FMPs for Prescribed Fire Workshop

From Assessment to Application

Fuels Management Prescriptions (FMPs) and other non-burn prescriptions are key to supporting prescribed fire, and they need to connect well to how fire behaves and how burns are implemented. This course helps bridge that gap and builds competencies for those practicing within this scope.

Over three days, you’ll learn how to write practical, defensible prescriptions that align with ecological goals and operational realities, using BC’s latest provincial template. You’ll gain hands-on experience with layout that is anchored in for logical burn units, fuels, fire behaviour, and monitoring, guided by someone who is an RPF, AFE Wildland Fire Ecologist and practicing certified Burn Boss.

This course is for those who want to sharpen their judgment, expand their fire knowledge, and improve how they practice in prescribed fire. The content has been thoughtfully developed after interviewing 30+ individuals directly involved with non-burn prescriptions and Burn Plan review, from Fire Keepers to funders, Burn Bosses to WRR Specialists.

Insructors: Colleen Ross with guest speakers from municpal mitigation and FPBC.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this three-day course, participants will be able to:

1. Understand the purpose and scope of a Fuels Management Prescription (FMP)
   Recognize how FMPs differ when the goal is ecosystem restoration, community protection (WUI), or fiber removal. For example, a restoration burn may focus on substrate layer, whereas a WUI project focuses on surface fuel continuity and fire fighter access.

2. Apply field-based assessment techniques that support prescribed fire planning
   Where applicable, shift from traditional timber-cruise layouts and stratification to fuel- and fire-behaviour-based stratification. For instance, instead of spacing plots evenly per hectare, foresters will learn to place plots where slope, aspect, and fuel type influence expected fire behaviour and effects.

3. Integrate intermediate fire behaviour knowledge into prescription design
   Use fire behaviour tools to guide treatment layout, plot placement, and ignition timing. For example, a forester might reduce plots in uniform grass units but cluster them near transitions between fuel types or canopy densities where fire behaviour changes rapidly or along the edges to capture the response of invasive plants.

4. Design ecologically informed fuel treatments consistent with burn objectives
   Move beyond “fuel reduction equals thinning” to designing burn units that mimic natural fire patterns and values mitigation that’s ecologically and operationally driven.. Examples include using logical control lines that follow fuel breaks and topography, or retaining fire-resistant species to promote ecosystem resilience or “shaded fuel breaks”, and finding solutions where desired fire effects may conflict.

5. Incorporate monitoring and adaptive management principles
   Develop plot protocols that measure more than just fuel load or basal area. For example, include post-fire severity, soil exposure, or species response indicators so that prescriptions can be evaluated for desired fire effects.

6. Develop a complete Fuels Management Prescription aligned with prescribed fire delivery
   Build FMPs that bridge planning and operations, enough detail for a Burn Boss to act on without re-interpreting intent. For instance, include burn windows, fire driven objectives, expected severity, and long-term ecological goals so that the Burn Plan can focus on operational execution rather than professional sign-off.

Course Highlights

• Students receive a professional-grade guidebook on completing the 2025 BC Fuel Management Prescription Template, with a fire ecology and prescribed fire lens, but ideal to guide any fuels managemnet program using prescribed fire

• Hands-on training in reconnaissance, value assessment, ignition strategy design, burn planning and monitoring, all through the lens of fire

• Emphasizes scope of practice, fire ecology literacy, interdisciplinary and interagency collaboration

• Aligned with FPBC competencies, BC Wildfire Service documentation, and legislative requirements

Pre-Requisites

This course builds directly on the concepts, terminology, and skills from an intermediate fire behaviour course such as S-390. If you’ve completed S-390, you’ll be ready to dive straight into applying fire behaviour knowledge to real-world Fuel Management Prescriptions for prescribed fire.

Haven’t taken S-390 yet?
Consider enrolling before this workshop. It will give you the confidence to predict, plan, and apply fire behaviour principles in ways that make the FMP process easier, more meaningful, and more effective.

