Fire Management

About the Program

The Kansas Forest Service Fire Program focuses on programs and initiatives that support local fire departments, wildland fire training, and improving landscape and community resiliency. The Fire Program provides wildfire expertise, assistance, and equipment distribution, as well as a robust set of services: hands-on prescribed-burn training, rural fire equipment programs, community outreach, wildfire support outside of Kansas, and partner collaboration before, during, and after devastating wildfires.

• History of the Program

  Pre-settlement & early history (pre-1900s → 1900s): Fire is a natural and historic management tool on the Great Plains; Indigenous peoples, large grazers, and lightning shaped the Kansas grasslands. In modern times, the Kansas ecosystem management is rooted in that ecology and in 20th-century range management research. 

  1970: The Kansas Forest Service established its state office on K-State grounds (facility in 1968) and built the Rural Fire Program Shop in 1970 to manage federal excess equipment loans to rural fire departments. That shop and programs became the backbone of equipment support to volunteer departments. 

  1970s–present: For roughly fifty years, the Kansas Forest Service’s Fire Management Program has provided vehicles and equipment through the federal distribution programs (FEPP/FFP/EDP), free wildland training to fire departments, grants, and wildfire and prescribed fire technical support to rural fire departments across the state.

  2016/2017: Major wildfire seasons: Large, wind-driven wildfire focused statewide attention on wildfire response. The Anderson Creek Fire (March 2016) burned hundreds of thousands of acres (estimates vary by dataset but commonly cited at ~278,000–400,000 acres regionally) and caused heavy local losses. A year later, the Starbuck Fire (March 2017) became the largest single wildfire in Kansas' recorded history (estimated at over 400,000acres). Those events prompted statewide reviews, a legislative audit, the formation of partnerships, and greater state-level preparedness. 

  2019: First dedicated state funding for wildfire: In May 2019, Kansas appropriated state funds specifically to support the Kansas Forest Service wildfire activities; a major policy milestone recognizing wildfire as a statewide responsibility beyond only federal or local funding. 

  2020s: continued excellence in Kansas wildland fire management. The fire program has grown its staff to provide more focused support to local communities, land managers, and fire departments. Programs such as the creation of the Kansas-specific Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (WRAP), increased emphasis on fuels management and mitigation incentives, enhanced prevention and community outreach programs, continued no-cost wildland fire training for departments, volunteer fire assistance and grant opportunities, statewide risk assessments, and active participation in statewide wildfire action planning efforts

Services We Provide

• Statewide Incident Support: participation in statewide wildfire task forces, risk assessments, and incident management assistance.
• Training & Workforce Development: wildland fire classes and courses for local fire departments, wildland fire professionals, and land managers.
• Equipment & Property Programs: distribution, loan, and transfer programs (FEPP, FFP) to provide wildland-capable apparatus and gear to volunteer departments.
• Prescribed Fire Training and Workshops: education and hands-on experience to promote safe and effective use of prescribed fire.
• Community Resiliency: outreach and assistance to help community leaders identify and reduce wildfire hazards in their community.
• Grant Opportunities: funding support to assist fire departments and communities in improving wildfire capacity, safety, and readiness.

Fire Management Staff

Bill Waln	State Fire Management Officer
Rodney Redinger	Assistant Fire Management Officer - Operations
Eric Ward	Assistant Fire Management Officer
Dennis Carlson	Assistant Fire Management Officer
Aaron Williams	District Fire Management Officer, Southeast
Bryce Haverkamp	District Fire Management Officer, Northeast
Brad Ilonummi	District Fire Management Officer, Southwest
Madison Reed	District Fire Management Officer, Northwest
Vacant	Fire Business Specialist
Logan Roetto	Equipment Mechanic
Gabe Ney	Equipment Mechanic
Christopher Hanson	Workforce Development Specialist
Shawna Hartman	Fire Prevention Specialist