Building California's Beneficial Fire Workforce, Supporting Communities, and Putting More Good Fire on the Ground

The Healthy Forest Alliance Foundation (HFA) is a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing beneficial fire, strengthening wildfire resilience, and building the skilled workforce needed to restore healthy, fire-adapted landscapes. Through the Beneficial Fire Training Network, Good Fire Training Network, workforce development initiatives, community partnerships, education, and direct support for fire practitioners, the Foundation works to remove barriers and expand the safe, responsible use of beneficial fire across California.

At the heart of our mission is a simple belief: restoring good fire to California's landscapes requires trained practitioners, empowered communities, and strong partnerships. The Foundation connects training, resources, funding, and local organizations to turn beneficial fire planning into meaningful, on-the-ground action.

Building California's Beneficial Fire Workforce

Workforce development is a cornerstone of the Foundation's work. As the recipient of a $2,023,033 CAL FIRE Business and Workforce Development Grant, HFA administers the Good Fire Training Network as part of its broader commitment to the Beneficial Fire Training Network, expanding access to free wildland fire, prescribed fire, chainsaw, and leadership training opportunities.

Through nationally recognized National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) training and California State Fire Training programs, the Network creates accessible pathways into fire and fuels management careers. Our goal is to train hundreds of practitioners, support professional qualifications, and develop the next generation of California State-Certified Prescribed Fire Burn Bosses (CARX).

The Foundation recognizes that expanding the beneficial fire workforce requires collaboration. By partnering with training providers, nonprofits, public agencies, and community organizations, we help make professional fire training more accessible throughout California, including for individuals who may not have traditional pathways into the fire service.

Supporting Prescribed Burn Associations and Community-Led Fire

Through the More Good Fire Program California, the Foundation helps communities establish, organize, and sustain locally governed Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs). These community-based organizations bring landowners, neighbors, volunteers, and experienced fire practitioners together to safely implement prescribed fire on private and community lands.

HFA provides organizational support, fiscal sponsorship opportunities, fundraising assistance, equipment resources, and technical guidance to help local PBAs build lasting capacity.

Our approach emphasizes local leadership and shared responsibility. Rather than creating dependence on centralized programs, we help communities develop the knowledge, partnerships, and resources needed to manage their own landscapes and advance beneficial fire over the long term.

Expanding Practitioner Resources and Professional Qualifications

The Foundation supports the broader beneficial fire community through its partnership with the California Prescribed Fire Council, helping strengthen access to professional development, practitioner resources, and qualification pathways.

This work includes supporting NWCG Position Task Books, Incident Qualification Cards, training and experience documentation, practitioner directories, and opportunities for continued professional development.

By connecting training with recognized qualification systems and practical field experience, HFA helps practitioners move beyond classroom instruction toward greater operational readiness and professional responsibility.

Removing Barriers Through Equipment, Funding, and Partnerships

Access to training alone is not enough. Beneficial fire practitioners and community organizations also need equipment, personal protective gear, operational resources, and sustainable funding.

The Foundation works with donors, grantmakers, businesses, and partner organizations to expand access to prescribed fire equipment, support community equipment trailers, provide personal protective equipment, and reduce the financial barriers that prevent beneficial fire from reaching the ground.

As a nonprofit fiscal sponsor and collaborative partner, HFA also helps emerging community organizations access charitable funding and build the administrative capacity necessary to support their missions.

Turning Investment Into On-the-Ground Impact

The Healthy Forest Alliance Foundation serves as a bridge between funding opportunities, professional training, community organizations, and beneficial fire implementation.

We believe successful wildfire resilience efforts must produce measurable results: more trained practitioners, more qualified leaders, stronger community organizations, greater access to equipment, and more acres safely treated with beneficial fire.

Our role is not simply to administer programs, but to build the lasting infrastructure, partnerships, and workforce that allow California's beneficial fire movement to grow.

Our Commitment to More Good Fire

The challenges facing California's forests, rangelands, and communities cannot be addressed by any single organization. Meaningful progress requires collaboration among landowners, tribes, prescribed fire practitioners, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, training providers, and local communities.

The Healthy Forest Alliance Foundation is committed to supporting that collective effort through the Beneficial Fire Training Network, the Good Fire Training Network, the More Good Fire Program California, and partnerships with organizations across California.

