NWS IMETS Support Texas Forest Service During
Unprecedented Fire Season

(L to R) WFO Midland/Odessa MIC Raymond Fagen, Texas Forest Service Officer Les Rogers and Midland WCM Pat Vesper (Photo: WFO Midland/Odessa)

During the winter of 2005 and early 2006, the Texas Forest Service responded to more than 1,500 wildfires covering over 1.5 million acres. The Service's successful efforts during an unprecedented fire season were due in part to the strong support provided by Incident Meteorologists and Fire Weather Forecasters from National Weather Service forecast offices throughout the state. This timely on-site weather support allowed the Fire Behavior Analysts to accurately predict where the fires would spread and develop suppression tactics to deal with them.

On-site IMET support provided by WFOs Midland, San Angelo, El Paso, Fort Worth, Brownsville and San Antonio during this period -- totaled more than 140 working days. The Midland WFO alone provided an unprecedented 57 days of support while still maintaining a fully staffed office 24 hours a day. In addition to on-site Incident Command Post support, dozens of additional forecaster shifts were required.

The outstanding dedication of these NWS staffers and the high level of inter-agency cooperation resulted in fast, effective containment and fire suppression efforts which helped minimize loss of life and property.