Dan Buckley has been selected to be the fire director for the National Park Service. He will serve as the chief of the Branch of Wildland Fire within the Division of Fire and Aviation Management at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.
“Dan’s extensive knowledge and experience with wildland fire management will serve the branch and the division well as we implement our strategic plan and continue to work closely with our partner agencies here at the National Interagency Fire Center,” stated Bill Kaage, Division Chief for Fire and Aviation Management.
Most recently, Dan served as the superintendent of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in eastern Idaho. Buckley began his career in 1976, serving as a seasonal firefighter at Sequoia National Park. He worked for 16 years there on the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshot Crew, and then later served as the prescribed fire manager at Yosemite National Park and as fire management officer for the national parks in the Bay Area of California. Before Craters of the Moon, he was the NPS Program Lead for Wildland Fire Operations.
He has served on numerous interagency coordination groups developing the Interagency Prescribed Fire Implementation Guide and the Interagency Standards for Fire and Aviation Operations. He currently is a Type 1 Operations Section Chief, Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 1, and a Fire Behavior Analyst. He also is a team leader for Serious Accident Investigations and Large Fire Cost Reviews. Buckley received an associate degree in science from Cuesta Community College in 1980 and a BA in Journalism/Public Relations with minors in Biology and Anthropology from Humboldt State University in 1984.
Buckley enjoys bicycling, fly fishing, reading, distance running, cross country skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and backpacking.
“From the time I was a teenager, I knew I wanted to work outdoors, in the mountains, in the wilderness. Firefighting gave me the opportunity to realize my dream, and now I get to do my dream job. I look forward to working with the staff and cooperators at the National Interagency Fire Center and with the NPS regions and parks to create a safer working environment for our firefighters, and to help adapt our landscapes and communities to make them more resilient to the inevitability of wildland fire.”
Congratulations Dan! You certainly have the skills.
Not only is Dan an excellent choice, bur he’s also a Humboldt grad!