By pairing S-390 with this course, you’ll get the most value from our time together and walk away with skills you can immediately put into practice. We’ll use these concepts to:

• Complete intelligent fuel typing (including ground truthing models)

• Run site-specific fire behaviour scenarios

• Develop meaningful objectives and desired fire effects

• Apply the correct terminology around indices and primary outputs

• How about other prescriptions?

  The learning outcomes and exercises in this course overlap with other non-burn prescriptions (range plans, ecosystem restoration prescriptions, wildland fire prevention prescriptions).  The instructor has experience in a variety of non-burn prescriptions and encourages you to bring what you use.

• What is this course about?

  This 3-day workshop teaches you how to write fuel management prescriptions that support effective prescribed fire. You’ll learn how to assess fuels, predict fire behaviour, integrate ecological fire effects, and develop prescriptions that align with BC’s 2025 FMP template. It’s practical, field-based, and focused on writing plans that get implemented.

• Do I get certified?

  A certificate will be given to prove your completion so you can put it towards professional development hours and resume.

• Who should take this course?

  • Registered Forest Professionals

  • FireSmart and fuel management planners

  • Prescribed fire practitioners and burn bosses

  • Indigenous land stewards

  • Government, NGO, and consulting staff involved in wildfire mitigation or ecosystem restoration

  If you’re involved in writing, reviewing, or implementing fuel treatments, this course is for you.

• How does this course support professional practice?

  This course was designed in response to the Forest Professionals BC (FPBC) scope-of-practice competencies. It helps forest professionals build confidence and competence in planning fire-informed fuel treatments that integrate legal, ecological, and operational requirements. You'll walk away with tools, field experience, and a guidebook tailored to BC’s 2025 FMP template.

• Is there fieldwork?

  Yes. You’ll get hands-on experience conducting a reconnaissance field visit, assessing fuels, interpreting fire behaviour, and mapping burn units that align with treatment goals. Field days are practical and collaborative.

• What’s included?

  • 3 days of instruction (classroom + field)

  • A professional guidebook on writing fuels management prescriptions for prescribed fire

  • Digital and printed course materials

  • Access to additional fire ecology and monitoring resources

• What does it cost?

  $725 CAD per participant.

• Where is the course held?

  This course rotates locations throughout BC, typically hosted in communities with active prescribed fire or fuel management programs. Check the course page or contact for upcoming session locations.

• What should I bring?

  You’ll receive a full packing list upon registration. You’ll need:

  • Field gear (boots, weather-appropriate layers, safety glasses, etc.)

  • Survey tools (the instructor has enough for training but more always helps)

  • Notebook or tablet for field data

  • A laptop or notebook for in-class exercises

  • The Field Guide to the Canadian Forest Fire Behavior (FBP) System aka Red Book

• Can you deliver this course privately?

  Yes. A tailored version of this course can be delivered for your organization, Nation, or agency. Contact to discuss a custom delivery, including private field sessions using your prescriptions or treatment areas.

• What makes this instructor qualified?

  Your instructor, Colleen Ross, is a Wildland Fire Ecologist, Registered Professional Forester (RPF), and Burn Boss with 30 years of hands-on experience in prescribed fire, wildfire operations, and land stewardship. She’s worked across western North America with Indigenous communities, government agencies, and land managers to develop, support and review plans and prescriptions that actually get implemented and burned.

  • Instructs fire courses including S-390, S-219, RX-310, and S-244

  • Helped shaped competencies for prescribed fire in BC

  • Authored operational tools and guides used by practitioners across the province

  • Designs monitoring frameworks to track long-term fire effects on vegetation, soils, wildlife and fuels

  • Completed the pilot to this course with excellent reviews and feedback.

  She brings deep technical knowledge, ecological insight, and real-world operational experience and is committed to mentoring the next wave of fire-informed professionals.