For the first time in state history, fire managers from nine different agencies and partners are coming together in central Washington to learn and train in prescribed fire through a formal training exchange (TREX).
Sponsored by the Fire Learning Network, TREX is a unique opportunity for qualified fire personnel from across the region to learn about prescribed fire, land management, wildland urban interface and smoke management across agency boundaries.
Real-time prescribed fire information, maps and updates:
- Facebook: facebook.com/OkaWenNF/
- Twitter: twitter.com/OkaWenNF
- Text message updates: text ‘follow OkaWenNF’ to 40404
- Interactive map: tinyurl.com/harqnw8
- To monitor smoke: wasmoke.blogspot.com
You can learn more about Washington’s work to expand controlled burning at Put Fire to Work.
The training here in Washington is hosted by the Washington Prescribed Fire Council and the Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition, with The Nature Conservancy and the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
Prescribed fire, or controlled burning, is an important tool for restoring the health of our forests. Vast acres of our forests in Central and Eastern Washington are unnaturally dense with high levels of forest vegetation, and less able to resist insects, disease and severe fire.
Controlled burning, is a time-tested and effective tool that maximizes the benefits that low-intensity fire can provide within a variety of landscapes. Professional fire managers plan and safely administer the right fire, in the right place, at the right time, and work closely with air quality officials to minimize smoke near people. Combined with strategic timber management and thinning, controlled burning can make forests and neighboring communities more resilient to wildfire, and help protect clean water, wildlife habitat, and forest products for generations to come.
This collaborative training planned for the Sept. 24 through Oct. 6 allows sharing of experience and learning across geographies and agencies as well as improving wildfire response and conservation practices over time. Training participants are from the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, Chelan County Fire District 1, Chelan County Fire District 3, Kittitas Valley Fire & Rescue, National Park Service, and Oregon Department of Forestry.
Prescribed fire plans for the greater Leavenworth area TREX include approximately from 500 acres on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Plain, 100 acres of Nature Conservancy preserve near Moses Coulee, and 50 acres of private lands near Cle Elum.
