Georgia Forestry Commission team battles Texas blazes

MACON, GA (August 3, 2006) - A specially trained division of the Georgia Forestry Commission has been dispatched to help fight wildfires in Texas. Twenty-six members of the GFC Incident Management Type-2 Team have arrived at Fort Stockton in Granbury, south of Dallas, where they are serving the Texas Forest Service as it battles fires on thousands of acres in West Texas.

   “Our Rangers are widely known for their expertise in logistics, tractor plowing and on the ground fire suppression,” said Ken Stewart, Director of the Georgia Forestry Commission. “Their training and experience will make a difference in this emergency.” 

   The series of nine fires to date started on private land in brush and mesquite, according to the Texas Forest Service. Steep terrain and lack of access are hampering containment efforts and very active fire behavior is reported.

   GFC Forest Rangers are charged with the protection of people and forests in Georgia through fire prevention and suppression programs. They handle approximately 8,000 wildfires statewide each year. GFC Rangers are highly trained using national protocols under the National Incident Management System and are on-call when emergencies break out elsewhere in the south. The team’s Texas assignment is for 14 days’ service.

   “The Georgia Forestry Commission’s number one priority is protecting and serving the state of Georgia,” said Stewart. “GFC Rangers respond to out-of-state-emergency incidents as long as they’re not critically needed in Georgia.”

   The GFC Type 2 Team received the 2006 Georgia Public Employee Recognition Award for “Leadership” and functions as the Logistics arm for emergencies handled by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA). The team has responded to numerous incidents in the south, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and a series of destructive Georgia wildfires in 2004.