N.C. Forest Service - Disaster Mitigation Program
Program Overview
The new Disaster Mitigation Program (DMP) reduces heightened wildfire risk in communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. The DMP accomplishes this by providing wildfire risk reduction treatments at no cost to eligible private and public landowners in 39 federally declared disaster counties, designated as of Dec. 18, 2024, under FEMA Disaster 4827: North Carolina Tropical Storm Helene.
Risk reduction services available through the DMP include hazard reduction prescribed burning to reduce dangerous and excessive fuel loading, home ignition zone treatments to create defensible space around homes, and restoration to fuel breaks and roads for reopening access routes to improve wildfire response capabilities.
Eligibility and Key Rules
- Projects must be entirely or partially within the disaster-declared area.
- Work may occur on private and public (state/local) lands. Federal ownership is not eligible.
- To reduce substantial wildfire threats, focus is on damage within the immediate vicinity of homes and/or infrastructure.
- The DMP is not a cost‑share program. There is no cost to qualified landowners.
- Interactions with Farm Bill programs, such as EQIP, WHIP, CSP and CRP, must be checked to avoid double paying for the same practice. “Double dipping” is not permitted.
- Only one risk reduction action may be carried out on a single acre unless regional or state mitigation personnel provide written approval.
Approved Practices
- Only understory burns conducted for hazard reduction objectives are allowed under the DMP.
- Burning projects have a minimum of five acres and a maximum of 250 acres per landowner.
- All burns follow N.C. Forest Service processes and approved N.C. Forest Service burn plans. Burning with the objectives of forest management, wildlife habitat, silviculture, etc., are not approved under the DMP.
- The HIZ is the area within 100 feet of a habitable residence.
- Permitted practices include reducing woody vegetation with hand tools/chainsaws; clearing leaves and debris; removing low‑hanging limbs; removing downed trees that resulted from storm damage; and, mechanical fuels removal (mastication) within 100 feet only.
- Safety limitations include no ladders/roof work or elevated activities more than 4 feet above ground level.
- Tree‑felling limitations include only cutting trees less than or equal to 6-inch DBH and only when the tree can fall at least a distance that is 1.5 times its height away from structures/property of value. Larger standing trees are not removed by N.C. Forest Service personnel. It is recommended that the property owner hire a professional tree removal service.
- Debris removal includes dispersing/moving chips or masticating material less than or equal to 6-inch DBH; moving larger material outside the HIZ where possible. Debris may be left on the owner’s property or hauled away at the discretion of N.C. Forest Service personnel and availability of off‑site disposal.
- Project specifications will follow NFPA Firewise USA® principles when determining treatment distances.
- Restore previously existing forest or farm roads/fuel breaks to function as continuous lines anchored on both ends for containment and control during wildfires.
- Open breaks to greater than or equal to 15 feet wide. Remove/reduce fuels along the break. By mastication or hand crews, treat up to approximately 25 feet on either side or to the reach of a N.C. Forest Service excavator with masticating head via mastication or hand crews.
- Work excludes culvert installations, mudslide removal, bridge installations, etc. Scope is debris removal from existing or previously existing roads/fuel breaks.
- Any preexisting break may be opened. Damage may have resulted from Helene, age or previous storms.
Prioritization of Projects
Highest priority: homes/infrastructure within a linear half-mile of catastrophic damage, i.e., more than 75% of stand is damaged.
Second priority: homes/infrastructure within a linear half-mile of severe damage, i.e., 51–75% of stand is damaged.
Next priority: homes/infrastructure within a linear mile of moderate damage, i.e., 20–50% of stand is damaged.
Areas of concern: N.C. Forest Service personnel will determine if projects located within or near areas of concern, which are locations that have been identified through an assessment and/or planning process to be at risk of wildfire impacts. Projects deemed to be in proximity to areas of concern will be weighed as a higher priority in the approval process.
How to Request a DMP Project
Contact your local N.C. Forest Service county ranger’s office. If staff are unavailable in that office, the N.C. Forest Service district offices overseeing county offices can be contacted. Contact information is available online.
- N.C. Forest Service personnel will visit the tract/residence, confirm eligibility criteria and submit your project for approval.
- Landowners sign a no-cost N.C. Forest Service forestation or prescribed burn contract before work begins. Signatures must include those of witnesses.
Project Work
- Prescribed burn projects are subject to a variety of factors such as weather and fuel conditions. Some projects may be delayed until conditions allow for burning to be conducted safely.
- Projects involving the mechanical removal of fuels are subject to equipment availability and the time of the year. Landowners will be contacted before mitigation crews begin moving on-site.
This page was last modified on 06/02/2026