative clerk at Glacier National Park in 1980, and quickly advanced through the ranks. She served as administrative officer at a number of NPS sites throughout the Service, including Lincoln Boyhood NM, Bighorn Canyon NRA, Crater Lake NP, the Southeast Utah Group (serving Arches and Canyonlands NPs and Natural Bridges NM), and Yellowstone NP.
In 2000, Gail was selected and served as chief of administrative support services for the former support office in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She also served as the associate regional director for administration prior to the reorganization of the Intermountain Regional Office in 2004. Gail is currently serving as the assistant regional director for Santa Fe operations, as well as New Mexico state coordinator.
After a successful career spanning more than 25 years with the National Park Service, Gail will retire effective September 3rd. She and her husband, Paul, plan on remaining in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, for the time being. Upon Gail's retirement, they plan on spending a significant amount of time traveling throughout the United States and abroad. Their son, Paul Jr., is also employed by the National Park Service and is currently serving as a management specialist at Mount Rushmore NM in South Dakota. The Menard's have two grandchildren.
"It has been a wonderful career," said Gail. "I have lived and worked in some of the most beautiful places throughout the Service. The really special memories will be of the exceptional people I have had the opportunity to know and work with during my NPS career."
A social gathering in Gail's honor is planned for August 31st at the historic Old Santa Fe Trail Building (1100 Old Santa Fe Trail), from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. Anyone wishing to make a monetary contribution towards the purchase of a parting gift for Gail may send donations to Stella Gonzales at 2968 Rodeo Park Drive West, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505. Also, please send anecdotes, cards, photos, and well wishes to Stella. Those interested in attending Gail's retirement function may contact Stella at 505-988-6088.
[Submitted by Patricia Turley, patricia_turley@nps.gov, 303-699-2701]
Alaska Region
Superintendent for NPS Regional Affiliated Areas Selected
Bruce Greenwood has been named the superintendent of the Affiliated Areas of the National Park Service in Alaska. These include the Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, the Beringia Shared Heritage Program and Aleutian World War II National Historical Park and Visitor Center.
"Bruce is a great addition to our management staff in Alaska," noted regional director Marcia Blaszak. "He has years of experience working throughout the state on a number of complex and controversial issues. He is an excellent collaborator and has worked with a variety of state, federal and local agencies, as well as the congressional delegation, non-governmental organizations and the public."
Greenwood received his bachelor's degree from Colorado State University in range and forest management in 1976. He started his career in 1975 as seasonal employee working for BLM in Wyoming. After graduation, he continued working with BLM in southern Utah in a variety of field office positions until 1989. During a brief sabbatical, he pursued other interests including flight school, earning a commercial pilot license in 1990. He has worked in the NPS Alaska Region since 1992 in subsistence, environmental resources and as a project manager.
"Our partners reside in some of the most remote and special places and encompass compelling stories from the Arctic whaling industry of the 19th century, the Unangan internment in World War II, and the cultural heritage shared by Russia and the United States" said Greenwood. "This is a unique opportunity and I look forward to working in concert with our partners to tell these remarkable stories and bring them to an ever-wider audience."
Greenwood, 51, enjoys a variety of activities including hiking, biking, skiing, music and dance. His daughter, Rachel, is a student of oriental medicine and acupuncture and lives in Sante Fe, New Mexico. His community involvement included past-presidency of a local non-profit organization and for many years served as manager of their annual community event. He and his wife, Karen, a physical therapist, reside in Anchorage.
[Submitted by Jane Ahern, jane_ahern@nps.gov, 907-644-3513]
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found by clicking here. 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 Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.