About
Us
The Southern Area is one
of eleven geographic areas throughout
the United States established to manage collaboratively wildland
fire and other incident management activities such as natural disaster
relief efforts. In addition to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands, the Southern Area includes 13 states. These range from
Virginia in the north, south to the Gulf states, and west to Texas.
In western Oklahoma and Texas, only private lands and state units
participate as part of the Southern Area - federal lands in this
area coordinate activities through the Southwest Coordination Center
in Albuquerque, NM.
Within
the Southern Area, there are 35 National Forests, 2 National Grasslands,
1 Forest Service Institute, 143 National Wildlife Refuges, 98 National
Park units, 13 State Forestry organizations, one Commonwealth, one
Territory, 27 Tribal/Bureau of Indian Affairs units, two Bureau
of Land Management units, 12 Regional Agency units, one Government
Law Enforcement Training Center, six Department of Defense units,
and one State Authority area - for a total of 348 units supported.
The focal point for overseeing all interagency coordination
activities throughout the United States and Alaska is the National
Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, ID.
Southern Area Coordinating Group
The Southern Area Coordinating Group (SACG) has overall responsibility
for prioritizing resource allocation during times of multiple incidents,
overseeing the mobilization of emergency resources as a whole, developing
incident management teams, and coordinating information and intelligence
within the Area.
State Coordination Centers in the Southern
Area
Local fire management coordination and mobilization of firefighting
resources is handled through the 12 State
Coordination Centers. When additional resources are needed,
they are ordered through the Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC).
Southern Area Coordination Center
The Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) is the focal point
for mobilization of resources between the 13 states within the Southern
Area, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. SACC also
supports the resource needs of the other 10 geographic areas by
working in concert with the National
Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) in Boise, ID.
In addition to coordinating resource mobilization
and providing information for decision makers, some of the additional
services provided by SACC include:
- Providing vital communications between agencies in emergency
situations.
- Supporting prescribed burning efforts in the Southeast
through the sharing of personnel, equipment, and other resources
on an interagency basis.
- Supporting federal, state, and local emergency management
organizations.
- Coordinating and conducting training for dispatch personnel
using the Wildland and Prescribed Fire Qualification System Guide
developed by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.
Developmental dispatcher assignments are available
at SACC by completing and submitting an application
(with supervisory approval).
If you are planning to work at or visit SACC, the following
links may be useful:
SACC
Visitor Information
SACC
Detailer's Handbook (updated October 2011)
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