Del Norte Fire Safe Council

04/08/2026

🌿🔥 FREE Curbside Chipping is Back – Spring Clean-Up! 🔥🌿

Del Norte Fire Safe Council is offering FREE curbside chipping this May to help you get your property wildfire ready.

If you’ve got piles of brush, limbs, or small trees—this is your chance to get them taken care of safely and easily.

⚠️ Chips must remain on-site (no hauling)

🗓 Community Schedule:
• Gasquet: May 2–3
• Hiouchi / Low Divide: May 9–10
• Fort Dick / Smith River: May 16–17
• Rock Creek / Big Flat: May 30–31

⏰ Chipping runs 9 AM – 3 PM

✅ How it works:
• Sign up at: www.delnortefsc.org

• Cut and pile your vegetation
• Place piles 10 feet from the road, cut ends facing out
• Our crew comes to you

🌲 What we chip:
• Brush, limbs, and trees (up to 15” diameter)
🚫 No rocks, stumps, dirt, boards, nails, or wire

⚠️ Chips must remain on-site (no hauling)

03/25/2026

We’re hiring!

Del Norte Fire Safe Council is looking for Wildfire Resilience Crew Members to join our team and help reduce wildfire risk across Del Norte County.

This is hands-on, meaningful work:
• Fuels reduction & prescribed fire
• Defensible space
• Working outdoors in real conditions

$25/hr starting | 2 positions | 3% 401(k) match
Apply by April 6, 2026

If you want to be part of building a more fire-resilient future in our communities, we’d like to hear from you.

Apply: http://www.delnortefsc.org

Email: [email protected]
or [email protected]

01/23/2026

2025 Year in Review: Building Wildfire Resilience Across Del Norte County

In 2025, the Del Norte Fire Safe Council continued delivering meaningful, on-the-ground wildfire resilience work across Del Norte County—despite funding uncertainty, challenging conditions, and a rapidly changing landscape.

Over the course of the year, our Wildfire Resilience Crew and partners:
• Created defensible space for 128 homes
• Completed 143 wildfire risk assessments
• Treated more than 240 acres in and around high-risk communities
• Successfully implemented 64 acres of prescribed fire
• Burned and chipped tens of thousands of cubic yards of hazardous vegetation
• Completed trail and fireline rehabilitation critical for access and firefighter safety

Beyond the numbers, 2025 marked a turning point. Prescribed fire continued its transition from planning to practice, local capacity expanded through the formation of the Del Norte Prescribed Burn Association, and lessons learned on the ground helped shape a new, long-term effort: the Smith to Klamath Initiative.

This emerging initiative is focused on coordinated, cross-boundary wildfire resilience at a landscape scale—building on the work already underway and setting the stage for increased pace, scale, and collaboration in the years ahead. More information on the Smith to Klamath Initiative will be shared soon.

This Year in Review reflects the dedication of our crew, the strength of our partnerships, and the importance of sustained, community-driven action to reduce wildfire risk and protect the places we care about.

📘 Read the full 2025 Year in Review:
https://wix.to/OmkkkFr
https://www.delnortefsc.org/newsletter

11/11/2025

🔥 Burn to Learn was a success! 🔥

We completed another 6 acres of pile and prescribed burning, split between the east and west sides of Rock Creek on the South Fork Smith River.

It was an incredible opportunity to learn by doing—building skills, connecting with community, and protecting our homes and landscapes.

This ongoing project is part of a larger effort to protect Rock Creek and Boulder Creek from summer wildfire, provide live-fire training, and safeguard our forests and water resources.

Thanks to years of local commitment, all private lands in Rock Creek and Boulder Creek have now been treated. The next step is to extend this work across the Forest Service lands between Rock Creek and Redwood National Park—putting fire back on the ground where it belongs to restore healthy, resilient landscapes.

We were joined by community members, the Del Norte Prescribed Burn Association, Rogue Valley PBA, Del Norte and Humboldt Resource Conservation Districts, Applegate Fire District, 16 Students from the Humboldt Fire Ecology Club, Lomakatsi Restoration Project, Smith River Alliance, and Six Rivers National Forest – Gasquet District Ranger Donna Peppin.

Together, we’re showing that when communities, partners, and agencies work side-by-side, we can make real progress toward wildfire resilience.

