One More Day

The Great Lakes Fire, situated a mile south-southwest of New Bern, North Carolina, burned 32,400 acres and is currently 90% contained as of May 15, 2023. While the fire threatened the community of New Bern and the areas around Croatan National Forest during its initial run, the prompt response from the concerned partners ensured a positive outcome. However, the partners acknowledge that the situation could have been much worse had the fire burned for one more day. This realization prompted a formal request to review existing mitigation programs, investigate community capacity, improve cross-boundary communication, and provide recommendations to increase effectiveness and efficiency. To this end, CMAT hosted several workshops, including an assessment of existing partnerships, a field tour to review successes and discuss opportunities, and a workshop for local government planners to learn about smart growth options in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).  

The development of a partnership in the Croatan area has been conceptualized as the Croatan Fireshed Partnership. In this report, CMAT refers to this partnership as a way to bring together individuals and organizations to collaborate on issues related to the Croatan National Forest and surrounding areas. While the CMAT has not yet defined the exact boundaries of the Fireshed, it has focused on the Croatan National Forest and all lands within Craven, Carteret, Jones, and Onslow counties, as well as Department of Defense lands. A fireshed is a geographic area where wildland fire has potential to overlap and interact with socially-important resources and assets, and where a coordinated mitigation, response, and recovery strategy could influence wildfire outcomes relative to those values.

This report outlines recommendations for all entities, agencies, and collaborative bodies within the Croatan Fireshed Area and focuses on three themes: Resilient Landscapes, Wildland Urban Interface, and Fire Adapted Communities. The report includes a Partners’ Toolbox to facilitate the implementation of CMAT's recommendations. The statement "one more day" serves as a reminder that every action taken by the partners, guided by the recommendations in this report, is crucial in avoiding a catastrophic outcome tomorrow.  

Consider these guiding principles when developing your Croatan Fireshed Partnership and collaborative mitigation projects; they will make your efforts more effective.

The Croatan Fireshed encompasses three counties, Craven, Jones, and Carteret, with adjacent private lands in Onslow County. These three counties are all at medium to high risk for wildfire impacts: Craven County has a higher risk than 76% of the US, Carteret at 83%, and Jones at 68%, and Onslow County at 74% ( WildfireRisk.org ).    

The Croatan National Forest comprises 160,000 acres of pine forests, saltwater estuaries, bogs and raised swamps called pocosins. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the word pocosin comes from an Eastern Algonquian word meaning "swamp-on-a-hill." Pocosins typically occur in broad, low-lying shallow basins that do not drain naturally. Pocosins are formed by the accumulation of organic matter, which builds up over thousands of years. In the Croatan National Forest, due to the pressures of development and altered hydrology the once wet areas have been dried, leaving a more readily available fuel that burns for months.  

Adjacent to the Croatan, rapid development is changing the landscape. Plantations of loblolly pines, a species not well adapted to fire, grow as quickly as the homes. The Highway 70 expansion to the south will bring visitors and residents quickly to the beautiful shores, while military installations stand steadfast with approximately 180,000 individuals living and working on Marine Corps Base Camp (MCBC) Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point. 

FINDINGS:

A strength of the individual partners is to plan and implement strategic mitigation projects that fall within their individual plans of work. For example, the Croatan National Forest plans and implements large prescribed fire projects across the area, similar to the work of NCWRC; however, coordination and planning together is not as common.  

Partners have different methods of promoting mitigation; however, due to far more impactful flooding and hurricanes, hazard information and programs are focused on these natural hazards.  

The partners of the Croatan Fireshed Partnership have significantly different missions, strategies, and tactics. Nonetheless, they have cultivated a culture of togetherness that has resulted in the protection of vast stretches of land, demonstrating the power of collaboration. The recommendations within the partnership section are designed to facilitate collaboration among partners and guide the development of a clear plan for the Croatan Fireshed. By outlining next steps, the aim is to bring together the individual entities and create a unified effort towards achieving shared wildfire resilience goals. 

To make a meaningful impact on the health of the area's forests and communities, it is essential that all recommendations presented involve the Croatan Fireshed Partnership in a strategic way. Regardless of the organization leading the partnership, a coordinated and effective approach is necessary for success. By working together in a strategic manner, partner can ensure that all recommendations are aligned with the partnership's goals and objectives. This will help to maximize impact and achieve a shared vision of healthier, more resilient landscape and safer communities. 

