Gila National Forest fire prevention education campaign

The Gila National Forest is sponsoring a National Fire Prevention and Education Team. The team is supporting the forest for two weeks with messaging and outreach during Stage 1 fire restrictions. The team will appear at local and regional events, such as Continental Divide Trail Days and Tour of Gila in Silver City and Truth or Consequences Fiesta. Public outreach is intended to impress upon the public the need to comply with the forest’s current fire restrictions and to prevent wildfires during this period of high risk for increased fire activity.

The team will collaborate with Grant County Office of Emergency Management, local rural volunteer fire departments and Gila National Forest ranger districts to ensure messaging is consistent and shared with visitors locally as well as regionally.

Avenues for relaying information about Stage 1 fire restrictions will include radio, the forest’s website and Facebook page, New Mexico Fire Information and one-on-one public contacts.

About the Forest Service: The Forest Service has, for more than 100 years, brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology — and rooted in communities — the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.