5A.4
Fire Use Management Teams—Meeting Organizational Needs of Managing Long-Duration Wildland Fires
Wayne Cook, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, MT; and G. T. Zimmerman
As Federal wildland fire management agencies plan and implement management of long-duration wildland fires, the need for specialized organizational resources to address the development of strategic needs and to oversee implementation is expanding. Past actions for these kinds of fires have accommodated needs through local resources and small local management groups. However, the need for and establishment of formal management organizations to manage complex fire situations in remote areas has become increasingly important since the late 1980’s. To meet these needs, a program creating Fire Use Management Teams consisting of interagency personnel with availability for interagency use has been developed. These teams bring unique risk assessment and fire growth projection capabilities to support decision-making as well as skills to improve planning and direct implementation activities on long-duration wildland fires, including, but not limited to wildland fire use and confinement actions that require long-term commitments. Recognition and use is increasing and the associated workload and accomplishments are markedly expanding. This paper describes the team concept, how it originated, team structure, configurations, and skill sets, and details accomplishments since the program’s inception.
Session 5A, Wildland Fire Use (Special Session) (Track I)
Thursday, 20 November 2003, 8:00 AM-2:30 PM
Previous paper Next paper