NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, July 16, 2002



                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, July 16, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-038 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Visitor Gored by Bison

A bull bison gored 37-year-old P.J. of Albertville, Minnesota, near
Old Faithful Lodge on the afternoon of July 13th. Witnesses said that the
bison was grazing near the boardwalk that connects the lodge with Old
Faithful geyser. A group of visitors approached to within ten to fifteen
feet to take pictures of the animal. P.J. stepped out from the group and
walked around to the front of the bison to see if it would raise its head
for a better picture. The bison chased P.J. into the trees, picked him
up with his horns, and threw him three to four feet into the air. The bison
then stared at P.J. and the other visitors for several minutes before
walking off and resuming grazing. P.J. sustained a puncture wound to his
inner right thigh and various scrapes and bruises. Rangers provided initial
care; he was then taken to Old Faithful Clinic for treatment of his
injuries. Criminal charges are pending against P.J. for harassing
wildlife. No action will be taken against the bison. [Public Affairs, YELL,
7/15]

02-039 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Rescue

J.F., a 28 year-old student at Stanford University, set out to climb
the Southeast Buttress of Cathedral Peak in Tuolumne Meadows with a female
partner early on the morning of July 8th. The climb, which includes six
pitches covering almost 11,000 feet, is rated a very difficult 5.6. J.F.
was leading the fourth pitch around 9 a.m. when he took a 40 to 60 foot
fall. He struck a ledge before he was caught by the rope and suffered open
fractures to his right femur and arm, broke several ribs, his pelvis and
his jaw, and fractured his skull. His breathing was compromised by a
hemo-pneumothorax. The accident was not reported to Tuolumne rangers until
about 2 p.m. A ground team of four YOSAR members hiked two-and-a-half miles
to the base of the climb. A parallel heli-rappel response with the park
helicopter was initiated but not used. The ground team climbed fixed ropes
to get to J.F., who was about 400 feet up the face on a small ledge. They
reached him by 4:40 p.m. and advanced life support treatment was started.
The helicopter lowered a litter to the rescuers on the cliff face. J.F.
was packaged in the litter, then picked up and shorthauled under the
helicopter to Tuolumne Meadows, arriving about 6:30 p.m. He was transferred
to an AirMed commercial medical helicopter and flown to Doctors Medical
Center in Modesto. At the time of this report, he was still in critical
condition. [Jeff Webb, PR/Ops. Chief, YOSE, 7/15]

02-040 - Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P (AK) - Drowning

P.M., 28, of Bloomington, Minnesota, drowned while trying to cross
the Chitistone River on Thursday, July 11th. P.M. was hiking the
Chitistone Trail with two friends from Colorado. The three men had been
dropped off at Skolai Pass, then hiked east to Chitistone Pass and down to
the river. They linked arms and attempted to cross the river, but lost
their footing when one of them slipped. P.M.'s companions managed to
unclip their backpacks and make it across the river, but P.M. was swept
away with his pack still on. The hikers spent all day Friday searching for
P.M., but failed to find him. They continued looking from the air after
their scheduled pickup at 1 p.m. on Saturday. After they were dropped off
in McCarthy, the park launched a helicopter search. P.M.'s body was
spotted at 5 p.m. and recovered about an hour later. His partly submerged
body was in the river about a mile from the point where the accident
occurred. He evidently drowned after he became caught in some rocks. [Jane
Tranel, PIO, ARO, 7/15]

02-041 - Montezuma Castle NM (AZ) - Car Clout

On July 5th, a rental vehicle was broken into in the park; cash and jewelry
valued at $6,000 were taken. The investigation was hampered by the delay in
reporting the incident to rangers. The thief or thieves entered the car,
opened an overnight bag, removed the jewelry and cash, closed the bag, and
locked the doors. At least one debit card was also taken and  used in the
Phoenix metropolitan area. Rangers and the Yavapai County SO are
investigating. [Steve Sandell, CR, MOCA/TUZI, 7/10]

02-042 - Mojave NP (CA) - MVA with Fatality

A.S., 21, of Morongo Valley, California, was driving on the Cima
Road after 1 a.m. on July 9th when she lost control of her vehicle. It went
off the road and rolled over. A.S., who was not wearing a seatbelt, was
ejected from the vehicle and killed; passenger Maria Pio was admitted to a
Las Vegas hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Alcohol was a
contributing factor. The park fire/EMS crew responded along with CHP
officers and a county ambulance crew. The accident is being jointly
investigated by the park and CHP. [Sean McGuinness, MOJA, 7/10]

02-043 - Roosevelt/Vanderbilt NHS (NY) - SAR; Wildland Fire

On the evening July 4th, 911 dispatch received a cell phone call from three
teenage girls reporting that they were lost and had started a fire that was
out of control. Their reported location was within park boundaries. Local
fire departments and police responded along with ranger Rich Browne. The
girls had apparently gone into the woods on the site looking for a place to
watch the local fireworks displays. They were equipped with a cell phone,
cigarettes, and a lighter. Once it got dark, they got lost, then started a
fire hoping that they'd be seen and that they'd also be able to where they
were. Browne found the girls and the local fire department suppressed the
fire, which burned a tenth of an acre. This was interrupted by one of the
firefighters experiencing chest pains; he was taken out be ambulance and is
reportedly doing okay. One of the department's engines then got stuck in a
marshy area; it was removed by a tow truck at about 1 a.m. The girls were
returned to their parents. The fire was discovered to be smoldering when
checked the next day; rangers Browne and Melissa Lanshe went back in to
complete suppression. [CRO, ROVA, 7/12]

[Additional reports pending. . . . ]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was heavy yesterday in the Northwest and Great Basin,
moderate to light elsewhere. Thirteen of the 326 newly-reported fires
became large fires; another fourteen large fires were contained.