🙌🔥🌲

11/05/2025

🔥 Burn to Learn – Weather/Schedule Update 🔥

We’ve been watching the weather closely this week, and Saturday is looking like the best day for formal burn education as part of our “Burn to Learn” event at Rock Creek Ranch. Conditions look great for a larger, coordinated burn and hands-on learning opportunities with sun and 70 degree weather.

Friday will still be a community burn day — more flexible and based on weather and turnout. The DNFSC Fuels Crew will be burning if air quality approval is granted, and anyone who wants to join in for hands-on burning is welcome.

🗓 Schedule:

Friday: Community burn day (informal, hands-on, weather dependent)

Saturday: Formal “Burn to Learn” event – main education and demonstration day

📍 Meeting time and location: Same for both days

Looking forward to getting good fire on the ground and learning together!

10/30/2025

🔥 Good Fire = Healthy Forests & Safer Communities 🔥

California’s new Executive Order on Beneficial Fire (N-35-25) expands support for prescribed and cultural burning — giving local partners, Tribes, and land managers better tools to restore forests and reduce wildfire risk.

🌿 What it does:
• Speeds up approval for beneficial-fire projects
• Lets RCDs, Tribes, and local partners enroll in the state’s Claims Fund for added protection
• Directs air-quality agencies to make smoke rules clearer and more flexible
• Expands statewide training for prescribed-fire practitioners

Here in Del Norte, we’ve seen how planned, low-intensity burns improve habitat, clear fuels, and strengthen forest health — all while carefully monitoring air quality.

Want to learn more about how good fire works? 🔥
Join us at our Burn to Learn event on November 7–8 - a hands-on opportunity to see safe, beneficial burning in action and talk with local fire practitioners.

Together, we can bring more good fire to the land safely and responsibly.

Read the Executive Order 👇
👉https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Executive-Order-Beneficial-Fire.pdf

10/12/2025

🔥 Burn Suspension to Be Lifted Monday in Del Norte County 🔥

CAL FIRE has announced that the burn permit suspension will be lifted in Del Norte County starting Monday, October 13th, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

That means burning is still suspended through this weekend — please do not burn until the suspension officially lifts Monday morning.

Beginning Monday, residents with valid CAL FIRE burn permits and a North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District (NCUAQMD) burn permit may resume burning natural vegetative debris on Permissive Burn Days only.

✅ Starting Monday, you may burn if you:

Hold both a CAL FIRE permit and an NCUAQMD burn permit

Burn only clean, dry vegetation (no trash, lumber, or treated wood)

Keep piles 4 feet or smaller, with a 10-foot clearance to bare soil

Have water and tools on-site, and never leave fires unattended

CALL BEFORE YOU BURN — Make sure it’s a Permissive Burn Day
☎️ Del Norte County Burn Day Number: (707) 443-3093

🚫 Do NOT burn yet. The suspension remains in effect through Sunday.
🚫 Do NOT burn on windy days or during poor air quality conditions.

Check burn day status and get your permits here:
👉 https://burnpermit.fire.ca.gov

👉 https://www.ncuaqmd.org

Let’s all use good fire safely this fall — reducing fuels while protecting our neighbors, air quality, and communities.

—
Del Norte Fire Safe Council
Working together for wildfire resilience in Del Norte County

10/10/2025

🔥 ROCK CREEK BURN TO LEARN! 🔥
November 7–8, 2025 | Rock Creek Ranch | FREE Event

Ever wondered what good fire really means? Spend a day or two learning from burn bosses, lighting piles, and seeing firsthand how fire—done right—protects homes, restores forests, and brings neighbors together!

👩‍🚒 No experience needed! Kid-friendly!
Activities include: hands-on burning, fire behavior lessons, broadcast burn practice, safety demos, and home resilience tips.

📍 Rock Creek Ranch — 2475 S Fork Rd
🕙 10 AM – 4 PM Friday & Saturday

👉 Sign up today: www.delnortefsc.org/pba

📧 Questions: [email protected]

Hosted by the Del Norte Fire Safe Council and Del Norte Prescribed Burn Association
In partnership with Smith River Alliance and Lomakatsi Restoration Project

Let’s learn, burn, and build wildfire resilience—together. 🔥🌲

09/05/2025

Resilience — Fall Edition is out. 🔥
www.delnortefsc.org/newsletter
Priorities & Risk: We the people have a choice.

