The Hotshot Wake Up

USWFS Director, Chief Brian Fennessy: Unification, Initial Attack, Safety, Workforce Culture, Landscape Resilience Work, Tech, And Misconceptions.

August 7, 2026·58 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

On Today’s Show: To Support And Subscribe: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/Today I welcome the Director of the United States Wildland Fire Service, Chief Brian Fennessy. As we all know, it’s been very busy up until this point, and there is lots to cover. We discuss the unification of the Department of the Interior wildland firefighters and what that looks like moving forward. Who will do the landscape work? Do we have enough firefighters and resources? We have a conversation about initial attack, full suppression, safety, and the current fire conditions on the ground. Chief Fennessy addresses the many misconceptions about how wildland firefighters operate, and how policy is based on current and expected conditions on the ground. Could the full suppression strategy change if conditions change? Of course. We also dive into modernizing the workforce; this includes not only using new tech, but also updating the aging comms network and dispatch communication network. Plenty to talk about.THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

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