The CMAT found that Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) were historically supported by the state at a fire district scale. The generation of plans that is now around 10 years old focus on response capabilities and have few actionable recommendations for specific mitigation programs or projects. Despite North Carolina having the highest percentage of wildland-urban interface of any state, flood and hurricane concerns overshadow wildfires as a hazard.

Recommendations:

Short Term: 

• Expand the focus from response to landscape and natural resource management to include mitigation and public safety efforts.  
• Align all work with the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy's vision statement, “To safely and effectively extinguish fire, when needed; use fire where allowable; manage our natural resources; and collectively, learn to live with wildland fire.” 
• Invite critical partners that are missing.
• Organize the partnership. 
  • Appoint a dedicated Croatan Fireshed leadership manager or team.  
  • Key agencies and organizations, such as the NCFS and the USFS, allocate significant resources and demonstrate their commitment. This local individual or team will assume responsibility for overseeing the entire process, from the initial meetings to the successful implementation of the plan. Importantly, the assigned work must not be treated as a secondary duty, but rather be given priority and recognized as a primary focus.  
  • Investigate the use of the  Agriculture Conservation Experienced Services (ACES)  Program to hire USFS retirees to support critical development phase of the Partnership

• Engage individuals that have made commitments or offered to assist with initial partnership development [John Langdon (US Forest Service), Hannah Thompson-Welch (NC Forest Service), and Thomas Glasgow (North Carolina Cooperative Extension)]
• Take inspiration from existing successful collaborations and relationships. It's essential to keep in mind that partnerships are comprised of individuals, and by promoting positive connections and transparent communication, you can establish a culture of teamwork and mutual support within the Croatan Fireshed Partnership. 
• Develop a common operating picture: 
  • Get to know each other's programs and available resources. 
  • Assess the hazard and risk within the area by sharing maps and plans, identifying the highest hazard areas, values at risk, fuels treatment history, ingress and egress routes. 
  • Create a list of resources, programs, and tools that each partner brings to the partnership. 
• Communicate frequently and share tools that provide up-to-date information on prescribed fire, wildland fire, programs, and projects. 
• Collaboratively agree upon a governing structure, decision-making rules, and a plan to share the work: 
  • Set a meeting schedule for the next six months. 
  • Develop a mission statement and goals that align with the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy's vision statement. 
  • Define roles and responsibilities for each partner. 

• Update the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP): 
  • Integrate specific wildfire hazards and prioritized mitigation actions into the CWPP. 
  • Include major trends and addressing growth, building recommendations, and countywide mitigation services. 
  • Provide addendum templates for jurisdictions within the county to specify local project priorities and resource needs, and for communities using the community-scale assessment to identify short- and mid-range actions residents and neighborhoods will pursue 

• Long Term: 
  • Develop working groups to focus on the specific tenets of the national Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. 
  • Evaluate and adjust the partnership's efforts on a regular basis to ensure continued success and progress towards the goals.  

Recommendations: 

Expand prescribed fire capabilities through recruitment of personnel, training, and resource sharing. Sharing can include funding, equipment, resource investments, communication and coordination with cooperators.  

Ongoing: 

• Ensure all burn personnel are familiar with prescribed burn project units and the objectives. [Agency responsible for burn] 

• Anchor prescribed fire to previously burned areas. [Agency responsible for burn] 

• Plan prescribed fire treatment areas with connectivity to previous wildfires or other treatment units [All prescribed fire practitioners]   

• Expand community awareness of prescribed fire operations by sharing maps of planned burn areas before the start of burn season. [All prescribed fire practitioners]   

• Increase presence of Longleaf Pine on the landscape through conversions of Loblolly Pine in areas at high risk to wildfire and educational and learning opportunities. [All Partners] 

Short Term:  