We can choose small, planned risk now—shaded fuel breaks, home hardening, and community-led prescribed fire—or wait for big, unplanned risk later. This issue lays out the trade-offs and shows how our choices direct dollars, attention, and outcomes.

What we’re choosing this fall:
• Protect people first — focus near homes and roads, not just where it’s easiest.
• Good fire on our terms — weather-dependent community burns planned in Gasquet, Rock Creek, and Big Flat (no experience needed).
• Balance — keep canopy where it helps, remove the fuels that hurt, and prepare units for future burns.

📬 Read the Fall edition: www.delnortefsc.org/newsletter

🔥 Get burn notifications (Gasquet • Rock Creek • Big Flat): www.delnortefsc.org/pba

This is our county and our call. Choose the work that protects. Join us, learn by doing, meet your neighbors—and help tip the balance toward safety.

07/18/2025

🔥 Fire Restrictions Implemented on Six Rivers National Forest 🔥
Level 1 Restrictions Begin Monday, July 21, 2025

Due to extremely dry vegetation, increased human- and lightning-caused fire starts, and the growing strain on firefighting resources—Six Rivers National Forest will enter Level 1 Fire Restrictions starting Monday, July 21. These restrictions will remain in place through November 1, conditions permitting.

What’s Restricted:

🚫 Campfires – Not allowed outside of Wilderness areas, Designated Fire Safe Sites, or provided rings in Developed Recreation Sites.
🚭 Smoking – Only allowed in enclosed vehicles/buildings, developed recreation sites, or areas cleared of all flammables for at least 3 feet.
🔧 Engines – All combustion engines must have working spark arresters.
🔥 Open flame tools (like welding or torches) are strictly prohibited.
🍳 Gas & liquid fuel stoves – Allowed with a valid California Campfire Permit and a cleared 5-foot radius. Get yours at www.preventwildfireca.org/campfires

🔥 Fire Safety Tips for Campfires in Permitted Areas:
• Use developed fire rings only
• Clear 5 feet around the fire of all flammable material
• Keep a shovel and water close
• Never use live wood for fuel
• Always attend your fire—never leave it unattended
• Make it DEAD OUT before leaving: drown, stir, feel, and repeat. If it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to leave.

🚨 Why It Matters
The Orleans Complex Fire and other ignitions have pushed resources to the limit. Fuel moisture levels are at historic lows, and one spark can cause disaster.

Let’s all do our part to keep our communities, watersheds, and firefighters safe. These restrictions are meant to prevent wildfires before they start.

🔗 For details, updates, and alerts, visit: www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sixrivers/alerts
📞 To report a wildfire, call 911

Spark Safety, Not Wildfires
—
Del Norte Fire Safe Council
www.delnortefiresafe.org

Federal agencies operate under the U.S. Code and the Code of Federal Regulations. These laws guide...

07/03/2025

Evening Fire Update — July 2, 2025

First off — when you find boots-on-the-ground leadership, you hold onto it. That kind of commitment is rare and deeply valued.

This evening, we'd like to thank our acting District Ranger, Donna Peppin, who hiked in to the Broken Fire to lend a hand and check on conditions firsthand. It’s not every day you see a ranger leave the office and head straight for the fireline — especially in the middle of an already demanding year for the U.S. Forest Service. Donna’s leadership, grit, and genuine care for the land and community do not go unnoticed.

Managing a district this time of year is challenging enough. Taking the extra step to show up, assist, and communicate with the public shows a level of dedication we deeply respect.

Thank you, Donna, for leading by example.

Great progress today! All fires will be in either mop up or patrol status by end of shift today.

Myrtle Fire - Fire in patrol status

Goose Fire (Goose + Goose 3 joined) - staffed, lined, working on mop up.

Goose 2 - contained, staffed and working on mop up. Will be in patrol status end of shift.

Goose 4 - located late today. 20x20. Staffed and will be lined end of shift.

Goose Middle - contained and patrol status overnight. Rappel crew will be extracted tomorrow.

Broken Fire - contained, working on more mop up tomorrow

Backhoe and Dozer work continues to improve road access to Goose fires.