About the Southern Area

The Southern Area is one of ten geographic areas throughout the United States established to collaboratively manage wildland fire and other incident management activities such as natural disaster relief efforts. In addition to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Southern Area includes 13 states. These range from Virginia in the north, south to the Gulf states, and west to Texas.

Within the Southern Area, there are 35 National Forests, 2 National Grasslands, one Forest Service Institute, 184 National Wildlife Refuges, 152 National Park units, 13 State Forestry organizations, one Commonwealth, one Territory, 27 Tribal/Bureau of Indian Affairs units, 3 Bureau of Land Management units, 12 Regional Agency units, one Government Law Enforcement Training Center, 6 Department of Defense units, and one State Authority area - for a total of 439 units supported.

The focal point for overseeing all interagency coordination activities throughout the United States and Alaska is the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, ID.

Southern Area Coordinating Group

The Southern Area Coordinating Group (SACG) has overall responsibility for prioritizing resource allocation during times of multiple incidents, overseeing the mobilization of emergency resources as a whole, developing incident management teams, and coordinating information and intelligence within the Area.

State Coordination Centers in the Southern Area
Local fire management coordination and mobilization of firefighting resources is handled through the 12 State Coordination Centers. When additional resources are needed, they are ordered through the Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC).

Southern Area Coordination Center

The Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) is the focal point for mobilization of resources between the 13 states within the Southern Area, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. SACC also supports the resource needs of the other 10 geographic areas by working collaboratively with the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) in Boise, ID.

In addition to coordinating resource mobilization and providing information for decision makers, some of the additional services provided by SACC include:

• Providing vital communications between agencies in emergency situations.
• Supporting prescribed burning efforts in the Southeast through the sharing of personnel, equipment, and other resources on an interagency basis.
• Supporting federal, state, and local emergency management organizations.
• Coordinating and conducting training for dispatch personnel using the Wildland and Prescribed Fire Qualification System Guide developed by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

If you are planning to work at or visit SACC, the following links may be useful:

SACC and SAOTC Visitor Information (updated January 2024)

SACC Detailer Guide (updated February 2023)

Southern Area Operations and Training Center (SAOTC) Information (updated January 2024)