On Friday, the Texas Forest Service (TFS) and Texas A & M University System officials unveiled its new web portal designed to help Texans identify their risk for wildfire.

The Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (TxWRAP), allows users to identify wildfire threats for a particular area based on landscape characteristics, historical fire occurrence, weather conditions, terrain and potential fire behavior. It also routes users to resources that can help them implement wildfire prevention practices. The portal was designed to increase public awareness and support wildfire mitigation and prevention efforts across the State.

The first web portal of its kind in the nation, TxWRAP includes free applications for the public, local community groups, government officials, professional hazard mitigation planners, and wildland fire managers. The TxWRAP tutorial is available on You Tube.

The Texas Forest Service (TFS) and Texas A & M University System officials unveiled a new web portal designed to help Texans identify their risk for wildfire. 

The Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (TxWRAP), allows users to identify wildfire threats for a particular area based on landscape characteristics, historical fire occurrence, weather conditions, terrain and potential fire behavior.  It also routes users to resources that can help them implement wildfire prevention practices.  The portal was designed to increase public awareness and support wildfire mitigation and prevention efforts across the State. 

The first web portal of its kind in the nation, TxWRAP includes free applications for the public, local community groups, government officials, professional hazard mitigation planners, and wildland fire managers.  The TxWRAP tutorial is available on You Tube. 

In case of an emergency, make sure you get the message.  The Capital Area Council of Governments operates a regional Emergency Notification System (ENS).  This system uses a "reverse dialing" telephone method to notify members of the public of critical emergency information in situations where property or human life is in danger.  In addition to calling your home phone, you can link your cell phone to notifications for your home address or other important locations, including businesses, schools and the homes of relatives. If a participating local government activates the Emergency Notification System (ENS) for an area that contains a location that has been registered to a particular cellular telephone number, the system will attempt to send the emergency message to that cellular telephone. PLEASE NOTE: This notification system only works within the Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis and Williamson Counties.
Emergency notification messages are initiated by local public safety agencies as one of several methods of relaying vital information to their citizens.  To register your cell phone, go to http://wireless.capcog.org/ens/intro.aspx 

Williamson County’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) received top honors in the 2011 GovFresh Awards  Best Use of Social Media in Emergency Management category, along with runner up rankings among both Social Media and Public Servant of the Year entries. 

A panel of eleven industry leaders judged the entries and presented the Williamson County Office of Emergency Management awards in two categories;  Best Use of Social Media in Emergency Management  and Public Servant of the Year.

For its efforts in the Best Use of Social Media in Emergency Management, the Williamson County OEM placed first, edging out New York City.  Williamson County’s Mackenzie Kelly, Office of Emergency Management, was named this year’s runner up for GFA’s Public Servant of the Year.                 

To view Emergency Management’s award-winning social media sites, click here: http://www.facebook.com/preparingwilco 
http://www.twitter.com/preparingwilco

Learn how you can protect your home through the Texas Forest Service’s The Ready, Set, Go! Program.  It teaches individuals who live in high risk wildfire areas and the wildland-urban-interface (WUI) how to best prepare themselves and their properties against fire threats.  Ready, Set, Go! works in complimentary and collaborative fashion with Firewise and other existing wildland fire public education efforts.  It amplifies their messages to individuals to better achieve the common goal we all share of fire-adapted communities.  For more information, go to