The Watershed Research and Training Center reports that the sixth annual Plumas County, California Prescribed Fire Training Exchange kicks off today, running from April 28 to May 2. Plumas Cal-TREX is based out of the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds in Quincy. Designated burn activities are set for April 30 and May 1 if conditions allow.
Over 90 participants and organizers will gather for the weeklong training, with a focus on supporting the growth of a local prescribed fire workforce that will be able to assist with burning on private and public lands, report organizers. Over half of the registrants are Plumas County residents, while the remaining hail from 13 counties across California, as well as from Nevada, Washington State and Ecuador.
Throughout the week, participants will be exposed to a wide variety of training opportunities geared toward increasing skills in prescribed fire application. Plumas Cal-TREX designated burn sites are strategically placed within the wildland urban interface to reduce fire hazard around communities across Plumas County. Organizers say the TREX event has required extensive planning and monitoring of weather and fuel conditions, which will continue throughout the week or longer if conditions dictate.
Many participants meet national standards for fire workers, and the incident management team coordinates in advance with local fire departments, tribal partners, multiple ground support agencies and other highly experienced personnel to bolster project goals and ensure safe operations, say organizers. “Recent wildfires are an important reminder of the urgent need to proactively manage our forests and grasslands,” they say. Plumas County residents can expect to see plumes and dispersed smoke in areas throughout the county during the event.
“While smoke will be present during prescribed burns, it is typically far less dense and of much shorter duration than wildfire smoke,” said Julie Hunter, air pollution control officer with the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District. “Studies prove that moderate air quality for a day during intentional burning has dramatically fewer hazardous impacts on health than the conditions that arise during unpredictable wildland blazes. This in large part is due to burn intensity and smoke-exposure duration, which can last for weeks or even months.
Hunter points out that the Plumas Cal-TREX beneficial fire project will be monitored using state-of-the-art NSAQMD equipment, which will help guide operations. The TREX outreach plan will also give residents the ability to prepare in advance if necessary. “Take precautions if you have a sensitivity to smoke: stay indoors, keep windows closed and use an air filtration device if available,” said Hunter.
Air quality information and additional fact sheets are available at https://fire.airnow.gov. After the intensive week-long training, participants will become part of an on-call team that can be notified of opportunities to implement prescribed fire during favorable “burn windows” in the spring, early summer and late autumn. Burn windows represent periods in which weather conditions are favorable for the safe and effective application of fire on the landscape in preplanned, strategic locations that will benefit from lower forest fuel loads.
In celebration of beneficial fire, on Wednesday, April 30, at 7 p.m. Plumas Cal-TREX in collaboration with Feather River College will be showing three short documentaries at the Quincy Town Hall Theatre, with opportunity for open forum discussion afterwards. Organizers say the films highlight Indigenous cultural burning practices and pretreated private land success stories in California. The screening event is free, open to the public and highly recommended for community members wanting more information about Plumas Cal-TREX and the meaning of beneficial fire.
Plumas County residents are encouraged to stay updated on event activities by following the event hashtag, #PlumasTREX, on social media.
More information about the training is available from Leslie Wehrman, acting public information officer for the Plumas National Forest, at [email protected] and Annie Leverich, acting public information officer for the Watershed Research and Training Center, at [email protected].
The Plumas Cal-TREX is made possible through a variety of funders, including the California Department of Conservation’s Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program, which has supported portions of this training annually since its inception in fall 2020; a participating agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service; an agreement through the USDA Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy; and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Wildfire Resilience Program.
