Community wildfire protection plan, Dawson County: 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
Dawson County

March 2017

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.

Community Representative(s): Name David Headley, County Manager
Address 25 Justice Way, Suite 2236 Dawsonville, GA 30534 Phone Number 706-344-3501 ext 235
Signature

Name Address Phone Number Signature

John Edwards Wildcat Community Firewise Representative 1080 Upper Sassafras Parkway, Dawsonville, GA 30534 706-692-4314 email smd10us@windstream.net

Local Fire Department Representative(s): Name Dawson County EMA/EMS Director Lanier Swafford
Address 393 Memory Lane, Dawsonville, GA 30534 Phone Number 706-344-3666 x223 email lswafford@dawsoncounty.org
Signature

Name Address Phone Number Signature

Dawson County Fire Chief Lanier Swafford 393 Memory Lane, Dawsonville, GA 30534 706-344-3666 x226 email lswafford@dawsoncounty.org

Local Georgia Forestry Commission Representative(s): Name Tim Joy, Chief Ranger
Address 4500 Hwy. 53 E, Dawsonville, GA 30534 Phone Number 706-216-2713 email tjoy@gfc.state.ga.us
Signature

Name Address Phone Number Signature

Mark L. Wiles, Wildfire Prevention Specialist 1884 Coldwater Road, Elberton, Georgia 30635 706-988-6856 email mwiles@gfc.state.ga.us

Local USDA Forest Service Representative(s): Name Mike Davis USFS Chattahoochee-Oconee NF Asst. Fire Mgmt Officer
Address 1755 Cleveland Hwy. Gainesville, GA 30501 Phone Number 770-297-3080 office 706-781-7493 cell Other Contact Information email madavis@fs.fed.us
Signature

The following federal and other interested parties were consulted and involved in the preparation of this report.

Name
David McKee Ken Masten District Forester Shawn Alexander District Ranger

Organization
Planning Director Dawson County Georgia Forestry Commission Georgia Forestry Commission

PLAN CONTENTS

1. Objectives and Goals 2. County Background, Existing Situation 3. Community Base and Hazard Mapping 4. Wildland Interface information and Risk Summary 5. Prioritized Mitigation Recommendations 6. Action Plan, Timetables, and Assessment Strategy 7. Wildfire Pre-Suppression Plans 8. Appendix

1.) OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

The mission of the following report is to set clear priorities for the implementation of wildfire mitigation in Dawson 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 communitycentered 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.

2.) COMMUNITY BACKGROUND AND EXISTING SITUATION
Dawson County
Dawson County, in northeast Georgia, is the state's 119th county. Its 211 square miles were carved from parts of Gilmer and Lumpkin counties in 1857 and named for Judge William Crosby Dawson, a native Georgian who served in the state legislature and in the U.S. Senate. Dawsonville, the county seat, was incorporated on December 10, 1859. The current courthouse opened in 1980, replacing one that was constructed around 1858 and has since been restored. Both courthouses are used for official business, with the older one also functioning as a community center and venue for art shows and other exhibitions. The county also includes two unincorporated towns, Landrum and Juno.

The area was inhabited by Cherokee Indians until gold was discovered in north Georgia in 1829. The gold rush brought numerous white prospectors into the region, which Georgia claimed as state territory in 1832. The sad result for the Cherokees was their forcible removal from the land, which was divided among the white settlers through the Georgia land lotteries. Gold was mined on a commercial scale over the next several decades.

The area was a Unionist stronghold during the Civil War (1861-65). Men from Dawson, Pickens, and Union counties created the First Georgia State Troops Volunteers, a full Union regiment. Some of these soldiers were later murdered by Confederate guerrillas.

Dawson County Courthouse

Despite the allure of gold mining, the primary economic focus of the county for most of its existence,

especially in the north, was farming. During and after the prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s,

Dawson County was also an active site for the manufacture and transportation of moonshine. With the

incursion of the boll weevil and the rising cost of mining operations, both cotton agriculture and gold

mining suffered during the 1930s. County citizens, seeing more opportunity in Atlanta, began to leave

McClure Mercantile Store

the area, and whole communities disappeared. The population continued to decline until the 1970s, when several factors combined to reverse the trend. Chief among these was the development of the

northwestern shore of Lake Lanier (created in the late 1950s) by people building weekend houses. Others, many of them retirees,

settled more permanently in the new lake community.

During this time, northern Dawson County also began to draw visitors to its mountains and forests,

including the Amicalola Falls State Park. In 1911 the government purchased 31,000 acres from the

owners of a lumber company. This property, along with other land, became the Chattahoochee

National Forest in 1936. The purchase of 10,000 acres of land from Lockheed-Georgia (later Lockheed

Martin) in 1971 allowed the county to establish the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. This

state-managed game preserve, located just south of Amicalola Falls State Park, brought in more

tourists. Finally, the building of Georgia 400, a toll road extending northward from midtown Atlanta

Amicalola Falls State Park

through Dawson County and ending in neighboring Lumpkin County, played a major role in the

county's growth. In the twenty-first century Dawson County has become one of the top poultry-producing areas in the state.

