05/03/2026
Partners and Community Join Together to Advance Wildfire Preparedness in Fort Bidwell During National Wildfire Awareness Month
Lomakatsi was honored to participate in the Fort Bidwell Stronger Together: Wildfire Prevention Cleanup Day on May 2 to help reduce wildfire risk and build a safer community, in partnership with the Fort Bidwell Indian Community Council, Modoc Fire Safe Council, Fort Bidwell Volunteer Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service-Modoc National Forest, Applegate BLM Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, CAL FIRE, Lassen-Modoc Unit, American Red Cross Northern California Region, and Convergence Ecosystem Services.
As wildfire season approaches, partners came together in Fort Bidwell as part of the nationwide recognition of May as National Wildfire Awareness Month—a call to action for residents, communities, and businesses to take simple, proactive steps to reduce wildfire risk and improve safety.
A 14‑person Lomakatsi Fire and Forestry hand and engine crew, including members of our Regional Inter‑Tribal Fire and Forestry Indian Youth Service Corps from Modoc and Klamath Counties and a crew from the Rogue Valley, supported two days of education and fuels‑mitigation work. These efforts were funded by a grant to Lomakatsi from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Workforce and Youth Development Office of Trust Services and through Lomakatsi’s Tribal Partnerships Fund.
On May 1, Lomakatsi crews partnered with private landowners and Convergence Ecosystem Services to conduct a 1‑acre educational prescribed burn, demonstrating how carefully applied fire can reduce hazardous fuels while enhancing working agricultural lands.
On May 2, Lomakatsi crews worked with the Fort Bidwell Indian Tribe Environmental Department to complete roadside fuels reduction along a key access road serving homes on the reservation, improving safe ingress and egress in the event of a wildfire.
Woody vegetation cut by chainsaw crews was transported by truck and trailer to a staging area in Fort Bidwell, where the material was converted to biochar in a metal burn kiln—reducing disposal impacts while creating a beneficial soil amendment.
While Lomakatsi crews focused on work within the Fort Bidwell Indian Reservation, other partners and landowners were active across the community, reducing hazardous fuels in key areas and strengthening homesite defensible space. It was an incredible team effort, all accomplished within a six‑hour window.
This year, the Fort Bidwell Fire Department, Fort Bidwell Indian Community Council, and the American Red Cross also went door‑to‑door throughout the reservation and broader community to check and replace smoke alarms—so keep an eye out for us in your neighborhood.
The event concluded with a wonderful lunch provided by the Fort Bidwell Indian Tribe, Fort Bidwell Volunteer Fire Department, and community members.
Lomakatsi is continually inspired by what can be accomplished when Tribal partners, agencies, non profit organizations, and community members come together with a shared commitment to wildfire preparedness. Collaborative days like this strengthen relationships, build local capacity, and advance our collective work toward safer, more resilient communities. We are honored to have helped envision the establishment of this event in 2025 alongside our partners, and we look forward to next year’s Stronger Together: Wildfire Prevention Cleanup Day in 2027.
