Community wildfire protection plan, Greene County, Georgia: an action plan for wildfire mitigation and conservation of natural resources

_________________________
_A Program of the Georgia Forestry Commission
with support from the U.S. Forest Service

Community Wildfire Protection Plan
An Action Plan for Wildfire Mitigation and Conservation of Natural Resources
Greene County

NOVEMBER 2016

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
Prepared by: Bill Lee, Chief Ranger Greene County Mark Wiles, Wildfire Prevention Specialist
The following report is a collaborative effort between various entities. The representatives listed below comprise the core decision-making team responsible for this report and mutually agree on the plan's contents.
County Representatives: Name Jeffery Smith -Chairman of Greene County Board of Commissioners
Address 1034 Silver Drive Greensboro, GA 30642 Phone Number 706-453-7716
Name Byron Lombard EMA Director Address 1034 Silver Drive Greensboro, GA 30642 Phone Number 706-453-7716 blombard@greenecountyga.gov
Name Joe Bashore- Greene County Fire Department Coordinator Address 1034 Silver Drive Greensboro, GA 30642 Phone Number 706-453-7967 jbashore@greensboroga.org
Local Fire Department Representatives:
Name Joe Bashore- Greene County Fire Department Coordinator Address 1034 Silver Drive Greensboro, GA 30642 Phone Number 706-453-7967 jbashore@greensboroga.org
Name Dean Bentley-Union Point Fire Department Address Highway 278 Union Pont, GA 30669 Phone Number 706-453-7967
Name Gerald Wheeler-Siloam Fire Department Address Highway 77 South Siloam, GA 30665 Phone Number 706-453-7967
Name Gerald Silvey-Woodville Fire Department Address Peach Tree Street Woodville, GA Phone Number 706-453-7967
Name Will Duvall-Greshamville Fire Department Address Farmington Rd. Greensboro, GA 30642 Phone Number 706-252-4900

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
Name David Price-White Plains Fire Department Address Highway 15 South White Plains, GA 30678 Phone Number 706-453-7967
Name Chris Peters-Liberty Fire Department Address Liberty Church Rd. Greensboro, GA 30642 Phone Number 706-453-7967
Name Byron Lombard-Walker Church Fire Department Address Walker Church Rd. Greensboro, GA 30642 Phone Number 706-453-7967
Name Jay Harrison-Old Salem Fire Department Address Carey Station Rd. Greensboro, GA 30642 Phone Number 706-453-4693
Local USDA Forest Service Representatives:
Tim Kolnik Fire Management Officer Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest
Local Georgia Forestry Commission Representatives:
Bill Lee, Chief Ranger Georgia Forestry Commission
Mark Wiles, Wildfire Prevention Specialist Georgia Forestry Commission
PLAN CONTENTS
1. Objectives and Goals 2. County Background and Existing Fire Situation 3. Risk Summary 4. Prioritized Mitigation Recommendations 5. Action Plan, Timetables, and Assessment Strategy 6. Wildfire Pre-Suppression Plan 7. County Base and Hazards Maps 8. Appendix

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

1) OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

The mission of the following report is to set clear priorities for the implementation of wildfire mitigation in Greene County. The plan includes prioritized recommendations for the appropriate types and methods of fuel reduction and structure ignitability reduction that will protect this county and its essential infrastructure. Prioritized activities to educate the public are included. It also includes a plan for wildfire suppression. Specifically, the plan includes community-centered actions that will:



Educate citizens on wildfire, its risks, and ways to protect lives and properties,



Support fire, rescue, and suppression entities,



Focus on collaborative decision-making and citizen participation,



Develop and implement effective mitigation strategies, and



Develop and implement effective community ordinances and codes.

This plan should become a working document that is shared by local, state, and federal agencies that will use it to accomplish common goals. An agreed-upon schedule for meeting to review accomplishments, solve problems, and plan for the future should extend beyond the scope of this plan. Without this follow up this plan will have limited value

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

2) COUNTY BACKGROUND AND EXISTING FIRE SITUATION

Greene County

Greene County, Georgia's eleventh county, comprises 388 square miles in northeast Georgia, due south of Athens. Created from part of Washington County by the state legislature on February 3, 1786, the county comprises land originally controlled by the Creek Indians, and its first years were marked by Indian raids during the Creek War. The legislature named the county after General Nathanael Greene, a hero of the Revolutionary War (1775-83), who died in the year of the county's formation. According to the 2000 U.S. census, the population of Greene County was 14,406 (53 percent white, 44.4 percent black, and 2.9 percent Hispanic), an increase of 22.2 percent since 1990.

