A Prescribed Burn Association is a group of landowners and community members who work together to use prescribed fire on private property. Prescribed fire as a management tool can be used to:

• Reduce fuel loading and increase wildfire resiliency
• Enhance wildlife habitat
• Enhance livestock forage production
• Remove weeds and mitigate invasive species and pests

The core of the PBA is built upon community member involvement - landowners help design the program to best fit their individual needs. Click the Get Involved tab below for more information and to sign up for updates on the program!

The Lassen PBA, while new, is one of many PBAs across the California (Check out the California PBA Website for more information). However, these community groups exist all over the country, including in Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma,North Carolina, Florida, Mississipi, Alabama, and Georgia.

The Lassen PBA can assist landowners/citizens with:

• Pile burning & understory burning, including:
  • Site assessments and assistance in burn plan preparation
  • Burn unit delineation and mapping
  • Assisting with site prep, including use of tools and gear that can be borrowed 
  • Assistance in writing burn plans and smoke management plans
  • Assistance in obtaining CalFIRE burn permits or Air Quality permits (*if required)
  • Connecting you with neighbors and other community members who can help you do site prep and burn your property!

• Providing training and guidance on the following topics:
  • Fuels Reduction
  • Fire Ecology & Behavior
  • Environmental Compliance 
  • Permitting & Liability
  • Linking interested individuals to opportunities for NWGC training opportunities and opportunities to burn with other PBAs
  • Providing live fire demonstrations and experience to students, exisiting fire practitioners, and anybody who is interested in becoming a student of fire

What the Lassen PBA can't do is remove a landowner's liability - that responsibility is the landowner's. However, for more complex projects, the PBA can link you with other programs that may address liability issues.  A PBA is not a full-service burn outfit (though we can provide information on contracted services for fuels reduction and prescribed fire).

The point of the PBA is to empower citizens to take ownership of the management of their lands by providing assistance and education, and cultivating a community of fire practitioners who contribute their knowledge, resources, and manpower to get good fire on the ground.

So, you're probably wondering about all the different ways that fire can be used as a land management tool, right? As it turns out, many ecosystems have some natural history of fire, and thus the plants and animals that inhabit these ecosystems also have a fire history.

Some species are even fire-adapted or fire-dependent. In general, fire has a long history engineering the landscape, if you will. It can remove dead and dying vegetation, create open areas that later allows sun-loving species to thrive, and curb insect and disease outbreaks. Fire can be used to consume fine fuels on the forest floor that otherwise would accumulate faster that they can decompose, promote native vegetation preferred by wildlife and game species, and so much more!

Check out the links below to see how prescribed fire is being used to: 

• Restore Mule Deer Habitat
• Restore Elk Habitat
• Restore Turkey Habitat
• Maintain Grasslands and Enhance Rangelands for Ranchers
• Mitigate Wildfire Risk & Improve Forest Health

• The Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (FAC) is a great resource for learning about the role of citizens in developing fire resilient communities. The website has some great resources, a blog, and a newsletter on current events and topics of discussion in the fire world.