Additional Land Use Planning for Wildfire Trainings in California Now Open
Registration is now open! CAL FIRE—Office of the State Fire Marshal’s Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation Division and the Community Wildfire Planning Center are excited to announce additional trainings on “An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California” in February 2025.
Attendees who participate in this training will:
- Learn about the most up-to-date state requirements for land use planning in fire hazard areas, including the General Plan Safety Element, Fire Safe Regulations, and Building and Fire Codes
- Expand knowledge of wildfire vulnerabilities in the built environment at different scales, including subdivision and lot scales
- Increase knowledge of best practices and resources for proactive planning in the wildland-urban interface
- Interact with peers to exchange perspectives on fire mitigation and planning through exercises and facilitated discussions
Who should attend?
These are free, all-day, in person trainings that are open to land use planners, fire marshals, fire chiefs, fire mitigation specialists, building officials, and other professionals from government agencies and the private sector who engage in planning, policy, development review and/or approval activities in California.
TRAINING DATES AND LOCATIONS
Land Use Planning for Wildfires 2025 training dates and locations in California are now available!
Chino – February 11, 2025
Ventura County (Thousand Oaks) – February 13, 2025
Santa Rosa – February 25, 2025
Chico – February 27th, 2025
11
Feb
An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California - Chino
Registration open! The training will be from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM PST. There is no cost to attend this training. There will be a [...]
13
Feb
POSTPONED - An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California - Ventura County
*TRAINING UPDATE* The Training scheduled for February 13, 2025 (Newbury Park) has been postponed due to the ongoing impacts from the Palisades Fire. This training [...]
25
Feb
An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California - Santa Rosa
Registration open! The training will be from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM PST. There is no cost to attend this training. There will be a [...]
27
Feb
An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California - Chico
Registration open! The training will be from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM PST. There is no cost to attend this training. There will be a [...]
An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California - Chino
POSTPONED - An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California - Ventura County
An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California - Santa Rosa
An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California - Chico
TESTIMONIALS
I had very little knowledge about wildfires before, and now I feel I have a good understanding of how they start, how they can be mitigated and prevented, and how to incorporate that into planning.
Very valuable in advancing my understanding of land use planning, how various plans are linked and importance of keeping plans (safety element/LHMP) current – and how land use planning can be a tool to reduce wildfire risk/hazard and increase resilience.
Thank you for making this training so interactive and for breaking down the training in a way that is easily digestible. The videos and interactive activities really made the training more interesting. It definitely has allowed me, as a city planner, to put myself in a firefighter’s shoes.
Training Instructors
Molly Mowery, AICP
Executive Director, Community Wildfire Planning Center
Molly Mowery, AICP is a trained and certified land use planner with 20 years of planning experience. She has been a pioneer in integrating land use planning with wildfire mitigation and adaptation strategies for communities across the U.S. and Canada. Molly serves as Executive Director of the Community Wildfire Planning Center (CWPC) and is founder of Wildfire Planning International, an international consulting firm. In addition to providing technical assistance to communities, she frequently teaches, speaks, and writes on the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Her professional highlights include creating the first WUI planning course for FEMA, co-authoring APA’s PAS Report: Planning the Wildland-Urban Interface, drafting land use planning guidance for the Canada’s National Guide for Wildland-Urban interface Fires, and providing the Norman Williams Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Planning and Law for the Vermont Law School. She currently serves as chair of the American Planning Association’s Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery Division. Molly earned a bachelor of arts from Naropa University and a master in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Kelly Johnston, RPF, FBAN
Operations Director, Community Wildfire Planning Center
Kelly Johnston is a Chief Fire Officer, Registered Professional Forester, and Fire Behavior Analyst with more than 34 years of experience in wildfire management locally, nationally, and internationally. Kelly serves as the Operations Director of the Community Wildfire Planning Center (CWPC). Kelly led the concurrent development and implementation of the REALFire (U.S.) and FireSmart Home Partners (Canada) Home Ignition Zone assessment programs. He developed the first wildland-urban interface regulation course for FEMA, co-authored APA’s PAS report: Planning the Wildland-Urban Interface and served as the WUI subject matter expert and task group lead in the development of Canada’s first National Guide for Wildland-Urban interface Fires. He remains active in operational WUI response as well as national and international planning initiatives, including appointments as a National Fire Protection Association Wildland and Rural Fire Protection Technical Committee member, and a Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs Climate Adaptation Committee member.
Matt Damon
Staff Chief, CAL FIRE / Office of the State Fire Marshal
Matt Damon is Staff Chief of Community Wildfire Mitigation Assistance where he oversees the CAL FIRE Land Use Planning Program and the Wildfire Prevention Grants Program. Matt entered the fire service as a volunteer with the City of Oroville Fire Department in 1994, becoming the fourth generation of his family in the fire service. Matt began his career with CAL FIRE in 1996 and has served in several Units and Programs within the department in that time. Matt has a Bachelor’s Degree from CSU, Chico, is an OSFM Certified Fire Officer and a graduate of the 25th Butte Fire Academy.
Shane Vargas
Battalion Chief for CAL FIRE’s Land Use Planning Program
Shane Vargas currently serves as a Battalion Chief for CAL FIRE’s Land Use Planning Program. Shane began his career with the Susanville City Fire Department at the age of 14 and has since held various positions with CAL FIRE across the state as a Firefighter, Fire Apparatus Engineer, Fire Prevention Captain, and more. While assigned to Plumas County, he implemented and enforced the Fire Safe Regulations, assisted in establishing Firewise Communities, was a Board Member of the Fire Safe Council, assisted with the update of the Safety Element, was part of the committee to update the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, assisted with several Community Wildfire Protection Plans, and represented the Unit on the Fire Chiefs Association and at the Board of Supervisors meetings. He was also part of the working group to update the Fire Safe Regulations for the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. In 2018 he transferred to the Land Use Planning Program at Northern Region where he worked for over five years as a Fire Captain and Battalion Chief until he transferred to the Sacramento Land Use Planning Program as a Battalion Chief in 2023.
Contact Us
AICP CM Credits
Trainings are co-sponsored by the American Planning Association CA Chapter and approved by the American Planning Association (APA) to provide Certificate Maintenance (CM) credits for AICP planners. Additional training CM credit information is available on APA’s website under Live In-Person Events: “An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California”.
Acknowledgments
Funding for An Introduction to Land Use Planning for Wildfires in California Trainings was provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as part of the California Climate Investments Program, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing GHG emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged communities. For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website.
