Authored by Halie Miyazawa, CWSF Competitive Grants Manager
The Council of Western State Foresters (CWSF) Western State Fire Managers Committee (WSFM) convened in South Salt Lake, Utah, October 6-8, for its 2026 annual meeting.
The annual meeting brought together state fire managers and partners to exchange information, debrief the 2026 fire year to date, address shared challenges and successes, and strengthen coordination across the states.
Participants included representatives from CWSF’s 17 western states. Participants also included partners from the USDA Forest Service (Forest Service), U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), National Association of State Foresters (NASF), Southern Group State Foresters (SGSF), Northeast-Midwest State Foresters Alliance (NMSFA), and CWSF staff.
Partnerships and Coordination
The meeting provided a forum for state fire managers and national and regional partners to discuss coordination efforts across the states with the National Interagency Coordination Center, National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC), and Geographic Area Coordination Centers, and to ensure western representation on the National Wildfire Coordinating Group committees.
Participants also heard national and regional updates from the Forest Service, USWFS, NASF, SGSF, and NMSFA on current priorities, initiatives, and efforts to address shared challenges in fire management.
Learning from the 2026 Fire Year
State representatives brought their own experiences from the 2026 fire year to the discussion, sharing statistics, challenges, successes, and lessons learned from across the West.
Common themes included appreciation for federal and state cooperation and resource sharing, as well as problem-solving to overcome hurdles such as limited training opportunities to allow for state-owned unmanned aircraft systems to be used in federal jurisdictions. These themes highlight the effectiveness of fire compacts, state-to-state agreements, and NMAC, while seeking continuous improvement in the nation’s interagency wildland fire system.
These state-level perspectives helped inform broader conversations about coordination efforts on national, regional, state, and local levels, and the WSFM committee will continue to expand what is working well in the west and make improvements where needed.
During the meeting, WSFM and Western State Fire Business Managers (WSBM) members came together to discuss shared issues and topics impacting operations, including cost-share agreements and the current challenges faced this year on the national and state levels.
The WSBM also convened for its annual meeting, which included an after-action review of the fire year, national updates, challenges and successes with fire billing, and discussions on what they can do as a subcommittee to enhance fire business management practices.
Advancing Committee Priorities
The meeting also gave WSFM members time to focus on the committee's work ahead. Members reviewed their committee work plan and charter, received subcommittee updates, shared successes and barriers with agreements, and had discussions about training and qualifications.
These discussions will shape the committee’s 2027 work plan and guide its work in the coming year.
Learn More
Learn more about the Western State Fire Managers Committee.