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Travis Abbey

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Hi, I'm Travis. As an 18-year-old kid in 1990, I stumbled onto a job as a "helitack" fire crew member and I never looked back.  

 

Since that time, my career path has had me coordinating wildfire response across Canada and into the United States, while working from the front-line crew level to Type 1 incident command. ​​

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Since my retirement from the BC Wildfire Service in 2019, I've been engaging directly with local governments and indigenous communities throughout southern BC, with a focus on the prevention and preparedness side of wildfire. I've stood in the middle of communities as they burn, and I want to do what I can to prevent it from happening elsewhere.

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​My core strengths are my ability to lead in any setting, collaborate and develop relationships with all groups of people, and deliver excellence in any project or initiative that I take part in. 

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Regardless of the type of property, community or landscape I'm engaged with, the first question to myself is always: "how do I work to protect this as if it were my home, my backyard?"

 

My business is named Abbey Wildfire Solutions for one reason: to demonstrate my commitment to providing a personalized service for clients. If a client hires Abbey Wildfire Solutions, they get me and my 30+ years of experience, working side by side with them to achieve their objectives.​​

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 Key Qualifications / Experience

  • 7 years - wildfire and / or emergency management advisory services to: Skeetchestn Indian Band, Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK), Ktunaxa Nation Council, District of Invermere, City of Cranbrook, Village of Canal Flats, First Nations Emergency Services (FNESS), Interior Health Authority, Municipality of Sun Peaks

  • 20 years - BC Wildfire Service - Initial Attack Crew Leader to Type 1 Incident Commander

  • 6 years - private sector wildfire operations

  • 2.5 years - led two regional district emergency programs (RDEK and RDCK)

  • 1 year  - led Northwest Territories Wildfire Risk / Community Protection Program (2009-2010)

  • Type 1  Incident Commander Trainee - BCWS 2019 - 

  • Type 2 Incident Commander - BCWS

  • Type 2 Operations Section Chief - BCWS

  • Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist - BC & NFPA

  • 1001 Structural Firefighter 1 & 2 - NFPA

  • Emergency Management Certificate - JIBC

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Little Bobtail Lake, Prince George area - 2015

Recent Career Activity​

  • Skeetchestn Natural Resources LLP - Development of Indigenous Initial Response Crew, construction of wildfire base / EOC facility, construction of 6000 sq ft specialty product sawmill, expansion of Community Emergency Management Program (Feb 2023 - Present)

  • Village of Lytton - Wildfire Recovery Director - Colliers Project Leaders (4 weeks - 2022)

  • Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it (Tobacco Plains Indian Band) - Development of Wildfire Brigade Service - (Spring 2022)

  • FNESS First Nations Emergency Services Society - EOC Support - Atmospheric River Flood Response - (Fall 2021)

  • OKIB - Okanagan Indian Band - EOC Operations Chief - White Rock Lake Fire - Summer 2021

  • Ktunaxa Nation EOC Liaison - COVID 19 First Wave Response, Cranbrook BC - 2020

  • BCWS - Type 1 Incident Commander - Battle Complex Fire - Manning Alberta - June 2019

  • BCWS - Provincial Incident Commander - Big Bar Landslide, Lillooet BC - Jul / Aug 2019

  • BCWS - Leader of 62-person BC Wildfire Service Base - Cranbrook BC,  April 2018- Nov 2019

the team
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