A nearly 700-acre fire near the Jack Frost Ski Area in Carbon County drew a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Incident Management Team, including Cornplanter District Forester Cecile Stelter, who acted as the Public Information Officer.

The fire was first reported at noon on Sunday, May 3, according to a press release. “Bureau of Forestry personnel made very good suppression efforts until wind increases and gusts caused increased fire behavior and fire spread on Monday afternoon.”

When rain arrived Wednesday morning, and as the fire was contained, the Incident Management Team turned over management to the local Weiser Forest District Staff

After returning to Warren, Stelter explained her role in the incident.

“I’m a part of a team organized by the Bureau of Forestry, one of three in the state. The thought behind these are that incidents can become larger than the local district can handle. With the advancing fire on Monday, we helped with the management,” she said.

“In my case, I’m the Public Information Officer, to handle press releases and inform the public. We don’t take over, we provide support. During an incident, we take information from the local district, and decide how to best utilize resources,” she said.

“The idea of the teams is we provide some relief to the local district. The same type of resource would be available to me,” Stelter said. “It’s an all-risk team, not just for wildfires, but flooding and search and rescue.”

She said that everyone on the teams have their own backgrounds and specialties, and they use information and their training to respond to incidents.

“It’s very humbling, and very gratifying to be a part of this cohesive unit,” she concluded.

The press release stated, “The spring season is the time when the greatest numbers of wildfires occur in Pennsylvania, and 98 percent of wildfires are caused by people. Even after a rain event, it can only take a few days for the forest to dry out and increase the potential for wildfires. The DCNR reminds people to be careful and responsible during all their outdoor forest activities.”