Basic Wildland Fire Fighter Type 2 Training Course
Los Angeles, CA
February 18th - 22nd, 2025
This introductory, hands-on course helped LA County participants build and develop local capacity for beneficial fire, with an intentional focus on cultural and ecological objectives. This training incorporated hands-on field scenarios, fireline leadership skills, local fire ecology, critical fire weather and cultural competency in fire management.The course was 5 days long and students completed 40-hours of training.
The training took place in-person at the Audubon Center at Deb's Park in Northeast LA County. Participants had the opportunity to travel to Antelope Valley to complete the field day training component at Portal Ridge Wildlife Preserve. Preference was given to LA County residents, LA PBA members, Native/Indigenous people, NGO's, local community-based organizations, students and community members.
In this course, participants learned the basic principles of Wildland Fire Behavior and Wildland Fire Science. This training course meets the S-130, S-190, and L-180 requirements outlined by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG). Typically, people take this course because they are pursuing national or state certification for work with wildland fires or are interested in gaining skills and training in prescribed fire and building capacity for community-based burning. Successful completion of this course can satisfy prerequisites for more advanced courses and certification.
S-130 Basic Wildland Firefighter Training (Class & Field Course) - This course is a hands on training providing entry level firefighting skills. Students are taken to the field for a day of instruction which included safety orientation, firefighter preparedness, tools, and equipment, firing devices, use of water, suppression, securing the control line, use of maps, hazardous materials, and operating safely. This training course will offer the Work Capacity Test (WCT) and shelter deployment skills.
S-190 This is the first and foundational wildland fire behavior course in a five-course sequence in the NWCG curriculum. It introduced students to the basic concepts of wildland fire behavior, including:
- The primary wildland fire environment components: fuels, weather, and topography;
- How characteristics and interactions of fuels, weather, and topography affect fire behavior;
- How fire behavior affects risk to firefighters.
L-180 Human Factors in the Wildland Fire Service, course exposes students to human performance concepts as part of basic wildland firefighter training. The course was specifically designed for entry-level operational personnel; however, this course also applies to all wildland fire service personnel, including non-operational personnel. During the course, students practice decision-making skills in an interactive simulation as a member of a fire crew, and students apply their Human Factors knowledge to a variety of scenarios. Throughout the simulation, students answer questions and made decisions regarding situational awareness and hazard identification, decision-making, and team cohesion. Responses are tracked, and then reported at the end of the activity.
Participants who completed the course with passing final test scores will receive certification of S-190, L-180and S-130 from The Watershed Research and Training Center. This training meets NWCG requirements and is accredited.
| Time | Item |
|---|---|
| 8:00am - 4:00pm | 2/18 - 2/21: In-person classroom-based training course with exercises |
| 8:00am - 4:30pm | 2/22: Field-based training near Antelope Valley, California |
Trainers:
Jose Luis Duce Aragues, Prescribed Fire Training Specialist, The Watershed Research and Training Center
José Luis Duce Aragüés (he, him) is a fire practitioner from Spain, learning, sharing, and improving his skills related with all aspects of fire, working with The WRTC as a Prescribed Fire Training Specialist, through the RFFC (Regional Forest and Fire Capacity) program, and under the Fire Management Program with an incredible group of lovely people.
José has been practicing fire for some years in different parts of the world and in different ecosystems. “As a fire student, what I have learned is that fire belongs to people, to communities, and to the landscape. It has always been like that and, for good or for bad, it will always be like that. So, here I am, offering my small portion of responsibility to give Mother Earth, ‘Mama Tierra’, back, what She has given to us, and honoring and respecting those who taught and transferred to me what I know, ready to spread the good fire around, keeping on learning and sharing my little experience and knowledge.”
José is based in Weaverville (CA) but will be traveling (and ready to travel) around the whole state of California primarily, trying to find ways to add, improve, and develop local capacities and charismatic leaders who want to take the torch and share what they know and feel.
Andrea Bustos, Prescribed Fire Training Specialist, The Watershed Research and Training Center
As a Prescribed Fire Training Specialist at the WRTC, Andrea’s focus is on prescribed fire and land management. During her professional career she has found that landscape interaction comprehension is needed to reduce fire risk in fire and landscape management actions.
Andrea is an enthusiastic, self-motivated, progress-driven fire practitioner and Spanish native speaker with a developed background in this profession. In the most recent years of her career she has developed and implemented burn plans and has designed, planned, supported, and implemented training programs, community prevention projects ('escuelas de campo'), environmental education, institutional relationship strategies, national regulations, budget and funding management, and skills that she knows will bring value to the WRTC, CalPBAs and CAL-TREX events.
In this short journey in the fire world, Andrea has found out that this natural element is not only a powerful tool for land management, but also an incredible means for social assertion and defense for people and their landscapes. Right now, she is working with inspiring professionals that share her passion of nature and all of its intricate relationships. Here at the WRTC, there is no limit to continuing motivating, learning, and sharing knowledge.
Andrea is a fire practitioner, a passionate geographer, and has a Master’s degree in Remote Sensing.
Sarah Gibson, Statewide Burn Boss, California State Parks
Sarah Gibson started a Career in Public Service in 1999 working in Emergency Medical Services as an EMT after graduating from CSU Chico with a BS in Exercise Physiology. Sarah then pursued a fire career beginning as a volunteer firefighter in 2001 in Butte County with CDF (Cal Fire) and become a Nationally Registered Paramedic that same year. Sarah began a full-time career in suppression with State and Local Government agencies in 2002 following graduation from the Butte College Fire Academy. Sarah promoted to Company Officer and successfully achieved several ICS positions before deciding to focus on developing a career pathway that would allow her to implement beneficial fire and Prescribed Fire across the Golden State. Sarah is a qualified CARX and RXB2, and also an RXMGt. In 2020, Sarah earned a second BS from CSU San Marcos in Wildland Fire Science and Urban Interface Planning. Sarah has been engaged in fire planning and implementation across the US including work Virginia, Minnesota, Missouri , Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Oregon, and California. In her spare time you are likely to catch Sarah running, mountain biking, surfing, bird watching, or wildflower gazing whenever possible.
