What do the Republic of Texas Standoff, Exotic Newcastle Disease, Columbia Shuttle Recovery and Hurricane Katrina all have in common? The nationally acclaimed Lone Star State Incident Management Team (IMT), operated by Texas Forest Service, whose members provide command and leadership for these and many other incidents.
On any given day in Texas, the Lone Star State IMT may be called upon to provide leadership for any variety of disasters occurring at opposite ends of the state or in other states, such as the Hurricane Katrina response in Louisiana. Why is the Texas Forest Service managing incidents other than wildfires? Because they excel at it and have accumulated many years of experience managing large wildfires in rugged, remote terrain where it’s necessary to be self-sustaining and mobilize resources and personnel for long durations.
The Lone Star State IMT members use a tried-and-true response model—the Incident Command System (ICS)—to organize and direct the safe response to any disaster. Individual members serve on national response teams further adding to the combined expertise of the team.
Whether it is a raging wildfire in north central Texas, a flood in south central Texas or the recovery of the Columbia Shuttle in East Texas, ICS is the safest and most effective organizational model, and the Lone Star State IMT is the team to call.
When a disaster occurs in Texas and it exceeds the capabilities of the local government, Lone Star State IMT may be ordered by the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management to respond to disasters other than wildfires.
During a typical wildfire season, fire danger exists in multiple regions of the state. Lone Star State IMT members are capable of responding to any region of the state, and remain active on an incident for up to 21 days at a time. Each team member must be self-sustaining for 72 hours, after which time a command post and base camp are fully operational.
Texas Forest Service Incident Responses
• Alon Refinery Explosion, Big Spring, 2008
• Hurricane Humberto 2007
• Hurricane Dean 2007
• Tropical Storm Erin 2007
• Summer Floods – North and Central Texas 2007
• Eagle Pass Tornado – 2007
• Georgia Fires – 2007
• Tulia/Cactus Tornado – 2007
• SE Texas Flood Response 2006
• World Series Support 2006
• El Paso Flooding 2006
• Border Security Support
• Houston Floods 2006
• Hurricane Rita 2005
• Hurricane Katrina, September 2005, Louisiana
• Three Points Fire, Jeff Davis County , 10,000 acres, June/July 2005
• Hurricanes Ivan, Frances and Charley, September 2004, Florida (first-out-of-state team response)
• San Antonio floods, 2004
• Major League Baseball All Star Game, Houston, 2004
• Central Texas Floods (Robertson and Brazos Counties), May 2004
• Super Bowl XXXVIII, Houston, 2004
• Hurricane Claudette, Victoria/Port Lavaca, 2003
• Exotic Newcastle Disease, El Paso, 2003
• Space Shuttle Columbia Recovery, East Texas, Feb.1-May 30, 2003
• San Antonio flood, 2002
• Tropical Storm Allison, Houston Medical Center, 2001
• Hondo Tornado, 2001
• Lemon Gap Fire Complex, 7,620 acres, 2001
• Ice storm, Northeast Texas, 2000
• Fort Worth tornado, 2000
• New Braunfels flood, 2000
• Cooks Ranch Fire, Pecos & Brewster Counties , 47,000 acres, May 5-17, 2000
• Shepperd Reece Fire, Texas Hill Country, 2000
• Williams Ranch Fire, San Saba County, 5,200 acres, September 18-23, 1999
• Cuero flood, 1998
• Del Rio flood, 1998
• San Antonio flood, 1998
• Mexico wildfires, Monterrey, Tamaulipas and (OFDA) 1998
• Cibolo Creek Ranch Fire, Presidio, 50,000 acres, 1998
• Republic of Texas standoff, Davis Mountains, 1997
• Poolville Fire Feb. 12, 1996 16,000 acres
• Buckle L Complex, Childress County, 1996
• Trans Pecos Fire Complex, West TX, 69,320 acres, May 17-June 1, 1993
• McIvor Fire, Jeff Davis County , 22,124 acres, April 5-14, 1993
• Exxon oil spill, Corpus Christi, 1992
• Big Country Fire, Albany , 300,000 acres, March 10-15, 1988
Lone Star State Incident Management Team Deployment to Georgia Fires 4/07
Lone State State Incident Management Team Eagle Pass Deployment 4/25/07