Western Gray Kangaroos

Additional places of interest include the old county jail, which has been restored and is now the county's welcome center; the old Lumpkin Campground, which was established in 1830 as a Methodist camp-meeting site and is still in use for Methodist and Baptist camp meetings; and Steele's Covered Bridge. Since 1966 the county has hosted an annual Moonshine Festival in celebration of its history. In 2000 the Kangaroo Conservation Center, established originally in Alpharetta, opened on eighty-seven acres in Dawsonville. The center is home to approximately 300 kangaroos, as well as to Australian birds, reptiles, and plants.

NASCAR driver Bill Elliott is a famous native of Dawson County. The county is one of the fastest growing in the United States, with a 69.7 percent increase in population between 1990 and 2000. According to the 2000 U.S. census, the population was 15,999 (97.2 percent white, 0.4 percent black, and 1.6 percent Hispanic). The above material is courtesy of the New Georgia Encyclopedia

Fire History

For the most part, Dawson County has experienced lower annual fire numbers and somewhat larger acreages than the typical County in Georgia. During the past 5 fiscal years, there was an average of 13.40 fires each year that burned 15.46 acres. Statistics for FY 2016 (July 15 June 16) are listed in the table on the next page. During FY 2016 the average size fire in the County was 1.72 acres. The statewide average in FY 2016 was 4.13 acres. During fiscal year 2015 there were 9 fires that burned 8.40 acres. During FY 2015 the average size was .93 acre which was less than one quarter of the statewide average of 4.50 acres.

Thus far in FY 17 which began on July 1, 2016, there have been 15 fires documented. These fires were attributed to a variety of causes, from escaped campfires to debris burning. This fire season was unprecedented in the north Georgia mountains, and was driven by extreme drought that began in the late summer of 2016.

Final Wildland Fire data for Dawson County Fiscal year 2016

County = Dawson

Cause

Fires

Campfire

Campfire

3

Children

Children

1

Debris: Escaped Prescribed Burn

Debris: Escaped Prescribed Burn

0

Debris: Residential, Leafpiles, Yard, Etc Debris: Residential, Leafpiles, Yard, Etc

2

Debris: Site Prep - Forestry Related

Debris: Site Prep - Forestry Related

2

Incendiary

Incendiary

1

Machine Use

Machine Use

1

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

0

Miscellaneous: Firearms/Ammunition

Miscellaneous: Firearms/Ammunition

1

Miscellaneous: Other

Miscellaneous: Other

1

Miscellaneous: Power lines/Electric fences Miscellaneous: Power lines/Electric fences

1

Miscellaneous: Structure/Vehicle Fires

Miscellaneous: Structure/Vehicle Fires

0

Miscellaneous: Woodstove Ashes

Miscellaneous: Woodstove Ashes

1

Smoking

Smoking

0

Undetermined

Undetermined

4

Totals for County: Dawson Year: 2016

18

Acres

Fires Acres 5 Yr Avg 5 Yr Avg

3.75

1.40

1.35

2.90

0.80

0.98

0.00

0.40

2.00

2.40

2.80

1.82

1.34

0.40

0.27

0.00

0.20

0.00

1.69

1.40

1.21

0.00

0.80

0.55

0.22

0.40

0.84

1.11

0.60

0.40

0.60

0.60

0.18

0.00

0.40

0.23

0.59

0.60

0.32

0.00

0.60

0.43

16.34

2.00

4.87

30.94

13.40 15.46

3.) COMMUNITY HAZARD MAPPING

4.) Wildland Urban Interface Information and Risk Summary
The Wildland-Urban Interface
There are many definitions of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), however from a fire management perspective it is commonly defined as an area where structures and other human development meet or intermingles with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. As fire is dependent on a certain set of conditions, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group has defined the wildland-urban interface as a set of conditions that exists in or near areas of wildland fuels, regardless of ownership. This set of conditions includes type of vegetation, building construction, accessibility, lot size, topography and other factors such as weather and humidity. When these conditions are present in certain combinations, they make some communities more vulnerable to wildfire damage than others. This "set of conditions" method is perhaps the best way to define wildland-urban interface areas when planning for wildfire prevention, mitigation, and protection activities.
There are three major categories of wildland-urban interface. Depending on the set of conditions present, any of these areas may be at risk from wildfire. A wildfire risk assessment can determine the level of risk.
1. "Boundary" wildland-urban interface is characterized by areas of development where homes, especially new subdivisions, press against public and private wildlands, such as private or commercial forest land or public forests or parks. This is the classic type of wildland-urban interface, with a clearly defined boundary between the suburban fringe and the rural countryside.
2. "Intermix" wildland-urban interface areas are places where improved property and/or structures are scattered and interspersed in wildland areas. These may be isolated rural homes or an area that is just beginning to go through the transition from rural to urban land use.
3. "Island" wildland-urban interface, also called occluded interface, are areas of wildland within predominately urban or suburban areas. As cities or subdivisions grow, islands of undeveloped land may remain, creating remnant forests. Sometimes these remnants exist as parks, or as land that cannot be developed due to site limitations, such as wetlands. (Courtesy Fire Ecology and Wildfire Mitigation in Florida 2004)
Dawson County is typical of a county that is undergoing a rapid transition from an isolated rural county to a highly desirable recreational and retirement destination. It contains mixtures of both boundary and intermix interface.

