I manage the fire, fuels, and aviation program in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. I also serve as a type 1 operations section chief on a type 1 incident management team.
Critical thinking, objectivity, innovation, imperturbability, and problem-solving are skills and abilities that contribute to success in my position.
Managing wildland fires often requires me to attempt to solve dynamic and complex fire environment problems that have non-scholastic solutions. Determining the appropriate strategy for large wildland fires requires both technical skills as well as natural and social science expertise.
Technology that I use regularly includes geographic information systems, remote sensing equipment, and aviation technology such as rotor wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft, and unmanned aviation systems.
No two wildland fires are identical and thus the management of each fire has a unique set of variables to solve and a unique set of management techniques to manage them appropriately.
After my first fire season working on an interagency hotshot crew, I knew that fire management was my calling and my life’s work.
