Plumas County Cal-TREX Public Information
The Plumas County Fire Safe Council and our partners look forward to bringing a fourth Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX) event to Plumas County. Training will start February 24th, 2023, and continue to take advantage of burn opportunities throughout the spring and fall.
This event has been a multi-year effort to utilize fire to restore forest health, reduce hazardous fuels around communities, and provide access to training and skills development for local residents and professionals. TREX events usually draw participants from a large regional area spanning several counties. Participants range from landowners looking to manage their land, to college students earning their basic firefighter qualifications, or even seasoned fire professionals receiving experiences to qualify as a burn boss or a specialized incident command position. There will also be monthly classroom and field-based training opportunities, including certifications, made available to participants.
The TREX model provides a framework for planning, collaboration, incident management, and liability control.
After the destruction of the North Complex, Beckwourth Complex, and Dixie fires that have occurred in Plumas County the past few years, cooperating entities of the Plumas County Cal-TREX see prescribed fire as a critical tool to get ahead of the problem. Fire plays a key ecological role in the Sierra Nevada but that role has been absent for well over a century. The wildfires of today are a result of multiple factors, but a powerful driver of extreme fire behavior is the accumulation of vegetation (“fuels”) left untreated by the removal of regular fire intervals. The weekend event will be an opportunity for participants to gain hands-on experience, as well as a deeper understanding of the ecological importance of prescribed fire.
The Fire Safe Council is interested in comments and concerns from community members. You can use the form below to register your comments and we will make every effort to follow-up with you.
A brief list of FAQs is listed below.
This event has been a multi-year effort to utilize fire to restore forest health, reduce hazardous fuels around communities, and provide access to training and skills development for local residents and professionals. TREX events usually draw participants from a large regional area spanning several counties. Participants range from landowners looking to manage their land, to college students earning their basic firefighter qualifications, or even seasoned fire professionals receiving experiences to qualify as a burn boss or a specialized incident command position. There will also be monthly classroom and field-based training opportunities, including certifications, made available to participants.
The TREX model provides a framework for planning, collaboration, incident management, and liability control.
After the destruction of the North Complex, Beckwourth Complex, and Dixie fires that have occurred in Plumas County the past few years, cooperating entities of the Plumas County Cal-TREX see prescribed fire as a critical tool to get ahead of the problem. Fire plays a key ecological role in the Sierra Nevada but that role has been absent for well over a century. The wildfires of today are a result of multiple factors, but a powerful driver of extreme fire behavior is the accumulation of vegetation (“fuels”) left untreated by the removal of regular fire intervals. The weekend event will be an opportunity for participants to gain hands-on experience, as well as a deeper understanding of the ecological importance of prescribed fire.
The Fire Safe Council is interested in comments and concerns from community members. You can use the form below to register your comments and we will make every effort to follow-up with you.
A brief list of FAQs is listed below.
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FAQs:How can I stay informed about TREX burns?
Plumas County Fire Safe Council and Feather River RCD Facebook pages will be regularly updated during the event. Updates will be sent to Plumas News. You can use the form at the left to register your interest in updates and you will be added to an email list. Who is the responsible party for the planned burn(s)? The TREX burns are planned on both public and private lands. On public lands, a qualified burn boss from Plumas National Forest will be responsible for burn day operations. On private lands a state or nationally qualified burn boss or their trainee, will lead burn day operations. |
What conditions will be considered safe to burn?
Each of the potential burn units is included in a burn plan that stipulates the range of temperatures, humidity, and winds that are tolerable based on the site conditions and the burn objectives. These burn plans have been professionally developed and are strictly adhered to.
What if it is not safe to burn during the event dates?
The TREX event is designed to be a learning experience for prescribed fire practitioners. Ideally training includes utilizing live fire. However, several alternative training day activities have been developed if conditions are not favorable for burning. TREX participants remain "on-call" for burn windows through the spring and fall.
Where will the burn(s) take place?
Numerous burn units have been identified as potential locations for live fire in various locations in Plumas County, including both public and private lands. The specific units that will be burned as part of this event is highly dependent on the weather and site conditions at the time. Fuel moisture in each area will be monitored prior to the event to assist with unit selection.
What air quality impacts can be expected?
If there is a burn window during the training weekends, local residents should expect to see smoke. As opposed to wildfires, smoke impacts from prescribed fire can be mitigated by burning in favorable fuel and wind conditions. Every effort will be made to reduce smoke impacts to communities from this event. We hope that residents will tolerate smoke that is encountered as a short-term impact that is intended to reduce the more long-term air quality impacts from. All the burns conducted are permitted by the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District for burns in Plumas, Sierra and Nevada counties. Air quality staff also participate in the training and attend burns. For air quality information go to the Fire and Smoke Map and or AirNow.gov. For additional air quality information please go to myairdistrict.com.
Each of the potential burn units is included in a burn plan that stipulates the range of temperatures, humidity, and winds that are tolerable based on the site conditions and the burn objectives. These burn plans have been professionally developed and are strictly adhered to.
What if it is not safe to burn during the event dates?
The TREX event is designed to be a learning experience for prescribed fire practitioners. Ideally training includes utilizing live fire. However, several alternative training day activities have been developed if conditions are not favorable for burning. TREX participants remain "on-call" for burn windows through the spring and fall.
Where will the burn(s) take place?
Numerous burn units have been identified as potential locations for live fire in various locations in Plumas County, including both public and private lands. The specific units that will be burned as part of this event is highly dependent on the weather and site conditions at the time. Fuel moisture in each area will be monitored prior to the event to assist with unit selection.
What air quality impacts can be expected?
If there is a burn window during the training weekends, local residents should expect to see smoke. As opposed to wildfires, smoke impacts from prescribed fire can be mitigated by burning in favorable fuel and wind conditions. Every effort will be made to reduce smoke impacts to communities from this event. We hope that residents will tolerate smoke that is encountered as a short-term impact that is intended to reduce the more long-term air quality impacts from. All the burns conducted are permitted by the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District for burns in Plumas, Sierra and Nevada counties. Air quality staff also participate in the training and attend burns. For air quality information go to the Fire and Smoke Map and or AirNow.gov. For additional air quality information please go to myairdistrict.com.