“The City of Pigeon Forge has been a wildfire risk reduction leader in Tennessee for more than a decade,” Tennessee State Forester David Arnold said. “Both their fire department and community development department have championed change to protect lives and save homes and businesses. Their past, ongoing and planned actions clearly demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to wildfire risk mitigation — within and beyond the city limits.”

Pigeon Forge, along with Gatlinburg, suffered heavy damage in 2016 due to an intense wildfire that swept over from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The city had been working to reduce wildfire risk in the years before the disaster and has ramped up those efforts since. Both before and after the wildfires efforts have included hosting a countywide workshop in wildfire risk reduction for community leaders, providing a curbside brush removal program for residents and becoming one of only nine pilot communities nationwide to test the Ready, Set, Go! Program, which prepares home and business owners for evacuations. Following the fires, in 2017, Pigeon Forge became a 2017 Firewise USA site. 

The Wildfire Mitigation Award was established in 2014 to recognize programs and projects that are making a difference nationwide. The award committee includes the National Association of State Foresters, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fire Protection Association and the U.S. Forest Service. The 2019 awards will be presented in Reno, Nevada, on March 27.