As part of the Stewardship Pathways Fire Training program, Climate Science Alliance Advisor and Fire Chief Wesley Ruise Jr. and the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians Fire Department hosted the S-212 Wildland Fire Chainsaws class, which included a review of chainsaw use and basic safety practices as well as a cultural component for 15 individuals from across the region.
In June, Chief Wesley Ruise Jr. and the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians Fire Department hosted the S-212 Wildland Fire Chainsaws class, which included a review of chainsaw use and basic safety practices as well as a cultural component for 15 individuals from across the region. Chief Ruise Jr. also serves as a Climate Science Alliance Advisor and helps guide programming for the Stewardship Pathways Fire Training program.
The S-212 provided an introduction to the function, maintenance and use of internal combustion engine powered chainsaws, and their tactical wildland fire application. Field exercises support entry-level training for firefighters with little or no previous experience in operating a chainsaw, providing hands-on cutting experience in surroundings similar to fireline situations. For the cultural component a presentation was provided that focused on Indigenous ecologies and climate change with an emphasis on the critical need to get good fire back on the land.
The S-212 training was held as part of the Stewardship Pathways Fire Training program, which is led by the Climate Science Alliance Tribal Working Group in partnership with the Southern California Interagency Wildland Fire & Fuels Cadre. Support for the Fire Training program comes from the Resource Conservation District of San Diego County and California Department of Conservation, with foundational support for the training’s pilot through the Resilient Restoration project coming from the California Strategic Growth Council’s Climate Change Research Program.
Learn more about the Stewardship Pathways program here.
Photos courtesy of Joelene Tamm.