Support Swanton Pacific Ranch

To provide Cal Poly students, faculty, staff and the public with a unique interdisciplinary environment in which to foster the Learn by Doing philosophy by providing educational experiences on a working ranch, supporting diversified agriculture and forest resources while maintaining the integrity of ranch operations.

  —Our Mission

California Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss Training

South Bay Training Center, Los Osos, CA: November 6th - 10th 


Applications open on June 26th, 2023

This course provides information about and develops the skills required for planning and managing prescribed fire on State or private lands. The curriculum includes the minimum standards of National Wildland Fire Training (NWCG) RX301 Prescribed Fire Implementation, RX341 Prescribed Fire Plan Preparation, and RX410 Smoke Management Techniques course qualifications. This course contains instructor-led training, including simulation exercises and a task book. Students are required to complete the prerequisites (coursework, firing, and leadership requirements) prior to taking the instructor-led training and completing the task book. As detailed in the course plan, this course was developed and formatted into the SFT curriculum development model. Stakeholders are encouraged to study this information carefully and seek clarification from SFT if questions arise. Certified persons may act as contractors within land designated as State Responsibility Area (SRA) by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Agenda

Time Details
11/6 Orientation and Administration
(Monday) State-Certified Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Certification Process
  History and the Role of Prescribed Fire - Tribal Use of Fire
 

Laws and Regulations Governing Prescribed Fire/Permitting

  Burn Prescription and Fire Behavior Modeling
   
11/7

Field Activity - Site visit/Mapping

(Tuesday)  
   
11/8 Firing Operations/Methods
(Wednesday) Developing a Burn Plan
  Operational Leadership on a Prescribed-Fire
  Building an IAP
  Work on Burn Plan
   
11/9 Developing a Smoke Management Plan
(Thursday) Operational Briefing and Prescribed Fire Operations
  Work on Burn Plan
   

11/10

(Friday)

Completion of Burn Plan and Presentations
  Operational Briefings
  Final exam and close-out

Trainers

Anthony Stornetta, Deputy Fire Chief- Operations for Santa Barbara County Fire Department 

Anthony has over 30 years in the fire service and currently holds the position of Deputy Fire Chief- Operations for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Anthony oversees the daily operations of 16 fire stations, a fleet of helicopters, handcrews, dozers, and special operations.

Anthony has been a member of Cal Fire and USFS Type 1 and Type 2 incident management teams for over 19 years as a Safety Officer, Operations Section Chief, and Operations Branch Director. Anthony is also the Incident Commander for the Santa Barbara County Type 3 Incident Management Team that has been deployed 42 times across the state and nation on All-Hazard incidents.

Anthony remains very engaged with state committees and continually is working with members of the legislature on bills pertaining to prescribed fire and training. Some of his state commitments consist of Chair of the CA-All Hazard Type 3 IMT committee, member of FIRESCOPE Ops group, committee member of CICCS, and past president and vice president of numerous training officer associations. Training is the foundation to success in the fire service and Anthony assists with teaching many classes across the state, and developing curriculum. Anthony is a state certified instructor and teaches over 30 courses. His passion is teaching prescribed fire, utilizing his experience burning on the ranch, and his many assignments across the nation conducting firing operations.

Anthony’s personal life is just as busy, his family has been in the dairy and beef business for 4 generations on the central coast and he continues that tradition to this day. Anthony and his wife run a commercial and registered herd of angus cattle in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Monterey Counties.

Phil Dye, Founder and CEO of Prometheus Fire Consulting LLC

Phil Dye is the founder and CEO of Prometheus Fire Consulting LLC, a firm which specializes in prescribed fire planning, preparation, and implementation as well as providing training and incident management expertise. Phil has served in the California Fire Service for over 25 years and, in addition to his business,
works with California Interagency Incident Management Team 13 as a Planning Section Chief.

Phil has worked on prescribed fire projects with the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, CAL FIRE, various local government agencies, and private landowners. His services have been used in California, New Mexico, Nebraska, and eight other states. Phil is a qualified
Prescribed Fire Burn Boss, Type 2 (RXB2).

Phil served on the cadre for the development of the State Certified Prescribed Fire Burn Boss (CARX) course. He has also served as the lead instructor for every CARX class offered to date. More information can be found at www.prometheusfireconsulting.com or via e-mail at phil@prometheusfireconsulting.com.

Related Content

Support SPR

Al Smithsupport the ranch

How You Can Help

Swanton Research Resources on Digital Commons

For a link to the many resources held by Cal Poly's library on Digital Commons, click here.