Tom Leuschen

Tom Leuschen, Fire Vision LLC owner, retired from the U.S. Forest Service on September 30, 2003 after over thirty-one years of service. He started his career on the Soleduck District, Olympic National Forest working for six years in fire management before moving to the Twisp Ranger District, Okanogan National Forest in 1977 as Assistant Fire Management Officer in fuels management. He held this position for nineteen years, developing skill in the application of prescribed fire and smoke management before moving to the Okanogan Supervisor’s Office in 1996. In 1999 he became a Forest Service Enterpriser, forming Fire Vision as a Forest Service Enterprise business and continued to manage Fire Vision until retirement. He currently owns Fire Vision LLC in the private sector, and is primarily working to help wildland firefighters better understand risk management on wildland fires and to improve their understanding of the wildland fire environment through instructing and mentoring.

Special Projects:
Lead a Fuels Risk Assessment of the fuels resulting from a major wind event that blew through the Superior National Forest on July 4, 1999, knocking down most of the trees in it’s path. The windstorm, with wind speeds up to 100 miles/hour, swept across northern Minnesota, impacting approximately 477,000 acres within the Superior National Forest boundary, including approximately 370,000 acres inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The Risk Assessment was made to determine how this new fuel bed would change the characteristics of fire behavior in the area.

Developed data layers to be used in the FARSITE fire simulator throughout most of the Forested areas of Washington and Oregon.

Lead the development of a Fire Management Plan for the Beaver Park area of the Black Hills National Forest which had been heavily impacted by beetle infestations, changing the fire behavior potential of the area.

Assisted with the fire behavior investigation of the deadly Thirtymile Fire in 2001 which claimed the lives of four wildland firefighters.

Tom’s Fire Experience:
He has been a Fire Behavior Analyst since 1983 and is a Long Term Fire Behavior Analyst; including proficiency in the use of the FARSITE fire simulator and the Rare Event Risk Assessment program. He is currently red carded as an Operations Section Chief II, Operations Branch Director, Division Supervisor, Fire Behavior Analyst, Long Term Fire Analyst, Firing Boss, Prescribed Fire Planner, Prescribed FIre Burn Boss Type 1, and Fire Use Manager.

Publications:
“ Fire Management Today” published an article written by Tom Leuschen and Ken Frederick about the “Consumption Strategy” which was developed by Tom while working on wildland fires and assessing the risk of fires escaping containment efforts, versus the risks to firefighter safety associated with taking aggressive suppression and mop up actions.