Project Leader: Michael Molloy Phone: 336.235.8766 Email: mmolloy@thesca.org [1] Dates: May 19, 2010 - November 19, 2010 Mailing Address: 1501 Berwick St. Greensboro, NC 27403
About the site [6]
The CWPP Team is assigned to work out of Greensboro, NC. The location of the team is based on the idea that we will be central to all the counties we are working in completing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP). Our goal is to complete all the high priority fire districts in District 10 and District 11 for the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources. This Wildfire Protection plans will be resources for both the firefighters and the County Rangers who supress wildfires. Once complete the plans can be used as risk management plans and for gaining valuable grant funding to recieve things such as wildfire firefighter equipment. It will also mean that in the case of a major wildfire the fire district and the County office will have access to the same information.
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Report From The Field #5 [10]
The CWPP team has observed that Greensboro gets quite cold at night in November!
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Despite the increasing chill in the air, the team has enjoyed yet another fun and eventful month. The biggest highlight of October was the chance to interact with North Carolinians and state Forest Rangers at the North Carolina State Fair. The CWPP team was even visited by the South East Exotic Plant Management team for the occasion! Pictures of the event are posted on the SEEPM team's report from the field [12]. A map of the state fair is posted on the State Fair website [13].
Michael, Anna, Gerard, Keegan, and Susan are all happy that they are making great progress on finishing their maps and reports for the counties they have worked with.
They have completed their work in the following counties:
- Alamance
- Davie
- Durham
- Orange
- Randolph
- Rockingham
- Stokes
- Surry
- Wake
- Yadkin
They will be keeping busy for the next couple of weeks with work in the following counties:
- Caswell
- Davidson
- Forsyth
- Guilford
- Person
- Rowan
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Report From The Field #4 [15]
Holy Smokes, it's September!
The CWPP corps group has seen some prime fire weather this month, but adverse natural conditions are no match for well-prepared emergency managers. To this end, the CWPP group is laboring to ensure that North Carolina's emergency managers will have accurate maps and readable Community Wildfire Protection Plans on the ready when debris burning or careless actions of an individual cause a wildfire threat to their area.
This means that the CWPP group faces a lot more Access database work, and they will need to create more maps with ArcMap.
Although there is a lot of work ahead of the group, the CWPP corps group is very proud of their accomplishments. Since June, the CWPP group calculates that they have visited the top 5 most-hazardous fire districts in 14 counties. In meeting with Fire Chiefs and County Rangers in each of those fire districts, the team collected more than 87% of the information necessary for their entire CWPP project.
Now that most of the necessary information has been collected, the team's main remaining task will be to make maps and reports with the information they have collected.
In addition to making all these maps and reports, the CWPP team will be busy expanding their knowledge of wildfire behavior with Fire in the Field training. The fact-packed online course is teaching the CWPP team wildfire fighting basics. More than one member of the CWPP team is eager to complete the course and put their knowledge to use in the field!
The CWPP group enjoyed showing Jill Kolodzne what they do, and getting some great feedback about the way they are handling this project. They also enjoyed reading The True Story of Smokey Bear, a comic book given to the team by one of their Forest Ranger friends.
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Report From The Field #3 [28]
Between compiling Community Wildfire Protection Plans for fire districts in four more counties, chatting with fire chiefs, and making many more maps, the CWPP team inspected and revitalized a short stretch of the beleaguered wilds surrounding Asheville, North Carolina this month.
Just two weeks ago the team visited the South East Exotic Plant Management Team in Asheville, where they spent a day in the life of the hard-working exotic plant management team. Along a stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway, they learned how to identify exotic plants, cut them down, and spray their stalks with herbicide. It was hard work for these desk jockeys. The work was made easier by the helpful advice and general awesomeness of Calicoe, Anna, Christina, and Paul.
After removing an enormous number of exotic plants and having a great time with the Asheville crew, the CWPP team hit the trail for a backpacking trip in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They all enjoyed the opportunity to think about conservation in the beautiful mountainous setting.
