Image of person working on a prescribed fire with the text "Rx Fire Field Guide" overlaid.
AUBURN, CA – Placer Resource Conservation District (Placer RCD), in partnership with CAL FIRE, has released the “Rx Fire Field Guide,” an education tool for landowners and land managers interested in using low-intensity prescribed burning as a land management tool. This document provides a framework to guide discussions on prescribed burning between natural resource management agencies and private landowners. In addition to addressing common questions related to prescribed fire, such as permitting, liability, and preparatory work, it also assists landowners and agency representatives in classifying prescribed burn units as Low, Moderate, or High Complexity and offers methods for hazard abatement and minimizing risks.
Prescribed burning is a critical tool for land stewardship in California’s fire-dependent ecosystems. More than a century of fire suppression policies and the forced removal of indigenous people who actively managed the land have significantly increased fuel loading. Most forests throughout the state are currently too dense to safely apply prescribed fire without initial fuels treatments. As a result, many landowners are pursuing wildfire protection through defensible space, home hardening, and fuels reduction, with growing interest in the financial and ecological benefits of prescribed burning. However, many landowners have cited a lack of appropriate knowledge or resources to include prescribed fire in their management toolbox. The Rx Fire Field Guide strives to help fill knowledge gaps, equipping landowners with the facts on how to use prescribed fire in a safe, legal, and ecologically beneficial manner.
With funding from CAL FIRE, Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation, and Coalitions and Collaboratives, Inc., Placer RCD is developing the Prescribed Burning on Private Lands (PBPL) Program. In collaboration with partners including Placer County Air Quality Management District, the University of California Cooperative Extension, Todd’s Valley Miwok Maidu Cultural Foundation, the United Auburn Indian Community, and the CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer (NEU) Unit, the District is working hard to improve community fire resiliency and forest stewardship. Placer RCD offers educational workshops, training burns, and technical assistance site visits for landowners interested in learning more about the use and application of prescribed burning.
To download and read the “Rx Fire Field Guide”, please visit https://placerrcd.org/projects/rx-fire-field-guide/. Hard copies are available at the Placer Resource Conservation District’s office at 11641 Blocker Drive, Suite 120, Auburn. To learn more about Placer RCD’s Prescribed Burning on Private Lands Program, visit our website at https://placerrcd.org/projects/prescribed-burning-on-private-lands, or contact Cordi Craig, Prescribed Fire Program Manager, at cordi@placerrcd.org.