Chief, Southern Region
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Dale has 30 years of experience in the fire service, and most recently served as the Assistant Region Chief for the Southern Region where he managed operations, administration, and resource management for the 9 Southern Operational Units and 5 Contract Counties within the Southern Region. Dale also served as the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) Fire and Rescue Branch Region Coordinator for Cal EMA Region 6 (Mono, Inyo, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial Counties).

Prior to his assignment as the Assistant Region Chief, Dale served as the Unit Chief of the Madera - Mariposa - Merced Unit (MMU) where he managed all risk operations in the three counties, as well as maintained cooperative interagency relationships with the Sierra National Forest, Stanislaus National Forest, and Yosemite National Park. A significant part of his responsibilities included serving as Fire Chief for Merced County Fire Department, Madera County Fire Department, Madera City Fire Department, and the Atwater City Fire Protection District.

Dale has extensive experience in Cooperative Fire Protection Agreements and Contract County Administration from his 25 years working through the ranks in the Riverside Unit. He has a diversified background in fire protection operations, administration, budgets, labor relations, volunteer firefighter programs, fire prevention, law enforcement, and pre-fire engineering. He served on CAL FIRE Incident Command Teams for 8 years, with his last position as Incident Commander of ICT-7.