VIDEO: Fresh out of high school, Marcus Hampshire, a member of the United Auburn Indian Community, was invited by his uncle to participate in a cultural burn – the controlled use of fire by Indigenous peoples to manage the land. He was hooked.
“From then on, I always had a torch in my hand or I was dragging fire with a tool,” said Hampshire, who is part of the Fire Leadership for Intertribal Conservation Knowledge-keeping Eco-cultural Revitalization (F.L.I.C.K.E.R.) Crew. “I really enjoy being able to see how fire works on the landscape.”
Providing the public a chance to see beneficial fire in action was one objective of the second Forester Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (FTREX), held Oct. 26 to Nov. 1 in and around the University of California, Berkeley Blodgett Forest Research Station.
About 50 people participated in the hands-on training event in El Dorado County, which brought together foresters, land managers, fire professionals and cultural practitioners such as Hampshire.
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