• Utilize hurricane relief funding to purchase dual purpose low ground pressure tractor plow units which can be used for prescribed fire line preparation and support hurricane relief. [USFS]   
• Expand cooperative agreements to involve all fire responders in both prescribed fire and wildfire activity. [USFS, NCFS, DOD, FDs]   
• Initiate hiring staff with appropriate qualifications (Assistant Fire Management Officer, Engineering Equipment Operators and Fuels Specialists) on the Croatan National Forest to advance prescribed fire mitigation projects. It is essential that these positions work with FS Partnership Coordinator to advance agreements and Memorandums of Understandings (MOU) and build community relationships and partnerships.  [USFS]   
• Take full advantage of the Great Lakes Fire to implement fires that burn into the pocosin, while the fuels allow for safe burning. [USFS] 
• Continue coordination with Department of Transportation to remove silt fencing, develop detours or closures and mow/masticate fence lines and easements prior to burn windows. [USFS]   
• Strengthen the Sentinel Landscape partnership by integrating DOD installations into fire mitigation planning, implementation, and treatment maintenance. [USFS, DOD] 
• Renew Onslow Bight Stewardship Alliance MOU and incorporate value for community wildfire protection. 
• Develop several ways to share information about planned burning. Do not expect email ignition and burning notifications will suffice. 
  • Invite area partners to receive notifications from WildCAD, a Computer Aided Dispatch System that shares fire information with responders and partners. [USFS] 
  • Investigate ways to notify local fire responders about NCFS burning permits, such as the possibility of mapped locations for permitted burns that are shared with responders. 

Long Term: 

• Focus training needs, personnel recruitment and sharing of personnel on Burn Bosses or  North Carolina Certified Burner  qualifications to implement prescribed fire treatments. [All organizations that use prescribed fire]  

• Ensure new five-year agreement with DOD is specific enough to enable maximum support between the agencies. Include mechanisms to pay for cross-boundary support for vegetation management projects in addition to emergency response. [USFS]  

• Complete agreements or MOU to share equipment, personnel, and training for prescribed fire treatments. Authorize mutual support for mitigation actions including but not limited to: cross-boundary funding mechanisms, equipment sharing, prescribed fire operations, and aviation contract cost-sharing. [All prescribed fire practitioners] 

• Use the Good Neighbor Authority to pay for North Carolina Forest Service personnel and equipment to prepare prescribed fire line and continue to support prescribed fire implementation. [USFS] 

• Investigate state level opportunities to develop a formal mechanism that allows USFS funding to support NCFS work and equipment. Formulate a statewide agreement to increase efficiencies and consistency whereby each unit may subsequently utilize a Supplemental Project Agreement (SPA) for specific projects. [USFS, Southern Group of State Foresters] 

• Conduct the appropriate environmental analysis to implement prescribed burn projects in the Pond Pine Wilderness. [USFS] 

Look back in time to 1990 at the southern edge of New Bern and the northernmost edge of the Croatan National Forest. Notice the expansion near county line road and along the Highway 70 corridor. This is an example of an area where consideration of wildfire risk for new development is recommended.

Recommendations:  

Ongoing: 

• Coordinate treatment locations within the WUI to determine strategic locations to mitigate wildfire. [Adjacent landowners and agencies responsible for management of adjoining lands] 
• Ensure that a maintenance agreement and obligation is established with clear intention of who will maintain the treatments. [USFS] 
• Connect treatments with private lands and State-owned property previously treated with prescribed fire and where recent wildfires occurred. 

Short Term: 

• Seek grant funding to implement mechanized fuels treatments adjacent to the Havelock Community and MCAS Cherry Point through submittal of a pre-proposal to the  2024 REPI Challenge Program , due June 2023. [USFS, DOD]  
• Provide new developments and Homeowners' Associations (HOAs) with guidance to provide sample planning tools and covenants to influence wildfire adapted developments until WUI codes can be adopted. [Local Governing Unit]  
• Develop WUI codes, covenants, and restrictions examples for homeowners' association. These need to be tailored for the local social and natural landscapes. [Local Governing Unit] 
• Establish a process for review of new development in the WUI and recommend actions to mitigate wildfire threat. Use NCFS as a subject matter expert. [Local Governing Unit]  
• Research, evaluate and provide technical assistance for cost effective alternative treatments for hazardous fuel reduction where prescribed fire is not feasible. (NC Cooperative Extension, Soil and Water Conservation, NCFS, USFS)   
  • Utilize outside private contractors for fuel treatment services that may not be available through state or federal forest management agencies. Federal contracts to fund private contractor’s services may be funded through Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity system.
  • Seek technical assistance in the use of herbicides from the North Carolina Forest Service or North Carolina Cooperative Extension. 
• Work with Coastal Land Trust to assess wildfire risk and develop a mitigation strategy for Havelock Jerrett tract A. [USFS] 
• Work with USFS to identify and accomplish cross boundary hazardous fuels reduction projects near MCAS Cherry Point, Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field (MCALF) Bogue (known as Bogue Airfield), and MCB Camp Lejeune [DOD] 
• Assess wildfire risk of military base housing and organize, plan and implement necessary actions to increase fire adaptation and resilience. This includes home hardening, fire-resistant building materials and landscaping, and community mitigation. Planning and practices should be consistent with DOD Local Defense Community Cooperation program and grants. [DOD] 

