Prescribed fire in an ecological context
OSU’s Prescribed Fire Practicum has been designed to give fire management practitioners and students practical, hands-on experience designing and implementing prescribed burns. The course offers a conceptual framework in fire ecology and effects, fire history and burning practices of the Pacific Northwest, fuel assessment and categorization, fire weather and smoke mitigation considerations, prescribed fire safety and management, and much more. Participants work collectively to design, implement, and assess a prescribed fire on one of OSU’s research forests (or another nearby site), and work individually and/or in small groups to design and present a burn plan for another environment. The course emphasizes private landowner management and ecological objectives, understanding burn complexity, and mitigating risk. It offers resources and tips for making prescribed burns safe and successful.
Available to enrolled OSU students for 3 academic credits. Graduate and undergraduate options.
Organization and Schedule
- Classroom sessions by Zoom, Tuesdays, 6:00 to 7:20 p.m. Oct 1 – Dec 3, 2025.
- Lab/field, selected Fridays from 1:00 – 4:50 p.m. (Sep 27, Oct 4, Oct 25, Nov 8, Nov 22). Peavy Forest Science Center room 215.
- Prescribed burn exercise. Sunday, Oct 6, 13, or 20. Hold all three of these dates – we’ll burn on the first one where fuel and weather conditions cooperate: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Syllabus
- Get the syllabus here
Prerequisite
- You must hold a current basic wildland firefighter (FFT2) qualification to participate in the prescribed burn exercise.
- Need this qualification? OSU College of Forestry offers credit and non-credit opportunities to obtain FFT2. See our Guard School website for details.
Register for Fall Term, 2024
- Undergraduate FOR452: Lecture Section 001 CRN 18063 + Lab Section 010 CRN 18065
- Graduate FOR 552: Lecture Section 001 CRN 18066 + Lab Section 010 CRN 18068
Questions? Contact John Punches, course coordinator.
