The Boise Interagency Fire Center (BIFC) was created in 1965 because the USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Weather Service saw the need to work together to reduce the duplication of services, cut costs, and coordinate national fire planning and operations.
The National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs joined BIFC in in the mid 1970s.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service later joined in 1979.
The center's name was changed in 1993 from the Boise Interagency Fire Center to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) to more accurately reflect its national mission.
In the early 2000s, the U.S. Fire Administration and National Association of State Foresters joined.
A Department of Defense, now Department of War, liaison was established in 2008.
In 2026, the Department of the Interior unified its wildland fire programs under a single organization, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS). Previously managed across the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Office of Aviation Services and Office of Wildland Fire, these programs came together as one cohesive service. The transition brought a significant change to the agencies and offices located at the National Interagency Fire Center to reflect the new organization represented.