Communities Greene

County's seat is Greensboro, laid out near the center of the county along Richland Creek and chartered in 1786. It became the seat on December 1, 1802, and was incorporated on December 10, 1803. Originally spelled "Greensborough," the town also takes its name from General Greene. The current courthouse was built in 1849 and remodeled in 1938; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Greene County Courthouse

In addition to Greensboro, the county's largest communities are Siloam, Union Point, White Plains, and Woodville. Another community, no longer independent but still notable, was Penfield. Penfield was named after Josiah Penfield of Savannah, who bequeathed $2,500 to the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1829 to help fund education. Using Penfield's donation, the church purchased 450 acres of land north of Greensboro and in 1833 founded a literary and theological school, which was named Mercer Institute after a prominent Baptist pastor, Jesse Mercer. In 1837 the school began calling itself Mercer University, and the following year its trustees were granted the authority to govern the village surrounding the school. Penfield became a center of culture in Greene County, vying with Greensboro for social dominance. But when Mercer University moved from Penfield to Macon in 1871, Penfield gradually lost its population, ultimately being subsumed by Union Point. A few of the old university buildings and a residence remain on the town's original site.

Old Mercer University

Union Point, first settled in the 1770s as Thornton's Cross Road and incorporated in 1901, is located at and takes its current name from the site at which the Georgia Railroad runs two dissecting lines. Much of the town (the "historic district") was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Union Point has undergone extreme financial exigency, and a large hosiery plant was auctioned in August 2004.

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
Siloam, settled during the 1840s, was first called Smyrna but, given that there was another Georgia town with that name, took its current name a few years later. Siloam is home to a private collegepreparatory school, the Nathanael Greene Academy, which makes use of the town's original red-brick high school building, which was constructed in 1929 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. The town's historic district was listed on the register in 2001.

White Plains, incorporated in 1856, was originally called Fort Nell. Its name refers to the surrounding sandy soil, which is quite light in color. White Plains was the birthplace of noted educator and college president William Heard Kilpatrick.

Bethesda Baptist Church

Woodville, first known as Beeman, was incorporated in 1911. Its name is said to have come from the regular loading of wood onto trains at its site along the rail line, several miles above Union Point. The town's Bethesda Baptist Church was organized in 1785, and the remains of an original slave gallery can be seen in its sanctuary, which dates back to 1818.
Economy

Before the Civil War (1861-65), Greene County was largely given over to cotton plantations, with a well-to-do white population and a large slave population. Soil exhaustion and the ravages of the Civil War resulted in a shift from agriculture, in which landowners were the power brokers, to a market economy with a large number of small, poor farmers at its bottom and merchants and lawyers at its top.

Notable Places and People
Lake Oconee, among the notable places in Greene County, was built by Georgia Power Company in 1979 and is the second largest lake in Georgia. The Reynolds Plantation (a private residential lakeand-golf community, which hosts some events open to the public) lies along its shores. First settled in 1782, with a fort built to protect it in 1796, Scull Shoals was once one of the largest mill towns in the county. A series of fires and floods, as well as the Civil War, destroyed the town, and today only a few ruins remain within the Oconee National Forest. Nearby one can visit the Scull Shoals Indian Mounds, built between 1250 and 1500.

Notable former residents of Greene County include Georgia governor Peter Early; lawyer, statesman, and writer Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, who lived there for several years while serving first as a representative to the state legislature and then as a superior court judge; state legislator and supreme court justice Eugenius A. Nisbet; politician and Men of Mark author William J. Northen; Methodist bishop George Foster Pierce; and A. D. Williams, grandfather of Martin Luther King Jr. and pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

The above material is courtesy of the New Georgia Encyclopedia

Scull Shoals Company Store

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

Current Fire Situation:
Wildland fire has not been a serious problem in Greene County when compared to the rest of the state. In FY 2016 (July 1, 2015 June 30 2016) there were 3 fires that burned 32.83 acres for an average size of 10.94 acres. During this same period the statewide average was 4.13 acres. The fire size average for Greene County in FY 2016 was increased the three fires reported being of a larger size, with the smallest fire burning 8.10 acres. The following table outlines fire activity in the county in FY 2016.

