Vaughn Jones has served as the Chief of the Wildland Fire Management Section since May of 2015, and was the Branch Chief of Operations for 3 years prior to this appointment. Before transferring to DFPC, Vaughn was the Northeast Area FMO with the Colorado State Forest Service for 8 years and an Assistant District Forester with the CSFS Golden District for 6 years.

Prior to going to work for the State, Vaughn held forestry, range, and wildfire roles with the US Forest Service on the White River National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland. Vaughn holds a B.S Degree in Natural Resource Management (1993) and a Master’s Degree in Ecology (1997), both from Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

His experience includes serving as an Agency Administrator on state-responsibility fires, as a member of Rocky Mountain Area Type 1 and 2 Incident Management Teams, as a member of the Jefferson County and Pueblo Dispatch Zone Type 3 Incident Management Teams, and in various wildfire response and prescribed fire roles. Vaughn is proud to be a 3rd generation native of Colorado, and has been married to his wife Amy for over 30 years. Vaughn and Amy have a son in the fire service and a daughter who works in human services.