JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Forestry Commission’s (MFC) Incident Management Team (IMT) is being mobilized to assist in response and recovery operations on the Mississippi Gulf Coast following Hurricane Zeta.

“These are the types of situations our IMT trains for,” said Russell Bozeman, MFC state forester. “The IMT is organized using the nationally recognized National Incident Management System (NIMS) and is uniquely qualified to handle the logistical task set before them.”

The MFC IMT will handle logistics related to response and recovery, primarily ensuring supplies, such as water, tarps and other essentials, are delivered to distribution centers in the affected areas. The MFC IMT stage logistics operations at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg until power is restored to affected areas.

“We are proud to be able to provide an experienced incident management team to assist other first responders and to help Mississippians affected by Hurricane Zeta,” Bozeman said.

The MFC IMT is a collaboration of MFC employees who perform a variety of tasks related to incident response. The IMT trains for and responds to disaster events such as hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires. The IMT also conducts training exercises, such as the MFC Heavy Equipment Academy, for MFC employees.

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About the Mississippi Forestry Commission

The mission of the Mississippi Forestry Commission is to provide active leadership in forest protection, forest management, forest inventory, and effective forest information distribution, necessary for Mississippi's sustainable forest-based economy. Established in 1926, the Mississippi Forestry Commission protects the state’s valuable 19.2 million acres of forestland from wildfire, manages approximately 480,000 acres of forested School Trust Land and delivers quality forest management services and assistance to both rural and urban landowners. To learn more about the Mississippi Forestry Commission, please visit www.mfc.ms.gov and like and follow the MFC on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube at @MSForestryComm.