County = Greene

Cause

Fires

Campfire

Campfire

0

Children

Children

0

Debris: Ag Fields, Pastures, Orchards, Etc

Debris: Ag Fields, Pastures, Orchards, Etc

0

Debris: Escaped Prescribed Burn Debris: Escaped Prescribed Burn

1

Debris: Other

Debris: Other

1

Debris: Residential, Leafpiles, Yard, Etc

Debris: Residential, Leafpiles, Yard, Etc

0

Debris: Site Prep - Forestry Related Debris: Site Prep - Forestry Related

0

Incendiary

Incendiary

0

Lightning

Lightning

0

Machine Use

Machine Use

0

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

0

Miscellaneous: Fireworks/Explosives

Miscellaneous: Fireworks/Explosives

1

Miscellaneous: Power lines/Electric fences

Miscellaneous: Power lines/Electric fences

0

Smoking

Smoking

0

Undetermined

Undetermined

0

Totals for County: Greene Year: 2016

3

Acres
0.00 0.00 0.00 8.93 15.80
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 8.10

Fires 5 Yr Avg
0.40
0.60

Acres 5 Yr Avg
0.66
7.39

0.20 0.22

1.00 4.10 0.40 3.26

0.80 1.06

0.60 6.20 0.40 0.14 0.80 3.60 1.00 1.13 0.20 0.06

0.20 1.62

0.00 0.00 0.00 32.83

1.00 0.24 1.00 1.16 0.80 2.68 9.40 33.52

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
3) Community Hazard Maps

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
Thus far in FY 2017 which began July 1, 2016 there has been 1 fire that burned 2.15 acres, this fire was started by a broken powerline.
The following outlines fire activity in Greene County for fiscal years 2012 through 2016.

Fiscal Year
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of Fires Acres

19

51.40

12

25.67

6

33.43

7

25.25

3

32.83

Average size
2.75 2.13 5.57 3.46 10.94

Statewide average size 4.98 4.75 5.02 4.50 4.13

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
3) Risk Summary
The risk summary for this county was completed on April 9, 2009, this update does not reflect any new assessments, although it does provide a broad view of the current ongoing risk which were derived from the Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment Program (SFRA). A community at risk layer supported by local knowledge was used to determine the areas to be assessed. It should be noted that not all polygons within the SFRA layer were assessed. The SFRA information was used to assist local fire departments in locating areas that could be assessed. It was not to be the sole deciding factor for determining areas that should be assessed. Seventeen (17) areas were assessed using the Georgia Forestry Commission Form 140 for Woodland Community Wildfire Hazard Assessment. One community was recognized as being at extreme risk, three were designated as at high risk, and thirteen were designated at moderate risk. Information on these areas is presented in tabular form in a document entitled `Risk Summary Greene County, Georgia' located in the appendix. The assessment areas are represented on the level of concern, fire occurrence, and surface fuel maps by a representative point with each areas map number. These points are color coded to match the Risk Summary table. Opportunities for community assessment still exist in the county.
4) Prioritized Mitigation Recommendations
The following recommendations were developed during follow-up meetings with County and State fire response agencies. A priority order was determined based on which mitigation projects would best reduce the hazard of wildland fire to communities and infrastructure. The following priorities were considered.
Community Hazard and Structural Ignitability Reduction Wildland Fuel reduction or modification Improvements to capabilities of Wildland response agencies Public Education regarding risk of wildland fire

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

Proposed Community Hazard and Structural Ignitability Reduction Priorities

Hazard
Lack of defensible space
Access problems for initial attack
Structural Ignitability
Local Codes and Ordinances

Mitigation
Improve defensible space around structures in communities at risk
Improve access problems
Reduce structural ignitability
Improve and amend to codes and ordinances pertaining to infrastructure and community protection from wildland fire.

