The CAPCOG Regional Wildfire Resilience Summitt will foster essential collaboration and coordination among local, state and federal governments; private agencies; and volunteers to develop comprehensive community mitigation, preparedness and response. It will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 22 at the University of Texas Commons Conference Center. Registration is open until April 17.
“This second annual summit focuses on comprehensive approaches to wildfire resiliency, addressing various stages of wildfire events, and the impact on different community sectors,” said Martin Ritchey, CAPCOG Homeland Security director. “It provides a critical value for first responders, elected officials, and others by offering learning opportunities to enhance mitigation, preparedness, and response capabilities while improving safety and effectiveness in the field, and deepening the understanding of wildfire dynamics.”
The summit will open with a panel of broadcast meteorologists who will discuss how weather influences wildfire ignition, spread, and intensity; and the roles public and private sector agencies can play to support prevention and resilience-based weather trends and alerts. Break-out sessions include:
- preparedness and mitigation strategies
- the needs of vulnerable populations such as older adults, people with physical and behavioral health disabilities
- animal sheltering operations
- technology and interagency coordination, specifically unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) response, recovery, and mutual aid capabilities
- emergency alert technology and messaging
- regional collaboration and lessons learned and best practices from past incidents
There is no cost to attend the summit; however, advance registration is required. Attendance and parking are limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. A full schedule of sessions will be available closer to the event date.