As of yesterday, there were 58 active large fires. So far this year, there
have been 48,113 fires, just a little shy of the ten-year average of 49,053
through this date. But the area burned, which comes to 3,346,423 acres, is
well ahead of the ten-year average of 1,574,398 acres through this date.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in 17 states: Arizona,
California, Colorado, Kansas, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah,
Washington and Wyoming.

Priorities for large fires in the Southwest, the Rockies and the Great
Basin are being established by the multi-agency coordinating groups for
those areas.

For a map showing the locations of current major fires , click on
http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/firemap.html ; for details on all major fires
currently burning, click on http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf or
http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html.

National Resource Commitments

                  Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun   Mon
Date              7/8   7/9   7/10  7/11  7/12  7/13  7/14  7/15

Crews             264   207   197   178   236   304   423   474
Engines           585   444   329   346   460   637   940   990
Helicopters       141   119   110   93    120   130   171   161
Air Tankers       4     4     1     0     6     2     11    8
Overhead          2,711 2,141 1,934 1,536 1,671 2,152 2,676 3,287
Area Commands     0     0     0     0     0     0     0     0
Type 1 IMT        3     3     3     1     2     4     6     7
Type 2 IMT        7     7     7     9     14    17    23    24
T1/T2 S/IMT *     -     -     -     -     -     -     5     5
Fire Use IMT            2     1     2     2     1     1     0     1

* Type 1 and Type 2 state incident management teams

National Fire Warnings and Watches

NICC has issued a FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been issued for high dispersion
indices for central Florida.

Park Fire Situation

Yellowstone NP (WY) - The park is dealing with a number of fires, but the
main one continues to be the Broad Fire, which has burned 9,000 acres and
is 10% contained. Frye's Type 1 team has been assigned to the fire; 212
firefighters/overhead and seven helicopters have been committed.
Firefighters began constructing lines around the southern flank of the fire
on Sunday, while continued hot and dry weather and westerly winds pushed
the fire further east in the direction of Specimen Ridge and Mirror
Plateau. By early afternoon, a large smoke column, topping 25,000 feet,
could be seen for miles. As the fire advanced across an additional 2,000
acres, storm clouds moved into the area, producing rain and some hail,
raising the humidity, and dropping temperatures significantly in a short
period. Fire spread was accordingly halted temporarily. Three crews were
flown to a spike camp in the southwest corner of the fire, where they will
spend the next several days engaged in direct suppression operations.
Substantial progress has been made in constructing line from the rim of the
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and along the south side of the fire. Water
drops are holding the fire to the east side of the river, where the fire is
approaching areas that burned in 1988. Another spike camp will be set up
north of Joseph's Coat Springs and two more crews will construct fire line
on the south side of the fire.

Some trails and backcountry campsites have been closed near the Broad Fire.
Although none of these areas are immediately threatened, the park closed
them due to unpredictable fire behavior and concerns over public safety.
The following areas have been closed: Specimen Ridge Trail, Agate Creek
Trail, Yellowstone River Picnic Area Trail, Astringent and Pelican Creek
Trails closed north of campsite 5B1, north of Fern Lake, and one mile north
of Fern Lake Cabin.  Seven Mile Hole Trail and Washburn Hotsprings/Spur
Trail closed from the summit of Mt. Washburn to the junction with Seven
Mile Hole Trail.

Due to the high fire danger, no wood, charcoal, or open fire is allowed in
any backcountry area in the park.  In the park's frontcountry, fires are
allowed only in designated fire rings at developed campgrounds.  Fires
fueled by liquid fuel and LPG fuel are permitted in the backcountry and
frontcountry only if used in self-contained appliances.

For a recorded message of updated fire information, call 307-344-2580.  For
fire maps and other fire information visit the park's web site at:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/technical/fire/index.htm

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/16; Public Affairs,
Yellowstone NP, 7/15]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Compilations of NPS Laws - The Office of Congressional and Legislative
Affairs has a few volumes left of compilations of NPS laws from the 96th to
98th and 99th to 101st Congresses. If you're interested, contact either
Beverly Davenport or Donnise Hancock via email or at 202-208-5883. [Beverly
Davenport, WASO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Montezuma Castle NM (AZ) - The park is currently recruiting for a GS-025-9
permanent protection ranger.  The position is currently being advertised
through USA Jobs and will close on July 29th. It is vacancy announcement
SOAR-02-36. The position is located at Montezuma Well, a detached unit of
Montezuma Castle National Monument. The incumbent serves as a primary field
ranger in the visitor protection program.  In addition to providing the
traditional law enforcement duties, she/he will also provide interpretive
services and will be involved in both cultural and natural resource
management. Government housing is required. Montezuma Castle is located 50
miles south of Flagstaff and 90 miles north of Phoenix.  For more
information, call Sherry Wood at 928-567-5276 x222. [Steve Sandell, MOCA)

                               *  *  *  *  *

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation
and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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