Wildland Urban Interface Hazards Firefighters in the wildland urban interface may encounter hazards other than the fire itself, such as hazardous materials, utility lines and poor access.
Hazardous Materials
Common chemicals used around the home may be a direct hazard to firefighters from flammability, explosion potential and/or vapors or offgassing. Such chemicals include paint, varnish and other flammable liquids; fertilizer; pesticides; cleansers; aerosol cans, fireworks, batteries and ammunition. In addition, some common household products such as plastics may give off very toxic fumes when they burn. Stay OUT of the smoke from burning structures and any unknown sources such as trash piles.
Illicit Activities
Marijuana plantations or drug production labs may be found in wildland urban interface areas. Extremely hazardous materials such as propane tanks and flammable/toxic chemicals may be encountered, as well as booby traps.
Propane tanks
Both large (household size) and small (gas grill size) liquefied propane gas (LPG) tanks can present hazards to firefighters, including explosion. See the "LPG Tank Hazards" discussion for details.
Utility lines
Utility lines may be located above and below ground and may be cut or damaged by tools or equipment. Don't spray water on utility lines or boxes.
Septic tanks and fields
Below-ground structures may not be readily apparent and may not support the weight of engines or other apparatus.

New construction materials
Many new construction materials have comparatively low melting points and may "offgas" extremely hazardous vapors. Plastic decking materials that resemble wood are becoming more common and may begin softening and losing structural strength at 180 F, though they normally do not sustain combustion once direct flame is removed. However, if they continue to burn they exhibit the characteristics of flammable liquids.
Pets and livestock
Pets and livestock may be left when residents evacuate and will likely be highly stressed, making them more inclined to bite and kick. Firefighters should not put themselves at risk to rescue pets or livestock.
Evacuation occurring
Firefighters may be taking structural protection actions while evacuations of residents are occurring. Be very cautious of people driving erratically. Distraught residents may refuse to leave their property, and firefighters may need to disengage from fighting fire to contact law enforcement officers for assistance. In most jurisdictions firefighters do not have the authority to force evacuations. Firefighters should not put themselves at risk trying to protect someone who will not evacuate!
Limited access
Narrow one-lane roads with no turn-around room, inadequate or poorly maintained bridges and culverts are frequently found in wildland urban interface areas. Access should be sized-up and an evacuation plan for all emergency personnel should be developed.
Risk Summary
This report was amended in 2017 to include updates to information from the original report. In 2010, an initial meeting between Dawson County fire officials, John Edwards of Wildcat Community, and officials of the Georgia Forestry Commission, assessments were made of areas of concern in the County. An assessment of the Wildcat Community on the Dawson Pickens County line was not completed as this community is already recognized as a Firewise USA community. Using the Form 140 Georgia Forestry Commission Woodland Community Wildfire Hazard Assessment form, Dawson County fire personnel grouped areas together and assessments were made of five different geographic regions. Information gathered for these areas are listed in the tables that follow. Primary hazards include poor access in Mountain communities and increased fire intensity and suppression difficulty on steep slopes. This updated report reflects the communities assessed, and ranks them according to their overall wildfire hazard potential.

Community Name(s) Big Canoe Signboard Gap, Amicalola Woods, John Town, Fern Valley/ Crave Rd A.T. Moore, Kelly Bridge, Cowart Rd., Hwy 9 South, Dawson Forest War Hill Park Rd., Nix Bridge Rd, Kilough Church Rd., Elliott Rd, Nix Rd., Grant Ford Dr., Price Rd Hwy.136 West, Elliott Family Parkway, Sweetwater Juno, Keith Evans, Bailey Waters Rd.

