Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Response topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Division of Forestry highlights large 2025 emergency response efforts in annual report
Summary
The Tennessee Division of Forestry told the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee it played a major emergency-response role in 2025: deploying 220+ staff to ice-storm cleanup, clearing more than 10,000 downed trees, opening over 4,300 miles of roads, and filling 86 resource requests for Hurricane Helene response.
John Charles Wilson and the Division of Forestry presented FY2025 emergency-response activities to the committee, emphasizing the division's role as a lead wildfire and all-hazards responder and its support for communities after severe weather events.
Wilson said the division deployed more than 220 staff to 16 Middle Tennessee counties after a severe ice storm, used chainsaws and dozers to remove over 10,000 fallen trees and reopened more than 4,300 miles of roads. He also noted the division filled 86 personnel-resource requests during response to Hurricane Helene and that crews were airlifted into remote areas to restore access for stranded residents.
