Published January 28, 2025
BY SAVANNA RADOWICZ
In Monterey County, residents know a thing or two about wildfires, experiencing seven extreme fires in the last decade. In 2020 alone, three separate burns simultaneously ravaged the 831.
With such intense fire risk, there is an understandable need for individuals willing to make fire prevention their life’s work in order to protect their community. One such individual is Ryan Walbrun, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service who specializes in monitoring fire risk conditions.
Walbrun has worked for the National Weather Service for 25 years and has been involved in the meteorology field for much longer. Within the federal agency, the fire weather meteorologist and his colleagues feed information like wind, temperature, humidity, and lightning to two main centers in Redding and Riverside to calculate fire risk and prepare resources for potential fires.
Ryan Walbrun near a smoke-covered mountain while supporting a burning operation on the 2024 “Bridge Fire” in the Angeles National Forest. (courtesy of RYAN WALBRUN)
“There’s constant calculations going on in terms of moving airplanes, fire engines, bulldozers, any of those resources,” says the Carmel High School parent. “It’s huge chess pieces…. Should we lend them to Arizona or Nevada, or should we keep them in California?”
Once a fire starts, Walbrun’s job shifts from the office to the field and becomes much more tactical. Now referred to as an incident meteorologist, he is in charge of keeping fire crews safe by interpreting weather conditions and evaluating how they will affect a fire. According to Walbrun, most firefighter fatalities, especially in the wildland environment, are due to shifting weather factors. By paying careful attention to the conditions, these meteorology teams can make sure that no one is caught off guard by dangerous shifts.
“[The National Weather Service’s] core mission or guiding principle is protecting lives and property,” recalls Walbrun.
During an active burn, the fire is broken down into branches and smaller divisions so he can strategize the best way to fight a fire according to weather conditions. Because topography and fuel don’t change significantly, weather is often considered the biggest variable when fighting wildfires. Walbrun believes that weather was a main factor in the extreme nature of the recent Los Angeles fires. With such strong winds, there is little that can be done to slow or stop the flames.
Whether such damage could happen on the Monterey Peninsula is another question. With such high fuel loading in places like Pebble Beach, Carmel and Carmel Valley, the meteorologist believes it is a matter of when a fire will break out rather than if.
Walbrun briefs fire crews on varying weather conditions across different branches and divisions of a 2024 wildfire. (courtesy of RYAN WALBRUN)
The Wisconsin native also emphasizes the camaraderie he has experienced while working on these fires. Walbrun loves going to towns, big and small, across the U.S. and getting to help the people he meets in some way.
However, the job definitely has its downsides. Being around the loss that follows a fire is a difficult task.
“It’s fun and exhilarating, and you meet a lot of really neat people from all across America, but yes, you do miss your family,” says Walbrun. “It’s long days in the smoke. It’s not all sunshine and lollipops.”
The path to such an interesting career was something that Walbrun refers to as “right place, right time.” After about two years with the National Weather Service, an opportunity to take on a new position in the fire intelligence realm arose and the University of Wisconsin alum was ready to step up.
“I was a young eager person and raised my hand,” Walbrun says. “I had no idea what I was raising my hand for…. There’s a lesson in that.”
According to Earth.org, eight out of ten of the largest wildfires in U.S. history have occurred since the year 2000. With such an influx of extreme blazes, there is an obvious need for young people interested in the fire industry. Walbrun mentions the extent of career opportunities that the firefighting industry has to offer, from bulldozer operators to geographical information system mapping specialists.
When it comes to his field or to pursuing any new career path, the veteran weatherman has one piece of advice: “Be curious, take chances, and be willing to say yes if the door is open.”