Long Term: 

• Collaboratively develop WUI land use and building ordinances specific to each local planning unit. 
  • Planners should work with fire marshals, NCFS, and fire departments to thoughtfully plan enforcement of desired Wildland Urban Interface codes or ordinances.  
  • County Forest Rangers and county extension offices can provide subject matter expertise for vegetation management and planting guidance and/or requirements.  
  • Fire Marshals, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), builders, and developers bring subject matter expertise on design and construction materials that resist wildfire.  
• Planners work with Homeowners Association to assist them with covenants and bylaws to address vegetation management and community emergency preparedness. Consider inclusion of these rules as a requirement for new subdivisions. 
• Include considerations for wildfires and enabling prescribed fires in expansion and maintenance of services such as electricity, water, natural gas, and communication sites. Ensure processes are in place to consider wildfire hazards during design and development stages. 

This 5-minute video shares a success story of thoughtful planning and active management on a county park surrounded by private lands with the North Carolina Forest Service. Prescribed fire in this landscape well ahead of time was essential to protecting the neighborhood when a wildfire occurred.

FINDING: North Carolina Forest Service (NCFS) acts as the primary agency leading private land wildfire mitigation activities. NCFS has responsibility to protect, manage and develop the forest resources of the state and provides a full suite of forest management resources to area residents and partners. Current mitigation programs are supported by two individuals covering the entire state. One NCFS Wildfire Mitigation Specialist serves the eastern 50 counties of North Carolina. Although there are County Rangers, they have many responsibilities for comprehensive forest programs in their individual counties and are unable to meet the level of community wildfire mitigation outreach needed. 

Recommendations: 

Short Term: 

• Create a Wildfire Mitigation Specialist position description that leads the recommended actions in this section and supports the other parts of this plan.  [Partners]
• Pilot a Wildfire Mitigation Specialist position in District 4, New Bern. Some Resource Conservation and Development Councils fulfill this mitigation support capacity in the western North Carolina and throughout the Appalachian range. [NCFS]  
• Engage the North Carolina Forest Service Down East Landowner Prescribed Burn Association to support the use of prescribed fire on private lands.  [Partners]

Long Term: 

• Address personnel shortages by encouraging more community involvement through volunteer organizations like Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). [EM] 
• Utilize volunteer organization, Team Rubicon to assist vulnerable populations to complete mitigation actions. [TR] 
• Consolidate partners’ planning and treatment data with comprehensive mapping to create a common operating picture. [NCFS, USFS, DOD] 
• Hire Wildfire Mitigation Technician or Specialist positions throughout the region. [Partners]

FINDING: Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) are currently supported by the state at a fire district scale. Most are around 10 years old with a focus on response capabilities. A statewide system for a new generation of CWPPs is in the works, but the Croatan area partners need not wait to test development of countywide plans on which to guide partner program and project implementation. 

Recommendations: 

Short Term: 

• Convene a CWPP development core team to begin planning process. This may be a subcommittee of the Croatan Fireshed Partnership that evolves from a planning to an engagement [All Partners] 

Long Term: 

• Pilot a countywide Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) with local cooperators in Craven or Jones County. This new type of CWPP will identify umbrella countywide service and resource recommendations while enabling local municipalities, fire departments, and homeowner groups to integrate specific project area recommendations. [NCFS with partners]
• Determine planning timeline for regional Hazard Mitigation Plan updates in each county and emergency management interest in supporting subgroups to develop and integrate CWPPs. If goals or timeline do not align, plan for integration of CWPP recommendations at a later time. [Emergency Managers, NCFS] 
• Provide addendum templates for jurisdictions within the county to specify local project priorities and resource needs, and for communities using the community-scale assessment to identify short- and mid-range actions residents and neighborhoods will pursue. [NCFS] 
• When updating the Craven County Emergency Operations Plan, it is important to represent the wildfire hazard and growing risk. The current plan states “Overall, and with exceptions of large privately held tracts such as those owned by Weyerhaeuser and its subsidiaries and those held by the federal government, the risk of wildfire damages in Craven County is mitigated by the fact that forested tracts are generally of manageable size, accessible to firefighting equipment and personnel, and circumscribed by roadways or waterways that limit the extent and severity of wildfires” ( Craven County Emergency Operations Plan ). However, recent events such as the Great Lakes Fire and ongoing development pressures highlight the need for updated guidance that acknowledges the potential risk to public safety. The plan should reflect a more comprehensive understanding of the wildfire hazard and risk, and include measures to address potential threats. [Craven County EM] 

