Southern collaborative training exchange promotes women in fire opportunity

May 31, 2023

Jess Page uses a drip torch to light a line of fire in North Carolina. — Jess Page, National Park Service Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange participant, strings a line of fire with her drip torch at Pondberry Bay Preserve in North Carolina. The preserve is a plant conservation property of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture’s Plant Industry Division. Photo courtesy Sydney Bezanson, The Nature Conservancy.

NORTH CAROLINA—Training for women in fire is happening throughout the United States, including at an event held recently in eastern North Carolina.

The sixth Annual Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange convened to bring women together to learn about wildland fire management techniques. This collaborative workshop garnered international attention and elevated the importance of including underrepresented groups within fire to advance work across the landscape.
More than 40 participants from 16 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Germany and Australia represented 25 different agencies, participating in two weeks of prescribed fire exercises.

“This training is a great resource not just for women in fire, but all genders, to be able to have a space for training on a worldwide scale,” said Carrie McCullen, forest supervisor of the Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest. “Each of us learning and thriving while sharing our skills and talents.”

The training program is conducted by The Nature Conservancy and supported by the USDA Forest Service. It focuses on bringing more women and underrepresented groups into leadership within fire. Approximately 10% of the wildland fire workforce across multiple agencies are women, yet only seven out of 100 women hold leadership roles.

“We are building up future leaders who are learning to lead in a supportive way so that people from different cultures, backgrounds and different genders, can all work together in a collaborative environment and succeed,” said Jessica Ilse, a Forest Service biologist and training exchange participant.

Throughout the two-week course, participants treated 1,419 acres with prescribed fire throughout North Carolina. Prescribed fire is used more frequently in the southeastern U.S. than other regions.

“The training exchange is another opportunity to build capacity and future leaders in prescribed fire to ensure continued success in ecosystem maintenance and restoration,” said Andy Baker, assistant director for the Forest Service Southern Region Fire and Aviation Management.

Editor’s Note: More about the Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange in North Carolina can be found at: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f343d48e217c45088fb1f52a1bca3cee. There were two additional events internationally in 2023: one at the end of March in Cape Town, South Africa, as well as one in May in Banff, Canada.

Group photo: Participants and trainers at prescribed fire event in nomex, safety gear, in forest clearing. — Singletary Lake State Park, North Carolina, was the base camp and incident command post for the Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange. Pictured are more than 40 individuals, both participants and incident management team members, who attended the two-week training event. Courtesy photo by Holly Tuckett.