Phoenix Award

2024 After the Flames Conference and Workshop
April 15-17, 2024

Following the 2002 fire season, a collective effort resulted in the creation of the Phoenix Guide – a handbook tailored for watershed and community wildfire recovery, specifically designed for non-technical community members. Named after the mythical bird symbolizing renewal, the Phoenix Guide marked a pioneering step in post-fire resources.

Building upon the importance of the guide, in 2019, we established the Phoenix Award to commend individuals who exemplify tireless dedication to helping communities rise from the ashes, mirroring the resilience of the legendary phoenix. This award acknowledges outstanding contributions and program impacts in post-wildfire recovery and restoration. 

The Phoenix Award signifies the highest level of accomplishment, selflessness, and commitment to fostering inclusive, thoughtful, and transformative recovery after wildland fires.

Congratulations to our 2024 award recipients!

 

Agency Phoenix Award Recipient
CARA SPONAUGLE

As the National Post-Fire Program Leader for the Forest Service, this individual has made substantial contributions over the last five years to post-fire response and recovery by building and expanding the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) and Burned Area Rehabilitation Programs (BAR). She has developed and led training for the field, oversees providing expertise and technical support for numerous needs during fire season, and has led multiple efforts to create readily accessible guidance to the field and with interagency and other partners.  

She exemplifies both passion and commitment for making meaningful change at the ground level by providing actionable support and guidance to the field through improved processes and tools. She is not only the leading national expert, she is leading the way in partnership with other countries such as India, Portugal, and Canada in developing their post-fire response and recovery programs. 

Due to her leadership, the Forest Service and other agencies have a strong network of skilled post-fire practitioners. Her leadership and collaboration with other agency peers on a new interagency post-fire subgroup is forwarding a new way of working more closely together which will greatly increase service to the field. Her tireless dedication to overcoming challenges exemplifies a true champion for supporting the post-fire programs and practitioners to constantly strive to improve our collective efforts. 

 

Community Phoenix Award recipient
LUCINDA ANDREANI

This individual is a strong champion for rethinking the ways we plan for and respond to wildfires in our country. They have dedicated over 10 years of service to innovative and solution-oriented approaches on both federal and non-federal lands, for both restoration and recovery, and with multiple partners. Their passion and commitment to people who have lost everything and their personal approach to helping every single family find support and solace, and relentlessly making sure federal leaders understand these needs is commendable. 
 
Since 2010,  they have led the recovery efforts for nine major wildfires, with 25,000 evacuation orders, and losses of millions of dollars of property. Through those experiences, they gained a breadth and depth of knowledge and they share this expertise with peers, and partners. They have testified at congressional hearings, coached other county leaders on their incidents and knows first-hand the scale of these crises that rapidly overwhelms the capacity of local governments.
 
As a member of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission and co-lead of the Post-Fire recommendations, she was able to bring significant leadership and experience to advance and develop robust and practical solutions to the complex challenges in the post-fire situation. 

 

 

Thank you to David Schlote of Structure Fire Studios for creating these beautiful awards!
Learn more about David’s work at https://www.instagram.com/structurefirestudios/