An over 30-year veteran at the U.S. Forest Service will now be solely responsible for the world’s largest wildland fire organization.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday announced it appointed Sarah Fisher as its Deputy Chief for Fire and Aviation Management. She will now be responsible for all aspects of the Forest Service’s fire, fuels, and aviation programs.
Her appointment comes amid USDA consolidation of agency roles, including its goal to eliminate redundancies in interagency wildfire response systems. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said the consolidation will increase efficiency in the agency and improve wildfire preparedness and response.
“For too long, the management of our wildfire program has been buried under layers of bureaucracy,” Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in a press release on the announcement. “With this change, we are elevating the leadership of our fire organization to where it belongs, at the highest levels of the agency. Sarah has done an exceptional job as national fire director and is absolutely the right person to lead through this moment.”
The Forest Service, in coordination with partners, claims it can mobilize more than 28,000 wildfire responders. It also manages nearly all large firefighting aviation assets for the federal government.
Fisher has worked for both the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior during her 32-year career. She started as a seasonal park ranger for the National Park Service before serving on incident management teams and supporting Incident Business Management activities for over 20 years. She was appointed to deputy director for Fire and Aviation Management in 2021, becoming the top director in 2023.
When she was appointed director, Fisher said her top priority would be the agency’s employees and that she’d be committed to giving them the tools, resources and support they need.
“The hard work we’re doing to support prescribed fire and suppression technologies, implement the ‘Wildfire Crisis Strategy’ and reduce wildfire risk is important, but we can’t accomplish any of this work without the people who make it happen,” Fisher said in a 2024 press release. “Your work is the foundation of everything we do, and I want to make sure you feel supported and valued.”
5 Comments
I was fortunate to work with Sarah on Incident Management Team assignments many years ago. What an outstanding person!!! The FS Fire and Aviation Management is in good hands with her at the helm. I wish I wasn’t retired-would love to work for her!
Well deserved. Congratulations Sarah!
Congratulations Sarah!
Steve and Linda Holder
While the consensus of comments seems to affirm Deputy Chief Fisher’s high qualifications for the position, the four line description of the career pathway that brought her to this assignment was somewhat vague. For a USFS retiree like me who has not had the privilege of working with her, I would have liked to have seen a better description of her background and experience.
Congratulations Deputy Chief Fisher!