Their mountain getaway quickly ended, however, and the CWPP team has since returned to their usual schedule. This regular daily routine consists of driving out to a fire district and meeting with its county ranger and fire chief for a few hours in the morning, and then visiting all areas of concern in the district (and sometimes a local lunch spot) before returning to their home-office and grinding the raw data down into useful maps and reports for future emergency planners. Perhaps you are curious about what these maps look like? Wonder no more! A map is posted below just for you.
The CWPP team hopes to see the Asheville crew again soon!
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Report From The Field #2 [35]
Over the past month, the CWPP team has drafted and edited 15 reports and more than 45 accompanying maps for fire departments in the NCDFR’s tenth district. The team has also had lots of fun in Greensboro and beyond.
After assessing Stokes County, the team hiked to a hanging rock at Hanging Rock State Park. The view from the top was spectacular, and the homemade ice cream awaiting the team at the trailhead (courtesy of their NCDFR partner Jonathan Young) was delicious!
The CWPP team also greatly enjoyed bumping into members of the SCA C&O Canal Native Plant team in Washington, DC, where they watched a great Independence Day parade and fireworks on the Mall.
They are looking forward to a busy and productive month of finalizing reports and maps, visiting the South East Exotic Plant Removal team, and beginning to work with fire departments and foresters in NCDFR's District 11.
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Report From The Field #1 [41]
Like Greensboro’s many black snakes who sun themselves in its 95-degree afternoons, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan team has been lying low and soaking up the ambiance this month in the Randolph County Fire District.
After returning from Corps training in McCall, Idaho, the CWPP team completed a week of training under their agency partner James Rogers of North Carolina’s Division of Forest Resources. The team was versed in the FireWise program for managing Wildland Urban Interface areas, and quickly became acquainted with the ins-and-outs of mapmaking with Microsoft Access and ESRI ArcMap.
Over the past two weeks the CWPP team has visited five fire stations across North Carolina’s Fire District 10. With the assistance of Randolph’s Assistant County Ranger Glen Coley, they have documented the preparedness data of each station in their CWPP database.
The team is now completing CWPP reports for the five stations they visited. They are also planning a river excursion for the coming weekend.
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Susan McVey [43]
An Iowa native and a recent graduate from the University of Iowa, I recently completed my studies in International Studies with a European Emphasis. My parents often took me out on camping adventures every year and I feel as though they encouraged that outdoors spirit that inspires me to see what the world has to offer. After seeing and studying many global perspectives and cultures, SCA has extended me a new offer to see my own backyard and I cannot wait to see what opportunities North Carolina has in store.
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Keegan Williams [47]
Hello, I'm Keegan. I'm from a small town Ohio, just outside Columbus. At OSU, I've studied bio and lit. Born in a farm house, I was started out young to prefer being outdoors. I'm pretty down to be in a city or a forest, as long as there are weird odds and ends to check out. Don't go exploring with me unless you are ready to get WAY off course. I'm looking forward to this chance to learn about fire ecology while exploring North Carolina.
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Gerard Grill [49]
Hello my name is Gerard Grill, and I am from St.Clair, MI. I have received an associates degree from St.Clair County Community Collage in Fire Science. Before the SCA I was a carpenter and a roofer, I really enjoy sports, mostly football, baseball and hockey. I am looking forward to working with the SCA and my new community.
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Anna Vaza [52]
Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, Anna is a 2009 graduate of Smith College with a major in Comparative Literature. Her interest in outdoor activities such as hiking and canoeing, as well as her enthusiasm for conservation, led her to the SCA. She is interested in learning about GIS and how communities can better prepare for risks associated with fire. In her free time, she hopes to explore the Greensboro area and participate in cultural events.
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Michael Molloy [55]
I grew up in Southern California and had many recreational opportunities growing up. I went to school at California State University, Chico and received my undergrad in Recreation Administration and received a certificate in Geographical Information Systems. I have worked in other SCA positions in the North Cascades and in south east Arizona for the Sonoran Desert Network.My most recent SCA job was in Oklahoma doing GIS for the Oklahoma Fire Center. While in Oklahoma I also became certified as a Type II Wildland Firefighter and GISS certified.
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