Lone Star State
Incident Management Team Deployed to North West Texas
Mar. 13, 2017—MERKEL, Texas—The Lone Star State Incident
Management Team from Texas A&M Forest Service has set up an incident coordination
center in Merkel, Texas to support wildfire response in the western half of
Texas.
The team deployed with 35 members, including members of state’s
All-Hazard Incident Management Teams. The state AHIMT network is comprised of local
responders throughout the state from all walks of life and professions. They
are trained to respond to an emergency when called upon either by their local
team or by the state.
“The team has been mobilized to support responders in the
parts of the state currently experiencing an elevated wildfire threat,” said
Incident Commander Les Rogers. “We will be providing the branches additional
out-of-branch resources and supervision and setting priorities for critical
resources.”
The team is in place in anticipation of continued wildfire
weather conditions and activity. Twenty-five of the 30 largest wildland fires
in Texas history have occurred between the months of January — May, including
the Perryton Fire from March 6, 2017, now the third largest wildfire in Texas
A&M Forest Service response history.
Continued windy fronts in this region, in conjunction with
elevated fire weather conditions and above-normal fuel loading, reinforce the
need for caution and preparedness. The team will be coordinating resources and facilitating
continual response to the region.
Visit our Current Situation page, www.facebook.com/lssimt or follow
@allhazardstfs on twitter for Texas wildfire information.
About the Lone Star State Incident Management Team
When a disaster occurs in Texas and it exceeds the
capabilities of the local government, the Lone Star State Incident Management
Team may be ordered by the Texas Division of Emergency Management to
respond. The team adheres to the
Incident Command System which allows the IMT to organize and respond to any
type of disaster — including wildland fires, hurricanes, floods, tornados and such
events as the Space Shuttle Columbia recovery. LSSIMT members are capable of
remaining active on an incident for an extended period of time.
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Contacts:
LSSIMT Public Information Officer – Merkel, 979-255-4129
Phillip Truitt, Communications Specialist
979-255-0591, ptruitt@tfs.tamu.edu
Texas A&M Forest Service Communications Office;
979-458-6606; newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu