Carlene Anders’ disaster recovery experience started in 2014 when a 256,000 acre fire, the largest in Washington State history, threatened and impacted much of the city and county in which she lived. As a volunteer fire fighter at the time, she and her colleagues responded in engines. Later she served as the local fire departments’ IC logical officer during the incident. Months later, she was asked to oversee the recovery as Executive Director of the long term recovery group. The burn scar originally stretched across five counties (Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry and Stevens), with over 800+ initial structures lost. For the next decade, she would move on to oversee the recovery efforts of the 2015, 2020 and 2021 Wildfire FEMA declared disasters in the area, totaling well over 1 million acres burned, extensive losses of over 1500 structures. She had the privilege of overseeing the replacements of 47 home.

Carlene’s background as a wild land fire fighter began in 1984 with the Department of Natural Resources and later the US Forest Service, on engines, 6-pack response crews and as a smokejumper at the North Cascades Smokejumper Base in Winthrop WA. Carlene has the distinguished honor of being one of the first dozen women to smokejump in the nation, and one of two first women in the State of Washington.

Carlene was a long standing community member prior to the Carlton Complex Fire, having taught and coached at the local school district, headed up the 6th Grade Outdoor Education Program, taught as an certified alpine ski instructor for 30 years and a Ski School Director for 17 years. She was a self employed business owner for 25 years as well.

Carlene is an alumnae of Washington State University and a former Cougar Crew athlete. She coached rowing at WSU and Gonzaga University in the early 90’s and spent over 20 years as the Pateros High School head Track & Field coach. 

Following the fire, Carlene served as an elected official both as a City Council Member and two term Mayor of Pateros, a small city in North Central Washington, from 2015 through 2021. Within that role she served on the Boards of the Okanogan Council of Governments, Okanogan Community Action Council, the Okanogan County Transportation Authority, the Washington State Advanced 911 Legislative Advisory Committee (as the Association of Washington Cities, Eastern WA Rep.), Chair of the North Central Washington Economic Development District and member of the Washington State Legislative Task Force Advisory Committee on the Growth Management Act.

She continues to serve on the North Central Accountable Communities of Health (now Thriving Together) Board, the Washington State Wildfire Advisory Board to the Commissioner of Lands and the University of Washington Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Advisory Council.

She proudly participated in the original formation of the Disaster Leadership Team in fall of 2016, with its official nonprofit filing January 1, 2017.