Method
All departments should examine structures in communities at risk in their response areas. Improvements to defensible space as referenced in Firewise guidelines should be conveyed to residents through media or direct contact. All County response agencies and the Georgia Forestry Commission should closely examine access in all communities identified to be at risk. When problems are identified corrective measures should be made. Citizens in communities at risk should be educated regarding methods to reduce structural ignitability as referenced in Firewise guidelines. This can be accomplished through media or direct contact. Examine all existing codes and ordinances for problems regarding direct conflicts to wildland safety or lack of needed codes or enforcement.

Proposed Wildland Fuel Reduction or modification Priorities

Hazard Fuel Hazards near Communities at risk

Mitigation Prescribed Burning

Fuel Hazard in public or shared spaces

Fuel Modification or reduction

Method Determine Communities at risk where Prescribed burning would be appropriate to use. Seek cooperation from adjacent landowners. Find funding to cover cost of burning. Prioritize burn compartments and execute. Determine where hazards exist. Determine appropriate method for modification or reduction. Chipping, raking and piling, County pick-up, Organized Community Clean-up days could be beneficial.

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

Proposed Improvements to capabilities of Wildland Response Agencies Priorities

Problem or need
Lack of qualification or training

Improvement or
solution Provide training opportunities

Equipment needs

Improve or acquire Wildland fire equipment

Details
Examine training records of all wildland responders to insure training and qualifications match expected duties. Insure that all wildland responders have Basic Wildland Certification. Locate and secure funding for enhanced training from state and federal agencies. Determine specific equipment needs to bring all wildland response equipment to NWCG Standards. Provide appropriate PPE to all County wildland responders. Provide wildland hand tools to County departments. Investigate needs for improvements to all wildland water handing and supply (dry hydrants, brush trucks, hose, etc.)

Proposed Public Education Priorities

Educational Priority
Increase public awareness concerning Firewise principles and fire prevention through direct contact Increase public awareness concerning Firewise principles and fire prevention through use of media

Responsible party
County, State, and municipal governments
County, State, and municipal governments

Increase public awareness and education regarding firewise principles through formal certification

County, State, Federal, and municipal governments

Method
Conduct Firewise meetings by each fire response jurisdiction assisted by Georgia Forestry Commission (state). Conduct a door to door campaign in particularly hazardous communities
Use PSA's in local newspapers and local radio stations. Utilize Firewise displays in local post offices and banks. Seek use of local EMC newsletter for Firewise message. Create poster sized notices for use in common public places (stores, post offices, etc. adjacent to high hazard areas advising residents about the hazard and how to protect themselves and their property. Distribute public notices concerning Firewise at local sporting events and other public gatherings. Provide Firewise materials to the county building permit office for distribution to developers and individual home builders. Obtain Firewise certification for a selected community in the county during calendar year 2017.

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
5) Action Plan
POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES:
As funding is questionable in these times of tight government budgets and economic uncertainty, unconventional means should be identified whereby the need for funding can be reduced or eliminated.
GRANT FUNDING AND MITIGATION ASSISTANCE
Georgia Firewise Community Hazard Mitigation Grant: Georgia Forestry Commission grant designed to assist Firewise communities in the mitigation of fire hazards within their community. The grant is designed to provide financial assistance in helping the community to carry out the recommendations of their Firewise Action Plan.
Community Protection Grant: U.S.F.S. sponsored prescribed fire program. Communities with "at-risk" properties that lie within ten miles of a national forest, National Park Service or Bureau of Land Management tracts may apply with the Georgia Forestry Commission to have their land prescribe burned free-of-charge.
FEMA Mitigation Policy MRR-2-08-01: through GEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program (PDM).
1. To provide technical and financial assistance to local governments to assist in the implementation of long term, cost effective hazard mitigation accomplishments.
2. This policy addresses wildfire mitigation for the purpose of reducing the threat to all-risk structures through creating defensible space, structural protection through the application of ignition resistant construction and limited hazardous fuel reduction to protect life and property.
3. With a complete a registered plan (addendum to the State Plan) counties can apply for pre-mitigation funding. They will also be eligible for HMGP funding if the county is declared under a wildfire disaster.
FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program
1. Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG). The purpose of AFG's is to award one-year grants directly to fire departments and emergency medical services (EMS) organizations of a state to enhance their

