Justice is on a mission to realign human culture with the fire environments we live in and are inextricably connected to. He divides his time between burning things and trying to keep other things from burning. For more than two decades Justice has exclusively focused on Wildfire adaptation and resiliency.
In his current role, Justice serves as the Wildfire Mitigation Officer for the Austin Fire Department’s Wildfire Division, where he has helped lead Austin and the surrounding area to embrace wildfire preparedness and become rapidly fire-adapted. He helped lead the development of the first National Cohesive Strategy-based CWPP in Texas, the Austin Travis County Wildfire Evacuation Plan and Hazard Mitigation Plan. Most recently he led Austin to become the largest municipality in the country to adopt the International Wildland Urban Interface Code, ensuring sustainable wildfire resilience, is built into Austin’s future.
Before joining AFD, Justice served as the Texas A&M Forest Service’s State Wildland Urban Interface and Prevention Coordinator, where he assisted communities across the state of Texas in enhancing their resilience to wildfires. This includes developing the Texas Community Wildfire Protection Plan Template and writing the first Community Wildfire Protection Plan in Texas, participating the in creation of the Southern and Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal. He also led the development of the Texas Post Fire Assessment Methodology culminating in the report Common Denominators of Home Destruction.
In addition to his work locally, He also serves on multiple committees including the International Association of Fire Chiefs Wildland Fire Policy Committee, the National Fire Protection Association’s Technical Committee 1140, and The ICC 605 Multi-Hazard Resiliency for Residential Construction Committee. In addition, Justice is a proud member of the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network and a Technical Specialist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.