Part III – After a Wildland Fire: Support, Safety, and Incident Management

After a Wildfire: Supporting Your People

Wildland fires can have a devastating impact on a park community. Not only are staff coping with the loss of their homes and other material things, the trauma of evacuation, injury, or even loss of life can cause mental distress.

Weather patterns, such as high wind or lightning, may cause increased stress, anxiety, or physical symptoms related to stress such as stomach aches or headaches.

Feeling emotional, anxious, and experiencing elevated levels of stress can impact staff’s ability to perform their duties. Recovering from a wildfire can increase individual workloads. Concessioners can support their staff through providing an understanding work environment and mental health resources. Visit cdph.ca.gov for more information on how to support others after a wildfire.

Health and Safety

Wildfires leave behind a lot of ash that can irritate your eyes, nose, or skin and cause coughing and other health effects. Know where you and your staff can receive medical care in the event of smoke inhalation, burns, and other fire related injuries. Do not return to the concession area until authorities say it is safe to do so. After clearance from park leadership and emergency responders, follow basic safety procedures as directed by your safety personnel or emergency responders.

• Wearing protective clothing and footwear e.g., sturdy foot ware, gloves etc.

• Wearing P1 or P2 face masks – these filter fine dust, ash, rubble, and other toxins including asbestos.

• Working with park staff to coordinate the removal of any potential health hazards to a safe disposal site.

• Ensuring you have a supply of clean drinking water.

Clean up efforts will always be in coordination with park and emergency responders. Always adhere to park and incident management team (IMT) guidance. Never enter the concession area without authorization from park leadership and emergency response teams. Your park concession specialist will coordinate with IMT and commercial service operators to conduct damage assessments of commercial services assets.

Incident Management Teams

WASO Commercial Services developed the Commercial Services Incident Response Program (CSIRP) in 2015 to ensure there are trained individuals on the NPS Incident Management Team (IMT) that understand concession operations and can advocate and support concession staff in the aftermath of an incident.

An IMT may respond to your park’s fire emergency. All emergency response efforts are coordinated with the park. Follow guidance from your concession specialist or the member of the IMT that is supporting concession matters. The concession specialist deployed to your park will assist in document collection, incident management, and damage assessments.

Learn More About Preventing Wildfires

As wildfire prevention and planning becomes a year-round effort, concessioners should be aware of the dangers and take precautions. Know your fire safety protocol and escape routes, and be aware of changing fire danger levels. For more information about fire safety and prevention, please visit Fire (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).