INCIDENTS

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Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Two Fugitives Captured in Park

An investigation into a hit-and-run accident in the park on Wednesday led to the apprehension of two men wanted in connection with a bank robbery in Iowa. Rangers found an unoccupied vehicle in the Canyon Lodge cabin complex around 10:30 p.m. which matched the description of one involved in a hit-and-run accident in the Canyon area earlier in the evening. The operator, J.S., 23, returned to the vehicle and was contacted by the investigating rangers. During questioning, rangers learned that J.S. and a companion were staying in a nearby cabin. While rangers were contacting the second man, criminal checks revealed that J.S. had an active felony arrest warrant against him in connection with a May 8th bank robbery in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Both men then fled into the woods. J.S. was apprehended after a short pursuit and a protracted struggle which ended when a ranger used a taser to bring him under control. J.S.'s companion, 32-year-old Aaron Rafferty, eluded immediate capture.  J.S. was arrested and transported to the jail in Mammoth Hot Springs. Additional law enforcement staff were dispatched to Canyon to assist in the manhunt for Rafferty. Road blocks were set up throughout the park, and entrance stations were opened to advise visitors that a manhunt was underway. Rafferty was captured around 6 a.m. Thursday morning when a security guard employed by Xanterra Parks and Resorts reported seeing him sleeping in a vehicle. He was taken into custody without incident. Nearly 40 law enforcement rangers, officers and special agents from Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and the Park County Sheriff's Office were involved in the manhunt.  Rangers and special agents are working jointly with the FBI in Iowa and with Oskaloosa City police in the investigation. Both men will appear before a federal magistrate in Yellowstone on charges that include assault on a federal officer, eluding and evading, and DUI.  Efforts are also underway to extradite the men back to Iowa, where they will face both state and federal charges for armed bank robbery. Contact Information Name: Public Affairs


Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Follow-up on Arrest of Fugitives

On Wednesday, June 14th, rangers arrested two men who were wanted for a bank robbery in Oskaloosa, Iowa (for the original report, click on "More Information" below). On June 16th, the two men appeared before a federal magistrate in the park for a removal hearing on federal bank robbery charges that had been filed in Iowa. They were remanded to the custody of the US Marshal's Service and taken to the appropriate Iowa judicial district to face these charges. The charges stemming from their time in the park — assault on an officer, DUI, hit and run, and property damage — will be transferred by the US Attorney's Office in Yellowstone to a district court in Iowa. NPS special agents, FBI agents in Des Moines, and Oskaloosa PD investigators determined that the two men, wearing ski masks and armed with sawed-off shotguns, robbed the Oskaloosa bank of $183,000 in cash on May 10th, then fled west and spent time in at least five NPS areas (including about a week at Grand Canyon) and in Las Vegas before being caught in Yellowstone. Yellowstone NP rangers and agents recovered a substantial amount of the money taken in the robbery, but it appears that the two men spent a lot of it. The investigation continues. [Submitted by Brian Smith, Special Agent in Charge, Intermountain Region]  More Information...


Fort Scott National Historic Site (KS)
Theft of Historic Weapon

A park volunteer reported the theft of a personally-owned firearm stored in his tent during the park's Mexican War encampment on Saturday, June 3rd.  The weapon is described as being an original 1857 Belgian-made French Civil War-style pin fire 7mm revolver with a fully engraved blued finish and checkered walnut grips. The gun has a folding trigger and Lege proof marks. There is no serial number. The firearm was taken from a locked trunk.  The keys to the trunk had been left in a desk drawer in the tent. The owner valued the weapon at between $600 and $1,000. [Submitted by Kelly Collins, Chief Ranger]


Gateway National Recreation Area
Arson Deemed Likely in Garage Fire at Sandy Hook

On the evening of Sunday, June 18th, the Sandy Hook Unit fire brigade responded to a report of a fire in the garage at one of the historic officer row houses in Fort Hancock.  A small fire had been started in the northeast corner of the garage, consisting of trash paper, plastic soda bottles and leaves. The fire was easily extinguished but could have been a problem if not detected and reported by a park visitor. Damage was limited to some soot on the masonry wall of the garage.  This house is unoccupied and the utilities are turned off. It appears the fire was intentionally set. Visitation was high in the park on Sunday and there were many people wandering around the officer row  buildings.  [Submitted by Bruce Lane]


Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site (NY)
Significant Vandalism

Significant malicious damage to an urn on a pedestal at the Vanderbilt mansion was discovered on the morning of June 18th. The urn was so severely damaged that it's doubtful that it can be either repaired or conserved. The urn is believed to be from the 19th century and original to the mansion's west portico. The value of the urn has been placed at $4,800. [Submitted by Cathy Newhard, Assistant Chief Ranger]


FIRE MANAGEMENT

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NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire/Incident Situation Highlights

Preparedness Level 3

NIFC reports 125 new starts on Wednesday, four of which became large fires. Another four large fires were contained.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, California, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

Weather Discussion

Hotter and drier weather is on tap for most of west, as a high pressure ridge builds over the area. A west to northwest wind will prevail over the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. In the Southwest and Colorado, some dry thunderstorms are expected west of the Continental Divide with more moisture east of the Divide. In Alaska, scattered showers and thundershowers are expected in the interior.

Red Flag Warnings

A red flag warning has been posted for strong gusty winds and low humidity in the northern Sacramento Valley and nearby foothills through this afternoon.

Fire Weather Watches

None 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

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 (on scene or on order) are listed in alphabetical order within each type by the IC's last name.

