Jay Wickham has been working in the wildland fire profession for 30 years. In 1993, he graduated with a Wildlife Ecology degree from Peru State College in Nebraska, but he has continued learning in the field ever since. He began by working seasonally for the U.S. Forest Service as a Wildlife Technician and Forestry Technician through 1998. From 1998 to 2003, Jay served as the Dispatch/Logistics Manager for South Dakota’s Resource Conservation and Forestry Division. In 2003, he advanced to become Fire Management Officer for the East River Field Office of the Division of Wildland Fire in Mitchell. In 2006 he transferred to Custer State Park where he served as the Fire Management Officer for more than a dozen years. In 2019, he transferred to Rapid City to manage the agency’s four district offices for what is now known as South Dakota Wildland Fire (SDWF). In 2021, Jay became Chief of Operations/Deputy Director. The next year, 2022 he was promoted to his current position as Director of SDWF. He is currently qualified as a Division Group Supervisor, Incident Commander Type 3, and Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 2.

In his free time, Jay enjoys hunting with his pointing dogs, and fishing and camping with his family.