About This Episode
On this episode, our hosts, Chief Jeff Johnson and Chief Kim Zagaris, are joined by Chief David Winnacker to discuss the art of strategically staging resources and tools to effectively combat wildfires. Chief Winnacker shares the challenges and successes of his efforts to create a common operating picture for fire response. Chief Winnacker also speaks to the importance of developing and mentoring the next generation of talent in the fire service.
About The Speaker
Chief Dave Winnacker is a retired fire chief who served in the fire service for 21 years, including his tenure as chief of the Moraga-Orinda Fire District from 2017 to 2024. He has a background in the Marine Corps, where he served as an infantry officer and later as the Commanding Officer of the 4th Force Reconnaissance Company. Currently, he is a Hoover Institution Veteran Fellow at Stanford University, focusing on wildfire risk and property insurance. He has also been involved in developing strategic wildfire risk reduction plans and has co-founded companies like ZoneHaven and XyloPlan Risk.
Episode 3 Show Notes
This podcast episode explores the critical need for a paradigm shift in modern wildfire management. Featuring an in-depth discussion with Dave Winnaker, Retired Fire Chief & Reserve General, U.S. Marine Corps, the conversation challenges the century-old, suppression-only mindset. It advocates for a proactive, science-driven strategy focused on pre-fire mitigation, community adaptation, and a cultural evolution within the fire service to address the growing threat of catastrophic wildfires.
Key Points
1. Small Fires Cause the Most Damage: A critical insight shared is that the most destructive fires are often not the largest ones. According to Chief Winnaker, 78% of structures lost in recent years were destroyed in the early stages of small, fast-moving, wind-driven fires that overwhelmed initial response capabilities. This underscores the need to manage fire pathways before they reach communities.
2. Shifting from Suppression to Proactive Management: The traditional approach of extinguishing every fire has created a dangerous “fuel debt.” Chief Winnaker argues that a purely suppression-based strategy is no longer sustainable. He states, “The fires we put out by definition are the ones we should’ve let burn, because we could put them out. And if we had the ability to put them out, that meant we had the ability to manage them.” The new model involves strategically managing fires on benign days to create a resilient landscape mosaic that is less volatile during extreme weather.
3. Community Adaptation is Non-Negotiable: The burden of fire prevention cannot fall on firefighters alone. Communities must become “fire-adapted” through mandatory home hardening (e.g., ember-resistant vents, clean gutters) and the creation of defensible space. This preparation allows a home to receive fire without being lost, reducing the strain on firefighting resources during a major event.
4. Mitigation Requires a “Network Effect”: Fire is opportunistic and exploits the weakest link. As Chief Winnaker explains, scattered or incomplete mitigation efforts provide no real reduction in risk. To be effective, mitigation must be comprehensive and implemented at the appropriate geographic scale and density to create a protective network effect.
5. Leadership and Data-Driven Communication: A significant barrier to progress is effectively communicating risk. Fire officials need to transition from emotional anecdotes to data-driven conversations, using modern digital tools and satellite data to visualize fire behavior. This helps communities understand the science behind necessary building codes and defensible space regulations, which often face local resistance.
Notable Quote
“Partial mitigations don’t equal partial reduction in risk in the wildfire space, because fire is opportunistic, and it will self-replicate.” — Dave Winnaker, Retired Fire Chief & Reserve General, U.S. Marine Corps
Conclusion
The episode concludes that confronting the modern wildfire crisis requires a fundamental change in strategy and culture. Success depends on moving beyond a reactive, suppression-focused model to a proactive system built on three pillars: intelligent landscape management, comprehensive community adaptation, and a forward-thinking fire service that embraces data, technology, and mentorship to empower the next generation of leaders.# Shifting Wildfire Strategy: From Suppression to Proactive Mitigation
Main Message: In this episode of “Catching Wildfire,” Dave Winnaker, Retired Fire Chief from Moraga Orinda Fire District & Reserve General in the U.S. Marine Corps, argues for a fundamental shift away from a purely reactive, suppression-based wildfire strategy towards a proactive, science-driven model focused on pre-fire mitigation and community adaptation.