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National Fire Plan Success Story

SCA Volunteers Join Forces with Youth Conservation Program, Teton Fire to Make Community Safer
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction
2009

SCA volunteer Kyle Cannon (left, in Nomex) listens as Engine 3 engine lead Jon White briefs the Youth Conservation Program crew before working on a fuels reduction project at Shadow Mountain.
SCA volunteer Kyle Cannon (left, in Nomex) listens as Engine 3 engine lead Jon White briefs the Youth Conservation Program crew before working on a fuels reduction project at Shadow Mountain.

Two Student Conservation Association (SCA) volunteers spent the summer as Firewise education interns for Teton Interagency Fire, thanks to a Community Assistance grant. They primarily focused on Firewise education for homeowners in Shadow Mountain and the surrounding, scattered inholdings in Grand Teton National Park and the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

SCAs Kyle Cannon and Leo Ferretti conducted risk assessments on 21 structures in the Teton County Wildfire Protection Plan Shadow Mountain polygon, meeting with homeowners when possible, and making recommendations to improve the fire readiness of the properties. They communicated through mail, email, phone calls and face-to-face visits with the homeowners, some of whom are absentees. The SCAs worked closely with Teton County Fire/EMS, inputting the data they collected into specialized software used by the fire department.

After completing risk assessments, the SCAs teamed up with the Teton Interagency Fuels and Engine 3 crews, as well as a Youth Conservation Program (YCP) crew for a fuel removal project in Grand Teton National Park in the area surrounding the homes on Shadow Mountain.

“Kyle and Leo built on the relationship we had with homeowners in the Shadow Mountain area,” said Deb Flowers, Grand Teton National Park’s prescribed fire technician. “Having them involved with the YCP project work days allowed the SCAs to implement a fuels treatment on park land that reflected the recommendations they had given homeowners.”

The Shadow Mountain polygon is one of the priority wildland-urban interface areas in Teton County. Teton Interagency Fire is planning a prescribed fire on the west side of Shadow Mountain to provide a fuel break from future wildfires that could threaten the developed area.

Contact: Traci Weaver, Fire Communication and Education, (307) 739-3692.