John Cataldo, Fire Management Officer

We’re coming in hot with a FIRE episode today featuring Fire Management Officer John Cataldo! John has worked on wildland fires in 18 states with both the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service. From fighting fires on the ground to managing Yellowstone’s fire program, John talks about his professional journey and offers advice for those interested in a fire career.

View definitions and links discussed in this episode at go.nps.gov/WhatWeDoPodcast

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TRANSCRIPT:

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Miles: From Yellowstone National Park, this is what we do. I'm Miles Barger.

Ashton: And I'm Ashton Hooker.

Miles: Hey, Ashton.

Ashton: Hey, Miles.

Miles: How's it going?

Ashton: Pretty good. How are you doing?

Miles: I'm doing pretty well. Are you ready to record a fire podcast today?

Ashton: Yes, straight fire podcast coming your way.

Miles: Because today we're going to talk to John Cataldo, Yellowstone's Fire Management Officer and before we get started I have to do a little fire trivia, it's it's going to be a trite one, but I think it's still interesting. So Yellowstone record fire in 1988. How many acres of the park burned? during those fires.

Ashton: I know it was massive. I know it was a lot.

Miles: It was a lot.

Ashton: I mean, in.

Miles: Round to the nearest 100,000 if you want.

Ashton: Okay. I was going to say a few hundred thousand. I'll say 600,000 figures. Okay. I'm getting the motion a little more. 800,000.

Miles: That would be the right rounding.

Ashton: nice.

Miles: 793,880 is the official number I found.

Ashton: You know, like if we were to compare.

Miles: And that's. That's not the full fire.

Ashton: Like what's, like, 800,000 acres compared to.

Miles: Gosh, that's a good question. Yellowstone, 2.2 ish million. Okay. Which is what states combined Rhode Island.

John: To roll out.

Miles: To Rhode Island.

John: And.

Miles: So not so maybe two thirds of Rhode Island is 36% of the park. Pretty big.

Ashton: That's a pretty big fire.

Miles: Yeah, pretty big. And that's just inside of Yellowstone. Anyway, there's our trivia. But today, like I said, we're talking to John Cataldo, fire management officer here, ready to dive in. I'm ready. All right, good. So in your career, have you always worked for the National Park Service in your career? Did you start with a different agency in terms of fire?

John: I started with the National Park Service and 1992, and I've kind of oscillated back and forth between the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service, but always a federal agent.

Miles: Okay. Yep. What was your first job in fire?

John: My first job in or in general or. Well, in general, It was actually part of my financial aid package when I was an undergrad at Humboldt State University. I was offered a work study opportunity as part of my financial aid, and I was studying wildlife management at Humboldt State University in Northern California. And my my advisor and a department chair was married to the branch chief of Wildlife at Redwood National Park, and I was on academic scholarship as well at Humboldt and he kind of passed my name along to his wife and said, We've got a potential work study student, if, you know, interested in picking them up for some work and they

John: gave me a key to the office for Redwood National Park and a pile of wildlife observation cards that visitors and employees had filled out. And there was a pile pretty much up to the ceiling, and they gave me a key to the office and let me go in there 10 to 15 hours a week, all during the school year.

John: And just at my own pace, whenever I could fit in, in between classes and whatnot. And that was kind of my yeah, my my very first park service job.