Wildland Fire Management

Mission

To promote, create and maintain a sustainable healthy forest ecosystem and a FireWise community, thereby protecting and enhancing public safety and community well-being.

Overview

We recognize the community well-being is linked to a healthy forest, so to address their dire state, we have become environmental activists. Guided by our mission to protect values-at-risk and by the professional resource managers of our Wildland Fire Management Program, our effort is concentrated in five core areas:

• Prevention: A cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective action in an effort to ensure effective coordination to reduce wildfire risk to the community. (Wildland fire training and certification, Wildland fire preparedness planning)
• Preparedness: Actions to protect lives and property through avoidance and intervention to stop wildfires from occurring. (Wildland Urban Interface Code enforcement, FireWise Communities)
• Mitigation: Activities providing a critical foundation in the effort to reduce the loss of life and property from wildfire while creating a safer community. (Selective thinning, broadcast burning, Debris disposal)
• Response: Activities that address the short-term, direct impacts of a wildfire incident including immediate actions to save lives, protect property, and meet basic human needs. (Emergency Operations Center participation, Wildland fire response)
• Recovery: Actions taken to restore impacts of a wildfire, evaluate incidents to identify lessons learned, and the development of initiatives to minimize the impacts of future incidents. (Wildland fire After Action Reviews, Cost recovery / reimbursements)

Approach

This Division has changed the standard "Three E" approach of the traditional prevention-oriented program, to the "Four E" approach. It was developed to adapt to the growing and changing natural environment and consists of:

• Education
• Engineering
• Enforcement
• Ecosystem

Organization

The Wildland Fire Management program operates as a unit within the Community Risk Reduction Division. Staff positions include:

Fire Management

• Wildland Fire Manager
• Fire Crew Supervisor
• Fire Crew Squad Boss

Forest Health

• Forest Health Supervisor
• Firewise Specialist

Additional Personnel

• Seasonal Crew
• Volunteers
• Student Interns
• Auxiliary staff