Kelly Woods, Director of the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center (LLC), talks about her interagency career in wildland fire beginning as a GS-1 wildland firefighter on a type 2 hand crew, working various suppression and support jobs with different agencies, to her current position as director of the Wildland Fire LLC.  We discuss the development of the center, the mission to facilitate learning from our experiences - good and bad, and the importance of emotional learning from past events through staff rides. We can become more professional, efficient, and safer at what we do through inquiry, opportunity, and dialogue. Kelly also takes a moment to reflect on being a mother while navigating her wildland fire management career. 

Listen to the Wildland Fire LLC podcast and follow on social media: Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wildfirelessonslearned and Twitter @WildlandFireLLC. 

BLM Wildland Fire Investigator and Trespass Coordinator Court Gossard talks about his transition from the military to working in wildland fire. We discuss the importance of fire investigation - from examination and documentation to types of causes and what fire trespass involves…along with a little reminiscing. Court also provides advise to veterans looking for work in wildland fire management. 

BLM Fire Deputy Division Chief of Aviation Mike Reid talks about the various types of aviation assets working in wildland fire management. Beginning his firefighting career on ground crews to taking flight in helicopters working on helitack, Mike explains how he became a firefighter, the different positions available in aviation and how aircraft is used to support the suppression efforts of the boots on the ground. He reminds us aircraft are not just a tail numbers, there are people on board and that private citizens flying unauthorized drones near wildfires put those people and our fireline personnel at risk. #KnowBeforeYouFly 

BLM Fire National Critical Incident Stress Program Manager Dr. Patty O’Brien explains critical incident stress management, how firefighters can cope with traumatic events and depression, and how we break through the stigma of talking about mental health. Prior to becoming a doctor, Dr. Patty worked for several years as a Forest Service hotshot. At that time, she realized the need for fire personnel support services and became interested in firefighter mental health. We talk about the many resources available from peers, friends, family members, and employee assistance to dialing the new crisis hotline “988” on your phone - connecting the right tools to the individual to stay physically and mentally fit.

 Great Basin Smokejumper Base Manager Phil Lind talks about his career in wildland fire management. Starting from the agrarian communities of Wisconsin moving to the vast open spaces of Montana, Phil explains how he got into firefighting and his transition to become a smokejumper and BLM Great Basin Smokejumper Base Manager. We chat about what it takes to hone the specialized skills of a smokejumper, and how it differs from other wildland firefighting positions in preparation, suppression, and jumping out of a “perfectly good airplane." In closing, Phil divulges what he feels is the hardest part of the job.

Boise District BLM Fuels Specialist Courtney Wyatt talks about her experience working in wildland fire suppression and transitioning to fuels management. We discuss wildland fire management at the ground level from being on an engine, helitack, and hotshot crew to planning and implementing vegetation treatments like jackpot burning and fuel break design. We also explore how fuels management can help our wildland firefighters and protect the public.

National Interagency Coordination Center meteorologists Nick Nauslar and Jim Wallmann explain the difference between prediction and potential for weather forecasting. We discuss day-to-day operations in predicative services at the National Interagency Fire Center, how the National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook is produced, and the significance of communicating fire weather to wildland fire managers, media, and the public. We also hear about anomalies such as fire-generated tornadic vortices increasing in frequency and working on wildfires as an incident meteorologist (IMET). 

Recorded on May 19, 2022, Sean Peterson, Assistant Center Manager of the National Interagency Coordination Center, or NICC, talks about his career in wildland fire management from firefighter to his current position at the National Interagency Fire Center. We discuss day to day NICC operations – explaining the dispatch system and the role of the air space coordination unit, predicative services, and the intelligence section. Sean talks about working with the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group, or NMAC, on setting national wildfire resources priorities, preparedness levels, and the importance of working with interagency, state, international, and military partners to support not only wildfires nationally but also assisting FEMA during all-hazard/all-risk incidents.