April Phillips

Background

About April Phillips

Wildland Urban Interface Specialist (WUI)- Develop education programs and design reference materials bringing to the forefront the importance of planning for a wildfire. Each of the audiences required different perspectives with the mutual end result- Smokey Bear and school programs- Staff information booths at public events- Public speaking engagements- Perform wildfire home and community assessments- Develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) Volunteer Coordinator - Develop and distribute newsletter recognizing volunteer efforts - Support volunteers by providing materials, speakers and relevant information Event Coordinator - International Firewise Conference (Edinburg and El Paso, Tx)- Annual Fall Fire Fest Community Wildfire Awareness attendees)- Field & Forest Day showcasing a Firewise property (300 attendees)- Volunteer retreats and workshops Wildfire Research - National Institute of Technology and Standards (NIST) Fire Research Team Member collect field data, interview witnesses and assist in data compilation- Liaision to VIPs on research burn conducted at Camp Swift, Bastrop, TX. Public Information Officer - Report directly to Incident Commander (IC) to coordinate information disseminated to the public and media. Relay information impacting incident to IC and Command Staff. West Texas Prevention Branch Coordinator - Coordinate and support prevention teams effort, develop materials, order resources, maintain supply cache, participate in and attend daily briefings to report progress and activities. Unique to Texas, PETMs had dual roles as PIOs; therefore, would coordinate with Incident Commander and Information Branch for wildfire response. Prevention Team Member -Conduct public meetings, distribute wildfire information (trap-lines,) media interviews and news releases, develop campaigns and materials.