State	Agency	Team	IC	Fire/Incident and Location	6/20	6/21	% Con	Est Con
AZ	USFS	T1	Broyles	Brins Fire, Coconino NF	1,770	2,456	7	UNK
NM	USFS	T1	Dietrich	Bear Fire, Gila NF	24,300	33,250	5	UNK
CA	USFS	T1	Feser	Perkins Fire, Los Padres NF	10,000	13,425	32	UNK
NM	USFS	T1	Whitney	Reserve Complex, Gila NF (Whitney and Wilson Fires)	13,738	14,450	80	6/24
CO	State	T2	Blume	Mato Vega Fire, Costilla County	8,960	11,805	30	6/30
TX	State	T2	Hannemann	Glass Mountain Complex, Texas Forest Service	3,805	8,249	50	6/22
CA	USFS	T2	Johnson	Ferguson Rock Slide, Sierra NF	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AK	State	T2	Kurth	Parks Highway Fire, Fairbanks Area Forestry	70,432	83,500	45	7/11
NM	State	T2	Lineback	River Mesa Fire, Las Vegas District	10,124	10,930	30	6/27
WY	USFS	T2	Mullenix	Isabelle Fire, Southern Medicine Bow NF	500	900	10	UNK
NM	USFS	T2	Philbin	Skates Fire, Gila NF	12,461	12,461	60	6/24
UT	USFS	T2	Thomas	Lion Creek Fire, Manti-Lasal NF	500	1,660	5	UNK
AZ	USFS	FUM	Hahnenburg	Warm Fire, Kaibab NF	7,074	7,074	N/A	N/A

National Resource Commitments

Date	Tue	Wed	Thu	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed
Day	6/13	6/14	6/15	6/18	6/19	6/20	6/21
Crews	143	133	156	145	151	180	194
Engines	219	248	324	306	317	437	418
Helicopters	37	33	35	54	51	66	67
Air Tankers	14	13	13	14	14	14	14
Overhead	863	744	924	1,207	1,327	1,345	1,408

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-401/408/482/486/190/025-11 Subsistence Manager

Dates: 06/19/2006 - 07/10/2006

Denali National Park and Preserve is recruiting for a full-time permanent GS-401/408/482/486/190/025-11 subsistence manager. This position is multi-disciplinary in nature. Applicants will be considered from the following occupational series: biologist, GS-401; ecologist, GS-408; fisheries biologist, GS-482; wildlife biologist, GS-486; anthropologist, GS-190; or park ranger, GS-025.

The subsistence manager oversees the entire subsistence program as well as being the principle park native liaison. The park cooperates with a number of native entities, such as the Cantwell, Nikolai, Nenana and Telida tribal councils, the Copper River native association, the Tanana chiefs conference, and the AHTNA, Cook Inlet and Doyon native corporations.

The park has an active subsistence program involving local subsistence users, the Denali Subsistence Resource Commission, three regional advisory councils and the Federal Subsistence Board. The subsistence manager will provide assistance, information and technical advice to park staff on subsistence use management. She/he will work cooperatively with park cultural, wildlife and ecological staff as well as the central Alaska inventory and monitoring network, the state of Alaska, and a wide range of outside research entities to produce and synthesize the information needed to inform management decision making on subsistence activities.

The position is duty stationed at Denali National Park Headquarters. Denali National Park and Preserve is one of America's oldest national parks. In addition to the tallest mountain in the United States, the Park features spectacular wildlife viewing and excellent year-round outdoor recreation opportunities. The headquarters office and entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve are located approximately 250 miles north of Anchorage and 125 miles south of Fairbanks. Limited services (groceries, medical, gasoline, schools, and churches) are available in Healy 15 miles north and in Cantwell 30 miles south of the Park entrance. Additional information about Denali National Park can be found at http://www.nps.gov/dena. Information about the local area can be found at www.denaliborough.com or www.denalichamber.com. Government housing may be available.

The job announcement numbers are DENA 06-34, 06-35, 06-36, 06-37, 06-38, and 06-39 and can be found on the USAJobs website, www.usajobs.opm.gov. The announcement closes on July 10th. For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Philip Hooge Ph.D. at (907) 683-2294. For additional information or application procedures, please contact Bill Allen, human resources specialist, at (907) 683-9504.
[Submitted by Bill Allen, bill_allen@nps.gov, 907-683-9504]

Big Cypress National Preserve (FL)
GS-0303-7 Rangers Administrative Assistant

Dates: 06/16/2006 - 06/30/2006
Big Cypress National Preserve is actively recruiting for a full-time, permanent rangers administrative assistant, GS-0303-7, to work in support of the Visitor and Resource Protection Division and the Interpretation Division. The person in this position functions as a program assistant to the chief ranger (GS-13) and chief of interpretation (GS-12), providing staff support and assistance in day-to-day management and administration of the divisions and working on a range of matters involving administration, management and operations of both divisions.  The administrative assistant also serves as the special park uses permit assistant and is responsible for reviewing permit requests from park users. She/he also has fee program duties, serves as the budget technician, and coordinates and supervises the administrative and operational function of the office. The position is open governmentwide as announcement number BICY-06-25 and will be open until June 30th.  The complete vacancy announcement can be found on USAJobs, www.usajobs.gov. For additional information, contact chief ranger Ed Clark at 239-695-1108. [Submitted by Ed Clark, ed_clark@nps.gov, 239-695-1108]

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.