BRINGING GOOD FIRE BACK TO SOUTHERN EL DORADO COUNTY

LOCALS BRINGING GOOD FIRE BACK TO SOUTHERN EL DORADO COUNTY

In Southern El Dorado County, a quiet but powerful movement is growing—neighbors, landowners, and local practitioners are coming together to bring good fire back to the landscape. Through the Cosumnes River Prescribed Burn Association, community members are reclaiming a practice that once shaped these forests for generations.

For decades, fire was excluded from the land, allowing fuels to build and wildfire risk to intensify. After events like the Caldor Fire, many in the region recognized that doing nothing was no longer an option. The answer wasn’t just more suppression—it was restoring fire in the right way, at the right time.

The Cosumnes River PBA is built on a simple but powerful idea: neighbors helping neighbors. Much like a modern-day barn raising, members work together to plan and implement prescribed burns on private lands. These burns reduce hazardous fuels, improve ecosystem health, and create defensible space around homes and communities.

But this effort is about more than just fire—it’s about rebuilding local capacity. Through training, hands-on experience, and shared knowledge, community members are gaining the skills needed to safely and effectively use prescribed fire. Volunteers and landowners alike are becoming active participants in wildfire resilience, rather than passive observers.

Each burn brings people together—lighting not just the land, but a renewed sense of purpose and connection. In a region deeply impacted by wildfire, the return of good fire represents hope, resilience, and a path forward.

Southern El Dorado County isn’t waiting for change—it’s leading it. Through the Cosumnes River Prescribed Burn Association, the community is proving that when people come together, they can restore balance to the land and build a safer, more fire-adapted future.