In Memoriam: Matt Rollins — Association for Fire Ecology

In Memoriam:

Matt Rollins

We mourn Dr. Matt Rollins who tragically passed on August 18th, 2024 after a long battle with illness. He's an established leader in the fire ecology community who collaborated with many AFE members and actively participated in conferences. With over 34 years of experience in fire science, he provided invaluable wisdom and guidance to the Pacific Northwest Research Station where he served as the Program Manager for Fire, Fuels, and Smoke from 2017 forward. Dr. Rollins held many academic accomplishments as well as professional, including a PhD in Watershed Management from the University of Arizona, and a Master’s degree in Forestry and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana.

We celebrate Dr. Rollins’ legacy and impact on the field of fire ecology, and the way he inspired others around him. He was known for his sense of humor and sincerity amongst the colleagues who had the pleasure working with him. Our thoughts and condolences are with Dr. Rollins’ loved ones during this difficult time.

In Matt’s memory, a few AFE colleagues have shared the following stories:

Safe Travels Matt… I will really miss you. My favorite memory of Matt was playing radio trivia on the way to sample whitebark pine. We had a car full of people but Matt always knew the song in less than five seconds, well before anyone. We finally just watched amazed as Matt got seven songs in a row in less than five seconds. He was an amazing man that died well too young…

– Bob Keane, Retired US Forest Service

Matt was a beam of light in every conversation he ever had. Matt was intelligent, with a quick wit that would defuse a difficult situation or draw in others to a dialogue. Matt’s early research on fire history and fire severity live on with countless scientists and managers across the world. I valued his friendship and mentoring and his ability to engage anyone from a gas station attendant to a world class scientist. Matt will be missed.

– Morgan Varner, Tall Timbers Research Station (and Matt supervisee 2017-2019)

Matt was part of our cohort of graduate students at the University of Arizona Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, studying fire science under Tom Swetnam in the late 1990s. Even then, Matt was a big personality and brought energy, humor, and intelligence to everything he did. His profound mastery of landscape ecology presaged his remarkable career accomplishments, including his key role in LANDFIRE and advancing the science of landscape fire modeling. Matt’s impact will last for many years to come.

– Don Falk, University of Arizona

Matt made innumerable contributions to federal wildland fire science over the years, and was always available to offer advice and feedback as I stepped into a role he had held for many years. His line was “always open”. He will be greatly missed.

– Jens Stevens, USFS R&D

Matt will be missed by so many people. His intelligence was inspiring, and his kindness was infectious. I’ll always be grateful for the support Matt gave me in my career during some stressful times. Not only was Matt a wonderful colleague, he was a good friend. His passing is a huge loss to the fire community.

– Sharon Hood, USFS R&D