# Presentation: 903143

**Overview of Florida Teams**
**    ****Ronda Sutphen National Forests in Florida**
**     ****Matt Weinell   Florida Division of Forestry**

## -1998- Florida on Fire

## July 2, 1998

## Unified Command:
Call for a Fire Prevention Team 
None available  
All Teams assigned
The program is overwhelmed

Supply can’t meet demand.  Do to previous extensive assignments around the nation.   

- <date/time>

**Unified Command:**
**Call for a Fire Prevention Team **
**None available  **
**All Teams assigned**
**The program is overwhelmed**
**Supply can’t meet demand.  Do to previous extensive assignments around the nation.   **

## Slide 6

## Slide 7

## Slide 8

## Slide 9

## Fire Prevention Strike Team

**National Coordinator calls**
**Put together an interagency team**
**They will arrive after July 4**

- They can document success stories

## Being surrounded by trees - “nice, while it lasted”

## Some structures are defendable

## And some are not(a few clear feet can make the difference)

## Statewide Facts

- <date/time>

**Statewide Facts**

**Florida Division of Forestry issues over 150,000 burn authorizations annually.**
**Approximately 2 million acres is burned under prescription annually.**

## Previous prescribed fire saved these trees

**Previous prescribed fire saved these trees**

## Nat. Fire Prevention Team - Florida   July 10

- <date/time>

**Nat. Fire Prevention Team - Florida****   July 10**

**Pete Martin, Team Leader, CFFPC, Mt. Hood National Forest in R6**
**Teresa Wheeler, Fire Prevention Specialist (FPS), Payette N.F. in R4**
**D.C. Haas, FPS, Montana DNRC **
**Jimmye Turner, FPS, Umatilla N.F. in R6**
**Cathy O’Brien, FPS, Deschutes N.F. in R6**
**Merle Glen, USFS Retired, PIO, Colorado**

## Conditions

- <date/time>

**Conditions**

**Team: Had not worked together before (-)**
**Excellent communication skills & professionalism (+)**
**Orientation to Florida time consuming (-)**
**New fresh perspective (+)**
**Brought in after it hits the fan, not before (-)**
**Statewide resource, not local or regional (-)**

## Goals

- <date/time>

**Goals**

**Provide public information on how to protect homes in the W/U/I, press releases**
**Supply/Support Florida Division of Forestry (DOF) field units with materials**
**Make a Plan for Future activities**

## Accomplishments

- <date/time>

**Accomplishments**

**Fed the media **
**Ordered and distributed prevention materials**
**Travel - Document Rx fires and defensible space examples that saved homes**
**Made fire prevention program recommendations**

## Fire Prevention Team

- <date/time>

**Fire Prevention Team**

**Documented Success Stories Through Prescribed Burning**
**Waldo Fire & Mr. Smith**
**Shell Point and St. Marks Wildlife Refuge**
**Palm Coast**

## St. Marks Wildlife Refuge

***Shellpoint, Florida***
***July 4th. 1998***

** ****20ft. Column of Fire**
** ****Wind Conditions Unfavorable**

## Resources Ordered

**Tallahassee Airport **
**20 miles Due North**

- 2 Air Tankers
- 2 Helicopters
- 3 Engines
- 4 Tractor/Plow Units
- 1 Hand Crew

-  Discovered at 13:00
-   Intense Burning -  	 Rapid Spread

## Homes & businesses were

**immediately adjacent to the heavy fuels**

## Suddenly the tide turned!!!

**Head fire cooled down quickly.**
**The spot fire was easily controlled.**
**No evacuations were needed.**
**Tractor plows were able to move in and put lines around the fire.**

## A 20 ft column of wildfire crossed this roadway

***A 20 ft column of wildfire crossed this roadway***
***and burned itself out because of low fuels in a***
***prescribed fire area!***

## The IC was surprised by the ability of his troops to catch the fire at only 90 acres.  When he took a closer look he found the change in fortune was not due to weather changes or heroic fire fighting, but instead could be directly attributed to . . . . . . 

- . . . Prescribed Fire!

## Prescribed Burning on St. Marks Refuge

**saved several thousand acres including**
**many homes in Shell Point!**

## Palm Coast, Florida 

## In Areas Not Prescribed Burned

- Results were catastrophic.
- Over 50 homes were lost.
- Most mature trees were killed.
- Firefighters were placed in
-     jeopardy.

## Many homes were within 10 to 20 feet from heavy fuels!

- Palm Coast Area Without Prescribed Fire!

## Palm Coast Area Without Prescribed Fire!

- Wildfire Through Canopy

## Florida Division of Forestry -Burning under the Hawkins Bill

- Florida Division of Forestry -Burning under the Hawkins Bill

**Interface Areas**
**Hazardous Fuels Identified**
**Absentee Landowners Notified in Tax Notices**
**Burns Conducted **

## In Areas Which Were Prescribed Burned in Jan & Feb of 1998

- Although areas re-burned, intensity was much reduced.
- Pine overstory was not consumed, crown fires did not occur.
- Firefighters were in a much safer situation.
- Homes were saved!

