Intertribal Fire Training

In May 2025, the Esselen Tribe hosted their first Central Coast Intertribal Fire Training. The goal of this event was to train tribal descendants and tribal partners to apply cultural and prescribed fire in a good way. This training is essential to enable community members to participate in agency-led burns by completing the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) courses to obtain their Firefighter Type 2 qualifications.

Ecocultural presentations were added to incorporate indigenous fire stewardship and knowledge sharing. Training content included cultural ecology, understanding of how fire can affect the ecosystem, fire weather, how to build hoselays, different ways of communicating, and much more.

We aim to elevate Indigenous voices regarding cultural land stewardship, cultural burning practices that promote ecological benefits, and to empower tribal communities to steward their Ancestral land.

This intensive training was made possible through the collaboration of many organizations, and we are deeply grateful for the support of The Wildlands Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance (TERA), Fire Forward, Cachagua Fire, the US Forest Service (USFS), and CAL FIRE. Their partnership has been invaluable in supporting our vision of bringing more Indigenous-led Good Fire practices to the Central Coast.

Funding for this project was provided by CAL FIRE through the Tribal Wildfire Resilience grants program, and the CAL FIRE Business and Workforce Development Grants.