This conference was held November 27 - December 1, 2000, in San Diego, California. Fire research and management are greatly changing and the tasks of the fire management organizations are much broader than they were just a few years ago. Fire management is now in the forefront of natural resource management and land management planning nationwide, with fire related issues becoming more complex each year. Research is developing rapidly to provide both a basic understanding of fire in ecosystems and to meet the growing management needs. It is important for channels of communication to be open, and to develop a greater understanding of a much bigger picture than has been needed in the past. The purpose of this national conference was to work toward a broadly based, multi-disciplined, multi-perspective fire community with better communications and interactions between groups that are currently disconnected or communicating ineffectively. The conference was targeted at land owners, land and resource managers, decision-makers, agency scientists, academic researchers, fire prevention and protection specialists, consultants, environmental organizations, community organizations, state and federal employees involved in fire related issues, and students or others interested in fire issues.