After 16 years (1988-2004) working in the private timber industry all over the western United States, Chief Peters, a Registered Professional Forester (RPF), joined CAL FIRE in 2005. He started his CAL FIRE career as a fuels reduction Forester I in the Tuolumne/Calaveras Unit. In 2009, he promoted to his current Unit Forester position in the San Luis Obispo Unit, where he has served as the Pre-Fire Division Chief for over 11 years.
Chief Peters has always promoted an extremely ambitious agenda in SLO County. He has focused on all aspects of fire prevention including fuels reduction, public education, defensible space inspections, hazard mapping, forest health, and pre-fire planning. He was instrumental in the implementation of thousands of acres of fuels reduction treatments and prescribed burns, and hundreds of miles of roadside and fuel break treatments throughout the county. He also served in a variety of incident command system roles on dozens of wildfires throughout the state.
Always a strong advocate for stake holder collaboration, Chief Peters has improved communication and cooperation among many groups. Those groups include local, state, and federal fire agencies, State Parks, Cal Poly, APCD, private landowners, ranchers, Homeowners Groups, and non-profit organizations including the SLO County Fire Safe Council and the Range Improvement Association.
“I feel fortunate to have been part of this amazing team on the Central Coast and to have worked in such a beautiful part of the Country. Fire prevention is such an important aspect of life in California and I know that what we have accomplished has made a positive difference and I truly hope that my hard work will help encourage others to keep things moving in the right direction”. – Chief Alan Peters, Unit Forester, CAL FIRE / San Luis Obispo County Fire Department
“Alan has had such a positive impact with all of our cooperators as he coordinates almost all fuel reduction and fire prevention efforts in the county. We will miss his tireless work ethic and dedication to our citizens’ safety.” -Scott Jalbert, Retired Unit Chief, CAL FIRE / San Luis Obispo County Fire Department