The Siskiyou County Prescribed Burn Association (PBA) will host a California Certified Prescribed Fire Burn Boss (CARX) training in Yreka, California from January 13th-17th, 2025. "After having spent since January working with the Siskiyou PBA, one of the limitations I've seen to increasing the pace and scale of private property burning in Siskiyou County is the lack of CARX burn boss capacity," said Patricia Grantham, Coordinator of the Siskiyou PBA. "Having the Fire Marshall's course hosted in Yreka is a tremendous opportunity to address this limitation. We need to fill the seats!"

Below is some additional information regarding the CARX training. Please contact Patricia Grantham with any questions: pgrantham@svrcd.org. 

From the Office of the State Fire Marshall's website: The CAL FIRE-Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) State-Certified Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss is for persons seeking Certification to plan and manage prescribed fire on State or private lands. A State-Certified Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss may possess authority to engage in a prescribed burning operation and to enter into the necessary contracts with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The qualifications are documented in the State Certified Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss Certification Training Standards (CTS). 

A State-Certified Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss performs prescribed-fire planning, obtains state or local approval and permits, develops and implements a burn plan, monitors fire effects, maintains prescriptive requirements, and conducts an After-Action Review.

From the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force Website: Obtaining the CARX qualification also allows access to the Prescribed Fire Liability Claims Fund, which provides up to $2 million in coverage for prescribed fire projects led by a qualified burn boss or cultural practitioner.   (Note: Claims fund project enrollment is also available to those holding a current NWCG RXB1 or RXB2 qualification.)

Prerequisites for the CARX course:

Coursework Requirements

1.  IS-100 Introduction to the Incident Command System

2.  S-190 Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior

3.  S-130 Firefighter Training

4.  S-290 Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior (classroom only, online courses not accepted)

Firing Requirements

Qualified NWCG/CICCS Firing Boss (FIRB) or both equivalent firing experience and one of the following courses: S-219 Firing Operations, CA-219 Wildland Firefighting – Firing Operations, C-234 Ignition Operations, or S-234 Ignition Operations

Leadership Requirements 

S-131 Advanced Firefighter or L-280 Followership to Leadership or Qualified NWCG/CICCS Firefighter Type 1 (FFT1) or Equivalent leadership experience

After successfully attending the CARX course, initiating and completing a task book is required prior to certification.