Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The brief introduction to the newly formed U.S. Wildland Fire Service was delivered to the August 17, 2026 meeting of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
After a brief introduction by SMMNRA Superintendent Jodi Lyle, , the newly appointed Deputy Unit Chief for the Coastal Mountain Unit of the just-established US Wildland Fire Service Kelly Singer outlines the transition of Department of Interior (DOI) fire management. Formerly distinct DOI fire units (from the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and US Fish and Wildlife Service) have been have consolidated into this new umbrella federal agency with a unified network of ~4,000 permanent employees (a long-term feasibility study is now underway regarding the US Forest Service potentially joining).
Under this restructured, "stovepiped" organization, local fire management officers now report to regional unit chiefs rather than park superintendents, though the core mission of managing wildland fire response and fuels projects on federal lands remains unchanged. Locally here in SoCal, Singer's unit manages areas like the Santa Monica Mountains and Channel Islands, where they have already treated close to 325 acres of defensible space this summer and plan to further expand capacity by hiring additional leadership and adding a second engine unit (both of which would be stationed at King Gilette).
The brief introduction to the newly formed U.S. Wildland Fire Service was delivered to the August 17, 2026 meeting of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
After a brief introduction by SMMNRA Superintendent Jodi Lyle, , the newly appointed Deputy Unit Chief for the Coastal Mountain Unit of the just-established US Wildland Fire Service Kelly Singer outlines the transition of Department of Interior (DOI) fire management. Formerly distinct DOI fire units (from the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and US Fish and Wildlife Service) have been have consolidated into this new umbrella federal agency with a unified network of ~4,000 permanent employees (a long-term feasibility study is now underway regarding the US Forest Service potentially joining).
Under this restructured, "stovepiped" organization, local fire management officers now report to regional unit chiefs rather than park superintendents, though the core mission of managing wildland fire response and fuels projects on federal lands remains unchanged. Locally here in SoCal, Singer's unit manages areas like the Santa Monica Mountains and Channel Islands, where they have already treated close to 325 acres of defensible space this summer and plan to further expand capacity by hiring additional leadership and adding a second engine unit (both of which would be stationed at King Gilette).