Location Steve Tate Road Northwestern Dawson County
Southwestern Dawson County
Eastern Dawson County Lake Property
North Central Dawson County

Size 7,772 acres 5,550
11,165 acres 5,975 acres
13,899 acres

Homes built
2734 homes built 232 homes built

Overall Wildfire Hazard Rating 142 Extreme 124 moderate

472 homes built

122.5 moderate

1,915 homes built 104 moderate

665 homes built

101 moderate

It should be noted that these assessments do not coincide with the communities at risk layer in the Southern Fire Risk Assessment.

4) PRIORTIZED MITIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations were developed by collaboration between the Georgia Forestry Commission and Dawson County Fire and Emergency Services. A priority order was determined based on which mitigation projects would best reduce the hazard of wildfire in the assessment area.
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
Proposed Community and Structural Ignitability Reduction Priorities:
1. Locate lack of and improve defensible space around structures in communities at risk 2. Identify access problems that affect initial attack in communities at risk 3. Identify structural ignitability concerns in communities at risk 4. Identify and resolve problems with codes, covenants, or ordinances that negatively influence
structural ignitability
Proposed Wildland Fuel Reduction or Modification Priorities:
1. Reduction or modification of wildland fuel in proximity to communities at risk 2. Reduction or modification of fuel concentrations in shared spaces inside communities at risk
Proposed Improvements to capabilities of Wildland Response agencies:
1. Identify needs and improve training and qualification of wildland response agencies 2. Identify needs and recommend equipment acquisitions for wildland response agencies
Proposed Education and Outreach Priorities:
1. Improve public knowledge in communities at risk and in the general population of Dawson County regarding Firewise principles.
2. Notification of communities at risk regarding wildland fire hazard 3. Improvements to public notification during periods of high to extreme fire danger.

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 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

5) Action Plan

Steps to implement Community Hazard and Structural Ignitability

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

Specific Action and Responsible Party Using the risk summaries referenced 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. This would probably be best accomplished by approaching homeowners associations or organizations. Ultimately, the message should reach individual homeowners in each community. Should local organizations not exist, the builder or developer could be contacted. Such contacts would also influence future projects or developments Using individual Communities at Risk maps for each station, the Georgia Forestry Commission and Dawson 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 Dawson 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 could be formulated and used) structures should be assessed and findings conveyed to residents. This could be through use of media or by direct contact with residents or homeowners associations. Dawson 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, lack of proper identification pertaining address or street names, set back distances from wildland fuels, and road widths in new developments.

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

5) Action Plan

Steps to implement Fuel Reduction or Modification Priorities

Hazard Hazardous Wildland Fuel Accumulations
Fuel Continuity between Wildland and Woodland Communities
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. These projects will have to be carefully considered due to fuel, topography, and community acceptance or support. Fire department support will be necessary prior to and during execution of the projects. In areas where the need exists and fuel reduction by burning is determined to be inappropriate, permanent or semi-permanent fuel breaks could be established. These breaks should be maintained annually prior to the arrival of prime burning times. Their locations should be mapped and made known to local, state, and federal response personnel. Residents of the Communities adjacent to these breaks should be advised of their purpose and their cooperation in protecting them should be gained. These breaks could be installed by the Georgia Forestry Commission. 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.

Steps to implement improvements to wildland response capability

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

Responsible Party and specific action
Chief Ranger Tim Joy, District Ranger Shawn Alexander of the Georgia Forestry Commission and Dawson County Fire Chief Lanier Swafford should examine all training records for personnel under their supervision. All personnel expected to respond to wildland fire should be certified Georgia Basic Wildland Firefighter or higher in qualification. Additional training and qualification should be sought for personnel identified in the Dawson County Fire plan 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 Dawson 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 Sweatman and Fire Chief Swafford.

5) Action Plan

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

Responsible Party and Specific Action Prior to the onset of fire season(s) Rangers of the Georgia Forestry Commission and Dawson 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 Dawson County unit of the Georgia Forestry Commission and used for all Firewise meetings in Dawson County. Local news media should be invited to these meetings. 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 and their role in improving their own personal safety.

5) Action Plan
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 take place as manpower and scheduling permits.
Pre-planning to examine access and suppression problems should take place at any time during the current burning season.
Codes and Ordinances should be examined as soon as possible in order for the legal workings of changes to take place.
Steps to implement Fuel Reduction or Modification Priorities
Any identified prescribed burn projects 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.
Steps to reduce fuels in communities at risk should coincide with steps to improve defensible space and reduce structural ignitability. Timing of these actions would be dependent upon Fire station availability during 2017.
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 during the calendar year 2017
The use of media should coincide with the above action.

5) Action Plan
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.
6) Wildfire Pre-Suppression Plans
Wildland presuppression plans for the Georgia Forestry Commission, Big Canoe community and Wildcat Community are included in the appendix
7) Appendix
Wildfire Presuppression plans for Dawson County (Georgia Forestry Commission), Wildcat Community, and Big Canoe

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