Our mission is to help build a future where trained practitioners, empowered communities, and sustainable partnerships make beneficial fire a practical, accessible, and enduring part of California's land stewardship.

More trained practitioners. Stronger communities. Healthier landscapes. More good fire.

Building California's Beneficial Fire Workforce, Empowering Communities, and Expanding Access to Good Fire

The Healthy Forest Alliance Foundation (HFA) develops and supports programs that strengthen California's beneficial fire workforce, expand community-based prescribed fire, and remove barriers to training, equipment, funding, and professional qualifications. Our initiatives connect fire practitioners, landowners, nonprofit organizations, training providers, and community partners to build the capacity needed to safely return beneficial fire to California's landscapes.

Our mission is focused on workforce development, professional training, community empowerment, organizational support, and expanding access to beneficial fire. Rather than working independently, our programs create a coordinated network of resources and partnerships that support the broader prescribed fire movement throughout California.

Beneficial Fire Training Network & Workforce Development

Through the Beneficial Fire Training Network and Good Fire Training Network, the Foundation is expanding access to professional wildland fire, prescribed fire, chainsaw, and fire leadership training.

Supported by a $2,023,033 CAL FIRE Business and Workforce Development Grant, our four-year workforce development initiative provides free training opportunities designed to prepare hundreds of practitioners for careers in prescribed fire, fuels management, forestry, and wildfire resilience.

Our training programs emphasize nationally recognized National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) standards, California State Fire Training requirements, hands-on skills development, and professional qualification pathways.

By collaborating with training providers and host organizations throughout California, we are creating accessible opportunities for students, volunteers, landowners, and aspiring fire professionals while strengthening the workforce needed to safely implement more beneficial fire.

More Good Fire Program & Prescribed Burn Association Development

The More Good Fire California Program supports the establishment, growth, and long-term sustainability of locally governed Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs) throughout California.

These community-led organizations bring neighbors, landowners, volunteers, and experienced fire practitioners together to implement prescribed fire, reduce hazardous fuels, and restore healthy, fire-adapted landscapes.

The Foundation helps emerging PBAs with organizational development, fiscal sponsorship, fundraising, equipment access, community outreach, and connections to qualified fire practitioners.

Our goal is to help communities develop the leadership, knowledge, resources, and partnerships needed to independently sustain local prescribed fire programs.

Fire Practitioner Qualifications & Professional Development

In collaboration with the California Prescribed Fire Council, HFA supports programs that help practitioners document their training, gain field experience, and advance toward recognized fire qualifications.

These resources include NWCG Position Task Book support, Incident Qualification Cards (Red Cards), training and experience documentation, practitioner directories, and professional development opportunities.

By connecting formal training with field experience, mentorship, and recognized qualification systems, we help build a capable, accountable, and safety-focused beneficial fire workforce.

Prescribed Fire Equipment & PPE Access

Our Equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Access Programs help reduce the financial and logistical barriers that limit participation in prescribed fire.

Through donations, grants, and partnerships, the Foundation supports equipment loaner programs, community prescribed fire trailers, and access to essential operational resources such as protective clothing, hand tools, backpack pumps, radios, weather monitoring equipment, and other prescribed fire supplies.

These resources support training programs, community burn associations, and qualified practitioners while helping local organizations build the equipment capacity necessary to safely conduct beneficial fire operations.

Fiscal Sponsorship, Grants & Community Partnerships

The Foundation provides nonprofit organizational support and fiscal sponsorship opportunities to help community-based prescribed fire initiatives access funding, develop sustainable programs, and expand their impact.

By connecting donors, grantmakers, businesses, public agencies, and community organizations, HFA helps direct financial resources toward projects that support beneficial fire training, equipment, workforce development, and local implementation.

We believe investments in prescribed fire should benefit the broader community of practitioners and organizations working to return good fire to California's landscapes.

Fire Practitioner Scholarships & Training Access

The Fire Practitioner Scholarship and Training Access Program works to eliminate financial barriers to professional fire education and workforce entry.

Through grant-funded training, scholarships, partner-supported courses, and reduced-cost opportunities, the Foundation helps students, volunteers, landowners, and early-career practitioners access the training needed to participate safely and professionally in beneficial fire operations.

Our emphasis is on expanding opportunities for underserved communities and individuals who may not have access to traditional agency-based training pathways.

