From February 16-20th, Blue Lake Rancheria (BLR) hosted a Wildland Firefighting Academy at the Sapphire Palace in Blue Lake Casino. This academy consisted of both S-130 and S-190 courses, the completion of which will qualify students through the National Wildfire Coordinating Group as FFT2 Basic Wildland Firefighters. In the S-130 course, students learned an introduction to wildfire behavior, the fire triangle, environmental and fuel factors, and weather & topography that affect the start and spread of wildfire. The S-190 course covered more in-depth firefighter training, with students learning about terminology, firefighter preparedness, Incident Command System (ICS) overview, resource types, risk management, transportation safety, hand tools, firing devices, securing fire lines, suppression, and pump operations.
With so much to cover, the students in the Wildland Firefighting Academy have had a busy week of learning! The course was a hybrid course which was about 40 hours long, with the first few days located in a classroom setting. Once students got through the classroom portion throughout the week, they were able to put everything they’ve learned into practice during field day exercises! Keep an eye out for more training opportunities like this in the future by taking a look at BLR’s event schedule at https://www.bluelakerancheria-nsn.gov/events/
Originally Published: 2/22/2026