Bob Roper has been in the fire service for over 45 years, starting as a volunteer firefighter, then rising to executive positions. He served in the Ventura County Fire District for 34 years, the last 15 as Fire Chief. He then became the Nevada State Forester and is now Senior Policy Advisor to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.

During his career, Bob continued his formal education and became focused on the wildland fire problem due to its dynamic nature and challenges. As Fire Chief of a CAL FIRE “Contract County” and the Chair of the FIRESCOPE Board of Directors, he became quite involved in state aid agreements and the state response system. He furthered his national wildland policy knowledge by becoming the Chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Wildland Fire Policy Committee. This forum required a global viewpoint of the nation’s wildland fire problem and interaction with the National Association of State Foresters, federal partners, and the international wildfire community. Bob was instrumental in the development of the Ready, Set, GO! program and was part of the development team for the National Wildland Fire Cohesive Strategy. Bob recently served on the Congressional Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. He is now the CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association.