Florida firefighters receive 2022 wildfire mitigation awards

FLORIDA – Two Florida wildland firefighters are among the six individuals and organizations that have earned a 2022 Wildfire Mitigation Award, the highest commendation for innovation and leadership in wildfire mitigation.

The awards are presented annually by the National Association of State Foresters.

The Florida award winners are Mike Mathis and Chris Colburn, of the Florida Forest Service in Southport and Tallahassee.

The work of Mike Mathis and Chris Colburn is a shining example of how to quickly mitigate wildfire risk following natural disasters, said the awards committee.

In October 2018, a Category 5 hurricane hit the Florida Panhandle, leaving 72 million tons of trees broken or uprooted and prime for burning. The Florida Forest Service tasked Mathis and Colburn with developing a plan to address wildfire risk imposed by Hurricane Michael.

They hit the ground running, forming emergency strike teams that cleared 574 miles of forest debris on 314 private properties across eight counties.

Both Mathis and Colburn were displaced by the storm like so many Floridians, but they continued to work tirelessly, inspiring county administrators to develop wildfire mitigation plans and landowners to participate in wildfire risk property assessments and clearing projects.

They helped over 500 residents receive prescribed burn training, held prescribed burn classes for the public, and waged a wildfire prevention campaign to educate residents about dangerous fuel loading. Mathis and Colburn were also instrumental in getting Timber Recovery Block Grant relief to affected forestland owners.

The other 2022 winners are Paul Cada, Vail Fire and Emergency Services, Vail, Colorado; William “Danny” Blevins, Kentucky Division of Forestry, Morehead, Kentucky; Jonathan Riley, Chelan Fire District 1, Wenatchee, Washington; Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, Lake Tahoe Basin, Nevada and California; Schelly Olson, Grand Fire Protection District 1, Granby, Colorado.

The Wildfire Mitigation Awards program was established in 2014 by the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the USDA Forest Service to help demonstrate the tremendous societal value wildfire mitigation efforts provide.

“State forestry agencies know firsthand it’s always wildfire season somewhere in the United States. The 2022 Wildfire Mitigation Awardees know this too,” said Christopher Martin, NASF president and Connecticut state forester.

“In their own ways, this year’s winners have ensured the safety of thousands through their wildfire mitigation efforts. We congratulate them for receiving this honor and thank them for their dedication to this critically important work.”

The 2022 Wildfire Mitigation Awards were presented at the Wildland-Urban Interface Conference in Reno, Nevada, on March 22, 2022.

The nominations period for the 2023 Wildfire Mitigation Awards will open this summer. For more information about the awards program and how you can nominate your mitigation hero for national recognition, visit www.stateforesters.org/mitigation.