September 04, 2020

A series of interactive panel discussions designed to encourage collaboration between fire managers and researchers. This discussion series will be built on questions from the registered attendees. Join us for a chance to get the latest in fire science and management and answers to your burning questions. 

11/19/2020: Pairing Historical Fire Regimes with Silviculture

12/17/2020: Using Fire Seasonality to Open the Burn Window

1/21/2021: Fire and Climate Change

2/18/2021: Timber Management and Prescribed Fire

August 24, 2020

Both the Virginia Prescribed Fire Council Annual Meeting and the Virginia Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Course scheduled for September, 2020 have unfortunately been cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic. Wishing our members good health as we navigate through these challenging times. We will continue to keep you posted with any other cancellations and rescheduled dates for events! 

June 29, 2020

The SBR TREX Planning Team has made the difficult decision to move the dates for SBR TREX to Oct. 25-Nov 5, 2021. The decision was reached after carefully considering the safety of the local community, participants, current agency travel restrictions, and other factors. Please adjust your calendars and keep an eye out for updates starting next Spring. 

June 29, 2020

Calling all graduates of the Virginia Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Course! Faculty at Virginia Tech are conducting a research study and are requesting your participation in a 20 minute survey. The aim of the study is to learn more about your opinions of the training and application of what you learned during the course. 

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If you choose to participate you can skip questions that you do not want to answer or stop the survey at any time. The researchers will keep your answers confidential and will not share your personal information with anyone outside of the research team. Your input is appreciated!

April 22, 2020

**The S-212 Course scheduled for June 15-18 has unfortunately been postponed until September. A new date is TDB. Those that have already registered will not need to do so again. Please reach out to Chad Stover if you need to cancel your registration.**

Registration is now open for the S-212 Wildland Powersaws course that will take place June 15-18, 2020 at Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest. All participants must be qualified as a FFT2 (Firefighter Type 2). Class size is limited to 24 students, so be sure to sign up as soon as possible! Registration will close on May 31st.

April 01, 2020

​Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Virginia Department of Forestry will no longer approve any 4 pm exemption burns, effective April 1, 2020.  We must all actively limit our exposure to others now, and so we are taking this step to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 among prescribed burn managers, stage agencies, and emergency response personnel who participate in prescribed fire operations.  Public awareness of respiratory health is heightened, and with that awareness comes concerns about air quality and health. We understand the importance of prescribed burning and the role of educating the public about its benefits. Now, in order to safeguard the health of Virginians and to avoid undermining the importance of prescribed burning practices on forests ecosystems, we ask for your understanding and cooperation in this matter. VDOF is also suspending all agency prescribed burn operations and burn assistance to prescribed burn managers until further notice.

March 26, 2020

From the Southern Fire Exchange: NC State University is working with USDA Forest Service Region 8 (Southern Region) to assess external (non-USFS) perceptions of the region's prescribed fire program. They will be distributing an assessment to stakeholders in the coming months, and are looking for stakeholders with an interest or stake in the prescribed fire program of any or all of the National Forests within the Southern Region.

If you would like to participate in this assessment by providing your feedback when it is distributed, please fill out the Google Form below. Those with questions can contact Laurel Kays at lekays@ncsu.edu.

March 13, 2020

S-212, Wildland Fire Chainsaws, will be offered June 15-18.  Location and more details to follow soon! 

February 10, 2020

The Virginia Interagency Wildland Fire Academy will take place at Longwood University from May 19-23, 2020.  Courses offered include: S-130/190, S-131, S-211, S-200, S-212, S-215, M-410, and RX-310.  Click the link below to register!

January 08, 2020

The Virginia Prescribed Burn Manager's Course, hosted by the Virginia Department of Forestry, is scheduled for September 22-24, 2020 in Charlottesville.  Registration will open later this year- stay tuned for more information!

January 08, 2020

Updated information pertaining to Prescribed Fire Exemptions is now available on the Laws and Regulations Page. 

January 08, 2020

The Virginia Prescribed Fire Council is proud to announce the release of a new booklet designed to educate interested landowners in the benefits of using prescribed fire and important considerations to make before lighting the match.  This publication will also be available in print form-- more information on this to come! Special thanks to Justin Folks, who made this publication a reality. 

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Important note of clarification. Bottom of pg 6-top of pg 7:

Where it states .... it should not be considered “careless, negligent, or intentional.” This should say..... it may not be considered “careless, negligent, or intentional.”

REMINDER: The determination of carelessness, negligence or intentional will be made by the courts. However, you will remain responsible for any associated costs of suppression.

September 01, 2016

The Virginia Prescribed Fire Council would like to give you free advertisement space! The intent of the "Find Fire Contractors" page is to convenietly provide Virginia landowners access to local contractors who specialize in prescribed fire and other land management practices.