## Another Palm Coast property RESCUED by the Jan-Feb, 1998 Prescribed Fire!

## This home only received 

**This home only received **
**minor heat damage to soffet**
**due to reduced fuels**

## Another Palm Coast property RESCUED by the Jan-Feb, 1998 Prescribed Fire!

## Fire Prevention Strike Teams

**1999**

## FPST TRAINING

**Birmingham, Alabama**
**Then straight to team assignment**

## Lessons LearnedChange (–) to (+)

**Team: Had not worked together before (-)**
**Excellent communication skills & professionalism (+)**
**Orientation to Florida time consuming (-)**
**New fresh perspective (+)**
**Brought in after it hits the fan, not before (-)**
**Statewide resource, not local or regional (-)**

## What is a F. P. S. T. ?

**A group of folks tasked to reduce human-caused wildfires.**
**Increase: Awareness, Visibility, Relationships, and Public education**
**Members: Team Leader, Specialist, and Local Liaison (minimum)**

## Wildfire Prevention Strike TeamsMarch 1– June 15, 1999

**	****4 DOF teams and 1 USFS/DOF team: **
**	****3-5 members, covering NE, Central, **
**	****and South Florida**

## Wildfire Prevention Strike Teams1999

**The Message (Getting the Word Out):****  ****Arson Alert reward “Up to $5,000”, “Arson Tip Hotline” 1-800-342-5869****,  ****Burning Restrictions, Defensible Space & Firewise Landscaping, and Debris burning**
**Media Contacts: Over**** ****3,300**** ****- ****Television, Radio, Newspaper (interviews, articles, press releases, wildfire tours, and PSA’s)****   **

## Wildfire Prevention Strike Teams1999

**Door-to-Door Campaign:**** ****13,539**
**Arson Alert signs posted:**** ****2,303**
**Civic group presentations:**** ****39**
**Brochures & Fact Sheets:**** ****10,000+**
**PSA: Florida Dept. Of Agriculture - Commissioner Crawford**
**Billboard Advertising**** **

## OBJECTIVES

- Immediately respond to an affected area
- Coordinate activities with the Field Unit Liaison
- Raise public awareness of wildfires.
- Educate landowners and homeowners on mitigation practices
- Promote the Florida Forestry Arson Alert Association’s Reward Program

## Fire Prevention Strike Teams 1999RESULTS

**Jan 13 - 13 fires/day**
**Feb - 23 fires/day**
**March - 29 fires/day   >>>   ****TEAMS**
**April - 18 fires/day**

## Slide 47

## Slide 48

## Slide 49

## Slide 50

## Slide 51

## Slide 52

## NEW RESULTS

- Positions
- 	Mitigation Specialists (fulltime prevention & mitigation education)
- Mitigation Teams (fuel treatment)
- Grants (Billboards, PSA’s, Movie Theaters, and other projects

## Slide 54

## Slide 55

## Slide 56

## Outdoor Interstate Highway Billboards

**Outdoor Interstate Highway Billboards**

## Flyers

**Flyers**
**&**
**Posters**

## Slide 59

## Slide 60

## Movie Theater  Preview Slides on almost 500 screens at AMC & Regal Cinemas  

**Movie Theater  Preview Slides on almost 500 screens at AMC & Regal Cinemas****  **

***Feature Presentation:***
***Spiderman***
** ****&**
***Panic Room***

## Fire Prevention Strike Teams2000 and Beyond

**More Training**
**Out–of–State Assignments:****Joe Burroughs, Gary Carpenter, Linda Starling, Tim Wilkinson **
**	****Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky Nov. 2001**

## Mitigation Specialists – New Position 

**Continue to emphasize News Releases, feature newspaper articles, TV talk shows**
**Emphasizing work with homeowners associations**
**Mitigation specialists are beginning to initiate local Firewise workshops**

## Mitigation Specialists 2002

**Media Contacts ****	****	****	****3,459**
**Door-to-door****	****	****	****	****1,626**
**Presentations/Workshops****	****258 for ****	****	****	****	****	****	****	****24,800+**
**Post Arson Signs****	****	****	****7,984**
**News Releases****	****	****	****87**
**Brochures****	****	****	****	****17,000+**
**WUI Hazard Assess****	****	****40**

## Caloosahatchee District -Edison Light Parade

**Caloosahatchee District -Edison Light Parade**

## Partners working at St. Ag. Fair

**Partners working at St. Ag. Fair**

## Slide 67

## Wildfire Prevention CD Rom

**ITM**** **
**Distribution: 5,000+ Trained Teachers **

## Slide 69

## FIREWISE

**Twenty+ workshops completed through 2002**
**1,000+ individuals trained**
**Florida Firewise Next Generation CD-ROM in production**
**FIREWISE Communities USA **
**	****(Four pilot communities) **

## Slide 71

## QUESTIONS?

**QUESTIONS?**