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
abilities with respect to fire and related hazards.
2. Fire Prevention and Safety Grants. The purpose of these grants is to assist state, regional, national or local organizations to address fire prevention and safety. Emphasis of the program is on prevention of fire-related injuries to children.
3. Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER). The purpose of SAFER is to award grants directly to volunteer; combination and career fire departments to help the departments increase their cadre of firefighters (enhance their ability for 24-hour response).
Georgia Forestry Commission: Plowing and prescribed burning assistance, as well as forest mastication can be obtained from the GFC as a low-cost option for mitigation efforts.
Individual Homeowners:
1. The elimination of hazardous conditions around a structure must ultimately be the responsibility of the community and the homeowner. They will bear the cost and reap the benefit from properly implemented mitigation efforts.
2. GEMA: Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

5) Action Plan Continued Steps to implement Community Hazard and Structural Ignitability Priorities

Hazard
Lack of Defensible Space
Access problems
Structural Ignitability
Codes and Ordinances

Specific Action and Responsible Party
Using the risk summary in section 3, each department should conduct inspections of communities at risk in their jurisdiction or area of response for lack of defensible space. Findings will be conveyed to residents and treatment methods will be recommended in accordance with Firewise principles. Using the County Base map the Georgia Forestry Commission and Greene County Fire officials should visit all identified communities at risk for the purpose of locating and resolving access difficulties. This inspection should extend into the wildland adjacent to the communities at risk looking for hindrances to suppression tactics Greene County Fire officials should examine structures for structural ignitability concerns at the time when the communities at risk are inspected for lack of defensible space. Using Firewise guidelines for reducing structural ignitability, (a checklist from the Firewise web site could be used) structures should be assessed and findings conveyed to residents. This could be through use of media or by direct contact. Greene County and municipal Fire Marshalls should closely examine all codes and ordinances for gaps and oversights which could cause problems in the wildland fire arena. Examples include proximity of propane tanks to structures, accumulations of debris, Road widths in proposed developments, lack of proper identification pertaining address or street names etc.

In regard to priority, the above steps should first extend to the higher numbers in the extreme category from the risk summary as these communities are at a higher degree of risk. Another means of reaching homeowners would be to distribute literature on Firewise principles through the building permit office. Checklists for Homeowners are available on the Georgia Forestry Commission public website http://www.gfc.state.ga.us . Look under Forest Fire Wildland Urban Interface- Firewise

Steps to implement Fuel Reduction or Modification Priorities

Hazard
Hazardous Wildland Fuel Accumulations
Hazardous Fuel Accumulations in communities and hindrances to suppression

Specific Action and Responsible Party
The Georgia Forestry Commission will prioritize prescribed burning projects adjacent to Communities at risk where burning is determined to be appropriate. In any communities where burning is opposed or not practical, permanent or semi-permanent firebreaks could be installed. These breaks should be mapped and their location(s) made known to all responding agencies. Citizens should be educated as to their purpose. Using the risk summary in section 3, Fire departments could conduct community clean up days in communities at risk in their respective jurisdictions aimed at reducing hazardous fuels and hindrances to suppression in shared community space. Residents would be provided with guidance and access to disposal alternatives for materials removed. Organized burning support in a common area on a specific day could be considered along with the use of a chipper whereby residents could mulch debris as opposed to burning.

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION

5) Action Plan Continued

Steps to implement improvements to wildland response capability

Improvement needed
Improve training and qualification of Greene County Wildland firefighters
Improve or acquire wildland firefighting equipment

Responsible Party and specific action
Chief Ranger Bill Lee and Assistant District Manager David Epps of the Georgia Forestry Commission and Greene Co Fire Coordinator Joe Bashore should examine all training records for personnel under their supervision. All personnel should be certified Georgia Basic Wildland Firefighters or higher in qualification. Additional training and qualification should be sought for personnel identified in Greene County who are assigned specific Incident Command System (ICS) functions. Sources for available funds for training should be sought at State and Federal levels. All stations for Greene County Fire Departments should inventory their present equipment relating to their wildland capability. Funding sources should be investigated from available grants or other sources. Needs for job specific wildland responses should be examined by Chief Ranger Lee and individual Fire Chiefs for each station.

