FEDERAL FIRE POLICY

• The State duty officer will contact DEM and the National Guard. The National Guard will determine the availability, contact points, etc., for the use of the resource/facility. The

National Guard will contact their local unit and brief their personnel on procedures to be taken. • The state duty officer will contact the requesting fire center with specifics of the request.

FEDERAL FIRE POLICY

GENERAL Federal agencies’ wildland fire management policy allows them a full range of management options; from little or no action to aggressive, full suppression, when considering what action to take on wildland fires. Further, these actions can change with time as the fire moves across the landscape and conditions change. Additionally, multiple suppression strategies can be employed on a single fire.

The Division recognizes that every land management agency has the prerogative to determine a management response to any fire within their jurisdiction. The challenge comes when wildfires have the potential to be multijurisdictional and jurisdictional management objectives do not coalesce.

In general, it is the Division’s position that fires managed using this type of strategy should not involve private lands. Where this is not practical, federal agencies will relieve state and county governments of any suppression costs, liability or claims.

DIRECTION • An Area FMO and/or Area Manager needs to be involved when a federal agency makes the decision to manage a fire at less than full suppression. • Obtain regular briefings on the status of the fire. The frequency will vary depending on fire size, current and projected activity and proximity to state or private lands. • Ensure Division concerns/objectives are stated, understood and documented on record using the WFDSS system. These would include but not limited to: › firefighter and public safety should be the primary concern; › potential suppression cost incurred by the state and county; › impacts to private property, natural resources, watersheds, and social and cultural values; › impacts to local economies; › air quality impacts; › impacts to resource availability as a result of a long duration incident; and › impacts to interagency and intergovernmental relationships. • Including private lands in any fire managed at less than full suppression will be the very rare exception. Because of the Division’s statutory requirements and cooperative agreements with our county partners the best course of action is to suppress fires at the smallest size and least cost. The inclusion of private lands in these types of fires will require approval from landowners), county officials and the State Office. A delegation of