Former Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center Assistant Director, Alex Viktora, comes back to the podcast to talk with Travis Dotson, Analyst with the Lessons Learned Center. Alex talks with Travis about his career, his time with the Lessons Learned Center, and the things he has learned along the way. This is Travis Dotson’s farewell podcast episode as he retired in July 2026.
Travis Dotson started his wildland fire career in 1996 as an Administratively Determined (AD) firefighter for the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Zuni Southwest Type 2 Crews. He spent the next 11 years on various wildland fire modules including time with the Heber Hotshots, Saguaro Fire Use Module, Manning Camp Fire Crew, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Engine, and McCall Smokejumpers.
Travis joined the Fire Use Training Academy (FUTA) in 2007 where he served as a Training Specialist and rookied as a Smokejumper at McCall. He continued to work for FUTA—detailing to McCall for each summer—until he joined the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center in 2009 as the Center’s Analyst.
Notes:
- In this episode, Travis refers to “Us and Them” and how important it was that Alex wrote that. Travis is referring to the cover story of Two More Chains in the Summer 2015 Issue.
- Travis also mentions, “Be Safe.” This was a topic Travis covered in his “Ground Truths” column in the Spring 2014 Two More Chains Issue.
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