THURSTON COUNTY, Wash — Devin Dykes used to fight wildfires, and now he’s learning how to start them.
Dykes was one of a dozen students learning the essentials of controlled burns during a three-day Certified Prescribed Burn seminar headed up by Washington’s Department of Natural Resources this week. The group met on state-owned land near Tenino.
Last year, the state started offering the training courses under legislation, passed in 2018, to boost the number of controlled burns across the state. The 2018 bill fought to establish a prescribed burn certification program at the department of natural resources.
“We’re wanting to encourage responsible burning,” said Kyle Lapham, the Department of Natural Resources’ Certified Burner program manager.
Lapham said prescribed burns — events planned around weather and conditions — are an effective way to reduce fuels in the forest, as well as improve the environment for endangered species. He teaches students how to make a fire plan, which is based on how much of an area to burn, the weather and the surrounding environment.
Students pay $100 for the instruction.
To receive a certificate, they have to pass a test at the end of the three days. In addition, Lapham needs to observe the student successfully plan and execute a controlled burn.
In the past year, Lapham said more than 70 students have completed the course, but only five chose to get certificates.
He said the students can still light fires without certificates.
"People are already burning in the state of Washington," said Lapham. "We're here to offer them a higher liability protection from the practice they're doing, but we're making sure they're responsible about it and having that sort of competency check."