FINDINGS: Knowing the community wildfire risk is critical to successful wildfire risk reduction.  Home assessments help residents understand their specific risk and vulnerabilities and connect them with knowledge and resources to accomplish wildfire mitigation actions. Home assessments are performed by the NCFS as requested by individuals and the agency has an Individual Homeowner Risk Rating form that homeowners (print format) and partners (print or digital) can use. These assessments are also a tool that can lead to further community engagement in a high-risk area by creating an initial community connection. In the area, no other agencies or partners are known to conduct home assessments.  

There are many tools to support community-scale wildfire risk reduction.  ResistWildfireNC  has the  Neighbor 2 Neighbor  tool for local visualization of home ignition zones based on the NC statewide building footprints. NCFS also conducts community assessments to assess risk across communities and provide a list of recommendations. In other parts of North Carolina and across the U.S., community assessments and action plans are used to guide resident-driven community preparedness action, but these assessments have not been conducted to establish community-driven action in the area surrounding the Croatan National Forest. 

During the Great Lakes Fire, residents reflected that they were challenged to find information about what they can do to prepare their homes. Existing neighborhood communication methods yielded some success in residents supporting one another through knowledge sharing. Whether wildfires occur on public or private lands, they represent a window of opportunity to capture resident interest in areas adjacent to a burn and engage them in taking mitigation actions.  

Wildfire-resistant construction and landscaping are not well recognized in eastern North Carolina. Many local construction materials that hold up to the weather also resist heat and ember intrusions that can ignite homes and other structures during wildfires. Firewise landscaping guidance and workshops are available from the North Carolina Forest Service, but capacity is limited to provide one-on-one guidance and to carry out workshops. There are Master Gardeners programs and many public buildings and centers of community activity where fire resistant landscaping and construction can be demonstrated. 

Recommendations:  

Short Term: 

• Update the Survey123 Individual Homeowner Risk Rating form. [NCFS] 
• Plan and conduct a fire district and interagency training combining home assessment and structure triage. Provide training and  tools to complete assessments . [NCFS, FDs] 
• Build a mitigation services inventory highlighting existing services and programs in the area for partners and residents. [Partners] For example: 
  • Community Protection Program supports mitigation including prescribed fire on state and private lands within 10 miles of a national forest 
  • Community Wildfire Protection Plan funding is available from NCFS to implement CWPP projects  
  • Fuels Removal Program to reduce wildfire risk by providing a roadside debris removal service 
  • New Bern Yard Waste collection:  https://www.newbernnc.gov/departments/public_works/sanitation/collection_guidelines.php  
• Conduct training for partners to increase capacity for individual partnership members to be empowered to share information. 
  • Share methods for conducting community risk assessments with fire departments and resident leaders, such as Individual Homeowner Risk Rating assessments [NCFS] 
  • Share educational tools to support Wildfire Risk Reduction with all Partners, such as the  ResistWildfireNC,  Neighbor 2 Neighbor Tool, Survey123 tools, etc. [NCFS] 
  • Share training opportunities with partners, such as  Preparing for Wildfires with Firescaping for Master Gardeners , etc. [NCFS, Cooperative Extension] 

Long Term: 

• Determine the community wildfire risk and scope of assessment information needs. [NCFS, Trained Assessors]  
• Develop and implement a communication plan that contains consistent messages about prescribed fire, small acreage vegetation management, structure hardening, smoke readiness, and where to obtain resources to implement mitigation actions. See toolbox for examples. 
  • Integrate wildfire risk from Southern Group of State Foresters Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (SouthWRAP) into the  North Carolina “Know Your Zone”  flood awareness resource. [NCDPS, NCFS] 
• Use public buildings to demonstrate fire-resistant construction and landscaping materials and techniques, such as the future Croatan NF Ranger Station. Delineate the three home ignition zones and what treatments are effective within each zone and include interpretation of the actions taken to harden the structure and create a defensible space in language the community understands. [All Partners] 
• Develop a citizen volunteer program around wildfire preparedness and using prescribed fire for land stewardship. Coordinate with Down East Prescribed Burn Association (PBA) and leverage the Firewise USA® recognition program and Fire Adapted Communities Neighborhood Ambassador approach support resources. [NCFS] 
• Track and follow up with homeowners and communities and document mitigation actions achieved on the ground. [NCFS] 

FINDING: NCFS achieved 2,789 acres of prescribed fire and additional vegetation management projects on private lands in the 24 months prior to this report, at the request of landowners. These projects occur based on request, but opportunities to target treatments would make them more effective and efficient. These projects are funded partially through the Community Protection Grant Program (CPP), otherwise known as Stevens Amendment funds.  Grant-funded project reimbursements supported by public funds are limited by NCFS accounting timeframes at state fiscal year end. 