Steps to educate or inform the Public regarding wildland fire prevention and responsibilities

Opportunity
Improve Public Education through direct contact
Improve Public Education through use of media
Increase public awareness and education regarding firewise through formal certification

Responsible Party and Specific Action
Prior to the onset of fire season(s) rangers of the Georgia Forestry Commission and Greene County Fire personnel should conduct Firewise meetings in conjunction with normally scheduled fire department meetings. People living in or near extreme and high risk communities should be invited to these meetings by use of door to door campaigns or by mailbox flyers. Notices regarding these meetings could be placed in local post offices or stores near communities at risk. A Firewise display should be acquired and utilized at this meeting. This display would be retained by the Greene office of the Georgia Forestry Commission and used for all Firewise meetings in Greene County. Local news media should be invited to these meetings. Goals for potential Firewise certified communities in Greene County could be considered after these meetings are completed. Prior to the onset of fire season(s) or during periods of particularly high fire danger use of the media should be stepped up by personnel of the Georgia Forestry Commission. This should include use of all available media in the County. PSA's should be run weekly during periods of high to extreme fire danger. Signs or poster boards could be developed for display in public spaces near communities at risk advising residents that they live in areas that are susceptible to wildland fire and directing them to sources of information regarding wildland fire safety. Before the end of calendar year 2017, the Georgia Forestry Commission and Greene County Fire Services should identify and obtain Firewise certification for an agreed upon community or interface development.

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
Timetables for Actions
Steps to implement Community Hazard and Structural Ignitability Priorities
Steps to examine communities at risk for defensible space and structural ignitability should begin as soon as practical with existing work schedules. This should occur prior to the time when most citizens begin fall or spring cleanup projects in order for recommendations regarding improvements to defensible space and reduction of structural ignitability to coincide with these seasonal actions.
Pre-planning to examine access and suppression problems should take place as soon as possible by fire department jurisdiction.
Codes and Ordinances should be examined as soon as possible.
Steps to implement Fuel Reduction or Modification Priorities
Any prescribed burn project to reduce fuels should take place in late winter 2017-
2018. Any other priority burn projects or installation of pre suppression fuel breaks should take place during this same window. Follow up burns should take place every 3 years following the initial burn to maintain favorable fuel levels.
Steps to reduce fuels in communities at risk should coincide with steps to
improve defensible space and reduce structural ignitability Late Winter 2017 and beyond.
Steps to implement improvements to wildland response capability
Cooperation between state and local wildland suppression forces regarding
improvements to training and equipment should begin immediately.
Steps to educate or inform the Public regarding wildland fire prevention and responsibilities
Direct contact with residents in Communities at risk should take place as soon as possible.
The use of media should coincide with the above action. Firewise certification should be obtained for the community identified prior to the
end of calendar 2017.

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
Assessment of Actions
Reduction of Community hazard and structural ignitability
Direct measurement of the number of communities assessed would be the appropriate measure of success
Any meetings that result in cooperation between wildland departments should be logged along with minutes of those meetings. Goals should be set and reviewed after each meeting.
Any changes to or additions to codes and ordinances would be an obvious measure of success.
Steps to implement Fuel Reduction or Modification Priorities
Acres burned would be the appropriate measure for fuel reduction. A direct measure of linear feet of firebreaks would be an appropriate measure for pre suppression breaks.
Fuel reduction in communities at risk would be measured by the number of communities affected and number of projects completed.
Steps to implement improvements to wildland response capability
A direct measure of the number of capabilities or qualifications gained would be the appropriate measure of success.
Any equipment acquired or any equipment brought up to national standards would be the appropriate measure of success.
Steps to educate or inform the Public regarding wildland fire prevention and responsibilities
Direct measurement of the number of persons contacted, literature distributed, public notices posted, news articles published, radio programs aired, etc. would be the best measure of success.
Direct measurement of the number of Firewise certifications obtained would be the obvious measure of success.

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
6) Wildfire Pre-Suppression Plan
This document is located in the appendix of this plan.
7) County Base and Hazards maps
The maps for Level of Concern, Surface Fuels, Historical Fire Occurrence, and USFS lands are located in the appendix of this plan.
8) Appendix Wildfire Pre-Suppression Plan County Base and Hazards maps Risk Summary table
All files that make up this plan are available in an electronic format from the Georgia Forestry Commission. This is especially useful in regard to viewing the PDF files that make up the County Base and Hazards maps in that it will allow for increased magnification and improved resolution.

WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN: AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
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