Building a Stronger Beneficial Fire Movement

Together, these programs create an interconnected system of training, qualifications, equipment, funding, community partnerships, and on-the-ground implementation.

The Healthy Forest Alliance Foundation serves as a collaborative resource for California's beneficial fire community—helping organizations grow, practitioners advance, and communities develop the capacity to safely use prescribed fire as a long-term land stewardship tool.

Our success is measured by the capacity we help build: more trained practitioners, more qualified fire leaders, stronger Prescribed Burn Associations, greater access to resources, and more beneficial fire safely returned to California's landscapes.

Building the workforce. Supporting the communities. Removing the barriers. Putting more good fire on the ground.

Stronger Partnerships. More Trained Practitioners. More Good Fire.

Collaboration is at the heart of the Healthy Forest Alliance Foundation's (HFA) mission. Through the Beneficial Fire Training Network, Good Fire Training Network, and More Good Fire California Program, we bring together training providers, public agencies, nonprofits, Resource Conservation Districts, Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs), conservation organizations, private landowners, and industry partners to strengthen California's beneficial fire workforce and expand community-based prescribed fire.

Our partnerships are built around a shared commitment to accessible professional training, stronger local organizations, qualified fire practitioners, and healthier, more resilient landscapes. We recognize that expanding beneficial fire requires more than funding or individual projects—it requires a coordinated network of organizations working together to remove barriers, share resources, and build lasting capacity.

Expanding Free Fire Training Through Partnerships

With support from a $2,023,033 CAL FIRE Business and Workforce Development Grant, the Foundation is expanding the Good Fire Training Network through a four-year initiative that provides free wildland fire, prescribed fire, chainsaw, and leadership training.

We work with qualified instructors, training organizations, public agencies, and community partners to host courses, provide field training opportunities, develop professional qualification pathways, and prepare the next generation of California's beneficial fire workforce.

Our goal is to ensure that grant-funded training resources reach the broader prescribed fire community, creating opportunities for organizations of all sizes to participate in workforce development.

Supporting Community-Led Prescribed Fire

Through the More Good Fire California Program, HFA partners with local communities and emerging Prescribed Burn Associations to establish and sustain locally governed prescribed fire programs.

We provide organizational guidance, fiscal sponsorship opportunities, fundraising support, equipment resources, and connections to experienced fire practitioners.

These partnerships empower communities to develop their own capacity for prescribed fire, strengthening local leadership and creating sustainable opportunities to return beneficial fire to private and community lands.

Connecting Resources, Funding & Professional Development

The Foundation helps connect financial resources, equipment, training opportunities, and professional development support with the organizations and practitioners who need them most.

Our collaborative partnerships include:

• Training & Workforce Development: Hosting free NWCG and California State Fire Training courses, field exercises, and professional development opportunities.

• Prescribed Burn Association Support: Helping establish, fund, equip, and strengthen locally governed PBAs.

• Fiscal Sponsorship & Grant Collaboration: Supporting community organizations with charitable funding opportunities and nonprofit administrative resources.

• Equipment & PPE Programs: Expanding access to prescribed fire equipment, protective gear, community equipment trailers, and operational resources.

• Practitioner Qualifications: Supporting training documentation, NWCG Position Task Books, Incident Qualification Cards, and qualification pathways in collaboration with the California Prescribed Fire Council.

• Corporate & Philanthropic Partnerships: Connecting businesses, foundations, and donors with meaningful opportunities to invest in beneficial fire workforce development and community resilience.

Building Lasting Capacity, Not Just Completing Projects

Our approach focuses on long-term impact. We believe successful partnerships should leave communities and organizations better equipped, better trained, and more capable of independently advancing beneficial fire.

By connecting training providers, funding partners, community organizations, and fire practitioners, HFA helps build the infrastructure needed to expand prescribed fire safely and sustainably.

Partner With the Healthy Forest Alliance Foundation

Whether you represent a public agency, nonprofit organization, training provider, Prescribed Burn Association, philanthropic foundation, or business, there is an opportunity to help advance California's beneficial fire movement.

Together, we can expand free professional training, support local Prescribed Burn Associations, strengthen practitioner qualifications, remove barriers to participation, and put more good fire on the ground.

Investing in people. Empowering communities. Strengthening partnerships. Advancing beneficial fire.