Recommendations: 

• Target high wildfire risk WUI for mitigation projects. Identify target areas collaboratively with partners using the SouthWRAP local risk assessments and treatment maps. When fires occur in these target areas, leverage the fire event, even small fires that most residents aren’t aware of, to raise awareness that “A Fire Threatened” and bring residents together in the community. Continue practice of conducting a community assessment, individual assessments, and seeking Firewise USA® volunteers. When the NCFS or the partnership is ready for this outreach, seek to solicit six or more neighborhood Firewise USA® committees so that the Wildfire Mitigation Outreach coordinator can connect these neighborhood volunteers with one another. This strategy is most likely to work in areas with long-term residents and/or with homeowner's associations. [NCFS] 
• Incorporate recent fire scars, treatments, and actively managed forest lands to prioritize projects that stitch together wildfire mitigation buffers adjacent to values at risk. [NCFS] 
• Formulate strategies to establish mechanisms that guarantee the appropriate allocation of funding and reimbursements. [NCFS] 
• Develop a new mechanism for reimbursement funds transfer from the state to the on-the-ground prescribed fire practitioners. [NCFS] 

Tailored resources specific to opportunities and recommendations within the document. Additional resources (links, documents, contact information). 

Many thanks to the following individuals for their participation and input during either CMAT Workshops, field trip and interactions (listed in alphabetical order):  

Dwayne Alligood, Patrick Baker, Joseph Batchelor, Josh Bell, Wayne Bell, David Berens, Adam Brooks, James Cherry, Richard Clark, Joanna Gaskins, Johnathan Gaskins, Tom Glasgow, Pam Hawkins, Ron Hudson, Michael Jordan, Sam Karahalis, Stanley Kite, Travis Kornegay, John Langdon, Seth Laughlin, Donnie Lavelle, Cindy Mainer, Katrina Marshall, Fred Mascher, Deb Mauer, Jim McConnell, James Melonas, Keith Money, Veronica Morphy, David Nelson, Victoria Payne, Jonathan Pearson, Dennis Register, Jessica Rheu, Collen Roberts, Pete Steponkus, Chad Strawn, Reid Sutherland, Chad Strawn, Troy Waskey, Laura Webster, Brad Wright   

The individuals listed above represent the following federal, state, and local agencies and organizations:  City of Havelock City of New Bern  Craven County  Craven County North Carolina Cooperative Extension  Jones County  Maysville Fire Department  North Carolina Forest Service  North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission  Southern Area Gray Team, an interagency type 3 Incident Management Team  Team Rubicon  The Nature Conservancy  USDA Forest Service  US Marine Corps MCAS Cherry Point  US Marine Corps MCB Camp Lejeune 

The Community Mitigation Assistance Team (CMAT) is sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service to assist communities impacted by wildfire. CMATs are comprised of public and private wildland-urban interface (WUI) mitigation professionals from across the country. The Team provides technical and strategic mitigation support to build and strengthen sustainable mitigation programs. The team mentors organizations, helps to identify and provide tools, advises on the highest priorities for risk reduction, and shares best management practices for mitigation.  

• Mike Jensen – Team Member, Consultant and Associate Professor Washington State University Extension, County Extension Director Pend Oreille County WA 
• Hannah Thompson-Welch – Team Member, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist, North Carolina Forest Service, NC 
• Rebecca Samulski – Team Lead Trainee, Executive Director of Fire Adapted Colorado, Southwestern Colorado 
• Jen Haas Gustafson – Team Lead Trainee, Independent Contractor, Wooden Eye Resource Management, Western North Carolina
• Jonathan Bruno – Team Lead, Chief Operations Officer, Coalitions & Collaboratives, Colorado
• Liz Davy – Team Member (virtual), Retired Forest Service, Greater Yellowstone Fire Action Network, Driggs, Idaho