California Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss Training
South Bay Training Center, Los Osos, CA: November 6th - 10th
Deadline to apply was 6pm on September 5th, 2023
This course provided information about and developed the skills required for planning and managing prescribed fire on State or private lands. The curriculum included portions of the National Wildland Fire Training (NWCG) courses RX301 Prescribed Fire Implementation, RX341 Prescribed Fire Plan Preparation, and RX410 Smoke Management Techniques, but should not be considered a substitute for any of these RX classes. This course contained instructor-led training, including simulation exercises and a task book. Students were 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.
| 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.
Sarah Gibson, Fire Manager - California
Started Public Service Career in 1999 in Emergency Medical Services; began a fire career as a volunteer firefighter in 2001 in Butte County with CDF (Cal Fire). Became a Paramedic in 2001 and still practice. Have been practicing prescribed fire since 2004 along with a full-time fire career. I have a BS in Exercise Physiology from CSU Chico and a BS In Wildfire Science and Urban Interface from CSU San Marcos. I hold several ICS positions and am Plans Section Chief for Camp Cinder held every Summer at Cal Poly SLO. I am a devoted mom and love to surf, hike, climb, read, sneak up on wildflowers, and bird watch. I have done prescribed fire in Virginia, Minnesota, Georgia, Nebraska, Oregon, and California. I was California’s second certified CARX . I currently work in suppression for Sonoma Valley Fire District and as Fire Manager for the State of CA with The Nature Conservancy. My hidden talent is Hula.
Matt Brown, Battalion Chief, Santa Clara County Fire Dept.
Matt Brown has been a member of the fire service for over 23 years. He began his career with the Santa Clara County FD as a firefighter/engineer paramedic. In 2007, Chief Brown was promoted to Captain. He returned to the Cupertino Fire Station after serving the Redwood Estates community in the Santa Cruz Mountains for 4 years. Chief Brown was promoted to BC in 2019 and is currently assigned to Battalion 72 A Shift, serving the communities of Cupertino, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga.
For the last 11 fire seasons, Matt has served in many positions on type 1 and type 2 IMTs, working in the capacity of SITL, DIVS and currently FBAN. In addition, he covers op-area STEN duties, taking strike teams to many of California’s recent large fires. He also serves on SCCFDs Peer Support Team.
Chief Brown was selected to serve on the FIRESCOPE Task Force in March of 2020, representing Counties North, and currently serves as the liaison to the Incident Technology Specialist Group. Chief Brown will be serving as the vice chair of the FIRESCOPE TF starting in November 2023.
Chief Brown has served on several committees and working groups, including curriculum development for California Prescribed Fire Burn Boss and the CA-219 Ignition Operations. He also assists in providing expertise in support of legislation that focuses on pre-incident fuels mitigation programs and practices.
Chief Brown holds and Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from UCLA.
Matt lives in Brentwood CA with his family and enjoys Rx fire, camping, wakeboarding, skiing and coaching youth lacrosse.
