06/11/2026
Last week, the Ventura County Prescribed Burn Association (VCPBA) hosted a CA-219 Firing Operations course for advanced firefighters and prescribed fire practitioners. Between June 1–3, 2026, 42 acres were treated with prescribed fire across two properties in Ojai Valley. These burns were done to provide training opportunities for firefighters, to prevent seed-set of non-native invasive yellow star thistle while in bud/flower, and to increase future germination for native forbs that have already gone to seed (i.e. Lupine, redmaids, and others).
These broadcast burns were a huge collaborative success! These burns were done in conjunction with VCRCD, the Happy Valley Foundation , The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy , the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District , the Mountains Recreations and Conservation Authority Fire Department (MRCA FD) mrcs.ca.gov, Bell Canyon FD , Chumash FD , Ventura City FD , Beverly Hills FD , Ventura County FD , CalFire , and VCPBA vcrcd.org/vcpba, SLO PBA calpba.org/slo-pba, and LA PBA calpba.org/la-pba Volunteers.
To read more about the class and burn objectives stay tuned for our VCRCD blog post!
