Ecological Forestry Crew Learns Basics of Wildland Fire

Published March 10, 2023

In week two of our Youth Ecological Forestry Training & Employment Program, crew members took their “Basic 32” coursework required for working in wildland fire response and implementing prescribed fire on federal lands.

Lomakatsi’s Fire Operations Manager Sean Voorhes, an expert instructor with 30 years of wildland fire experience, guided the class through the nationally-recognized training that covered the basics of fire behavior, safety, wildland fire operations, and equipment use—weaving in his own stories and experience.

Program Crew Leader Antonio Lopez shared insights from his experiences working on recent incidents with Lomakatsi’s seasoned crews, who spend summer months on wildland fire response. Several Lomakatsi restoration crew members and staff also took the class to advance their certifications.

After four days in the classroom, the crew spent today outside, putting their hands on wildland fire tools, digging a containment hand line, learning the basics of radio and hand mirror communication, and touring Lomakatsi’s Type 6 Engine. Thank you to Sean for the excellent instruction this week, and a big shout out to Oregon Youth Works/Oregon Conservation Corps for funding this 18-week program for 18-26 year olds from Jackson County, toward our shared goal of creating fire-adapted communities and training the workforce of tomorrow.

Contact

645 Washington Street
Ashland, Oregon 97520

(541) 488-0208
info@lomakatsi.org

Quick Links

Staff
Get Involved
Resources
Contact Us
Follow Us

Donate Now

Your support makes a difference

Donate

Mission

Restore ecosystems and the sustainability of communities, cultures, and economies.

We acknowledge that Lomakatsi operates programs across the ancestral lands of aboriginal peoples who lived and live in the watersheds of the Willamette River, Rogue River, Klamath River, Umpqua River, and Pit River, in what is now called Oregon and California. From sagebrush hillsides and mixed conifer forests, to oak woodlands and riverine systems, we offer our respect, recognition, and gratitude to the original past, present, and future inhabitants of these landscapes, to whom we dedicate this work.