USFS office in Gainesville involved in hurricane recovery efforts

GAINESVILLE - As this hurricane season shapes up to be one that will keep the Southeastern United States on its toes, the U.S. Forest Service is working along with other federal agencies to prepare for the most effective response to the impacts of storms that actually make landfall in the U.S.

Locally, the Forest Supervisor's Office of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is home to the Georgia Inter-agency Coordination Center (GICC).

When people and resources are needed from Georgia, this group coordinates the orders that come in from other state and federal agencies and fills the orders. In anticipation of hurricane Gustav and now the hurricanes in waiting - Hanna, Ike and Josephine - the GICC has set up a mobilization and distribution center in Atlanta. The GICC works in coordination with the Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) in Atlanta, which coordinates people and resources across the southeastern U.S.

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests have 17 people on special assignments directly involved in preparations for storms still in the Atlantic Ocean and in responding to the aftermath of hurricane Gustav. As conditions change, the skills, abilities and experience needed changes, as does the number of people.

Some of the work Chattahoochee-Oconee employees are doing includes commercial drivers, public information and security. Some are assigned to overhead teams that are or will be assigned to a specific incident. Overhead teams make sure the people in the field have the tools, equipment, supplies and support they need.

The Forest Service has had many years of experience in responding to wildfires. What was once referred to as the "large fire organization" evolved into the Incident Command System (ICS), which provides a standard process for organizing people and resources to deal with all types of emergencies, such as hurricanes and wildfires. When the need arises, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) puts out the call for agencies like the Forest Service to put the ICS into action.

Other agencies such as the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Georgia Forestry Commission and Georgia Department of Natural Resources have become much more effective in organizing people into a wide variety of teams to do the different kinds of work required in responding to the widespread impacts of events such as large wildfires and hurricanes.

In an effort to directly help evacuees of hurricanes, national forests in the Southern Region are temporarily waving overnight camping fees in campgrounds operated by the Forest Service for evacuees and rescue and recover workers. For more information, visit the Southern Region web site at www.fs.fed.us/r8/.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/9/212999