Snapshots from Recent Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges: Blackfoot TREX and Plumas Cal-TREX

Editor’s note: Last week, two Fire Networks staff members (Laurel Kays and Annie Leverich) were at prescribed fire training events (also known as TREX) serving as Public Information Officers, or PIOs. Laurel was at the Blackfoot TREX in Montana, and Annie was at the Plumas Cal-TREX in California. Part of the role of the PIO is to capture photos and stories to help provide understanding and awareness of the event to a more general audience. In this blog, Laurel and Annie share a few highlights from their TREX experiences. Stay tuned for deeper dives into some 2025 TREX events in future blog posts! Blog cover photo: participants at the Plumas Cal-TREX.

Blackfoot TREX – Montana

The inaugural Blackfoot TREX was not only the first held in the Blackfoot Valley, but the first in the entire state of Montana. Running from April 28th to May 9th, the TREX is based out of Greenough, MT and includes roughly 50 participants and IMT members. With the exception of one IMT member, all participants are from the state of Montana with representatives from state, federal, and local agencies, NGOs like The Nature Conservancy, The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and fire departments. While the Blackfoot TREX is still ongoing, in the first week alone participants conducted 6 burns and assisted on one additional burn. There is already discussion about hosting another TREX in a different region of Montana in the future!  

Four people stand in a forested area looking at some vegetation on the forest floor.
An overcast day 2 was perfect weather for burn unit scouting and some final prep work. Starting the next day, participants burned five days in a row.
A panoramic view of a road with grassy fields beyond, with two smoke plumes from prescribed fire on extreme right and extreme left of the frame.
On the fourth day of the TREX, participants conducted two prescribed fires simultaneously. The smoke plumes were clearly visible from a nearby road.
Two people in firefighting gear stand outside smiling at the camera in a forested area with downed logs around.
The Fire Learning Network supported staff from The Ember Alliance to attend the TREX and provide fireline medical training and support. According to Leah Mathys, one of those EMTs:  “Medical knowledge and support are often underrepresented on prescribed fires. We all hope emergencies never occur, but it is important to be prepared and educated about how to manage that type of situation. Being able to bring that peace of mind to the fireline is unmatched.”
A person in firefighting gear takes a picture while standing in a open part of a forested area undergoing a prescribed burn. Smoke rises through the trees.
The TREX was well covered by both local media outlets including the local ABC station and a photographer working with The Nature Conservancy.

Plumas Cal-TREX – California

The 6th annual Plumas County, California Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (Plumas Cal-TREX) occurred from April 28th to Friday, May 2nd, 2025 and was based in Quincy, California. We had almost 100 people in participation, including over 60 participants and about 30 Incident Management Team (IMT) members. For our five day event, we spent the first two days team-building and undergoing training exercises, two days burning, and our last day together demobilizing and turning in borrowed gear. For our burn days, participants supported the Maidu Summit Consortium in a tribally-led burn at Tasmam Koyom, just west of Lake Almanor in Plumas County, CA. Maidu Summit staff and board members were joined by burners from the Mechoopda Tribe, Berry Creek Rancheria, Greenville Rancheria, Susanville Rancheria, and Washoe Tribe in burning piles and willows along Yellow Creek. For an additional burn, on Thursday, May 1st, participants assisted a private landowner in underburning timber understory in Butterfly Valley, near Quincy, CA. It was an excellent week of relationship building and beneficial fire!

A group of five people in firefighting gear stand smiling for the camera in a forested area.
Plumas Cal-TREX participants and organizers at Tasmam Koyom. From left to right: Logistics lead Michael Hall; Incident Commander Jon Dvorak; Kelby Gardiner; Mandy Beatty; Finance lead Hayden Lampe.
A participant from Plumas Cal-TREX uses a drip-torch to ignite vegetation at the burn unit in Butterfly Valley on privately owned land.
Low flames from a prescribed fire move across the pine duff floor of a forested area, with people in firefighting gear monitoring in the background.
Low flames move over the Butterfly Valley burn unit with participants monitoring beyond.
Plumas Cal-TREX group photo! Lots of good fire stories and new connections to celebrate.

More TREX events have been happening throughout the country this spring – stay tuned on the national TREX Facebook page for updates on events, and learn more about upcoming TREXs on the events page at firenetworks.org!

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