Community invited to observe prescribed fire training in El Dorado County

Second Forester TREX to be held Oct. 26-Nov. 1 

Bringing together professional foresters, forest managers and fire practitioners, California’s second Forester Prescribed Fire Training Exchange event will occur Oct. 26–Nov. 1 near Georgetown in El Dorado County.

There will be multiple burns conducted during the event, dependent on acceptable conditions. Community members and press are invited to observe burns scheduled for Oct. 28 or 29; sign-up is required.

Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (TREXs) first came to Northern California in 2013, and have made a positive cultural shift concerning prescribed fire, within both regional fire services and the broader community. These “good fire” TREX events have drawn significant attention, especially in the context of more severe wildfire seasons. 

The event in El Dorado County is being hosted by the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association (CCPBA), the UC Berkeley Blodgett Forest Research Station and University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Fire Network.

These entities bring a variety of skills designed to improve knowledge, skills and accessibility to prescribed fire as a land management treatment. The CCPBA and UC ANR conducted the first Forester TREX in 2024 and, given the pioneering research on pyrosilviculture conducted at UC Berkeley Blodgett Forest Research Station, it seemed a natural fit to conduct the second event there.

The event will be focused on exploring the connections between sustainable forest management, wildfire resilience, timber harvesting and prescribed fire. The TREX will provide experiential training opportunities for forest managers and planners to advance statewide knowledge of how to conduct prescribed fire on forested land.

Along with the prescribed burns, the program will include lectures, local tours and open discussions on how to incorporate fire into timber management, burn planning and timber harvest planning, pre- and post-fire considerations, and permitting mechanisms for fire and timber harvesting.

Presentations will be given by local forestry consultants, researchers, UC ANR academics and staff, and local fire practitioners.

“Not only will participants get hands-on training, but they’ll learn about the requirements for implementing prescribed burns on various land ownership types, as well as ways these procedures can be improved to include more treatment types, collaborations with tribal members, research, and more,” said Rob York, co-director of Berkeley Forests and assistant professor of Cooperative Extension at UC Berkeley.

The burn locations will occur near Georgetown, on state and private land with access allowed for accompanied observation. While the Forester TREX planning team works closely with the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District to assure good smoke dispersal, smoke may be seen and be present in these areas during and after a burn.

Participants include private foresters, members of Indigenous communities, scientists, ranchers, students, researchers, land managers, and personnel with California State Parks, UC ANR, CAL FIRE, land trusts and  other organizations. The Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association is currently funded via California Coastal Conservancy grants.

For more information or to join a group of observers, contact Barb Satink Wolfson, UC Cooperative Extension area fire advisor: bsatink@ucanr.edu.