The second session of the Eastern Sierra
Council of Governments (ESCOG) Citizen’s Wildfire Education Academy (Academy) will focus on Fire Ecology, and feature guest speakers from The Fire Restoration Group and the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station. The session is scheduled for Monday, May 16th at 6:00pm.

Craig Thomas started the Fire Restoration Group after his retirement from Sierra
Forest Legacy in December, 2018, where he was a co-founder and formerly executive
director, and conservation director. Mr. Thomas founded the Fire Restoration Group to
expand efforts to integrate fire policy with fire ecology, and to promote science-based
management of fire and forests in California.

Malcom North, PhD is a research forest ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service
Pacific Southwest Research Station, and an affiliate professor of forest ecology at the
University of California Davis. Dr. North’s research includes work on examining forest
restoration and ecosystem response, wildlife, wildfire, and forest carbon dynamics.

Details on the Academy and instructions on how to register for the upcoming
session can be accessed here: https://www.eswildfirealliance.org/academy. All sessions
are recorded, and available on-demand following the live event via the Academy’s
website.

Organized by ESCOG and sponsored by Mono County, Inyo County, the Town of
Mammoth Lakes, Friends of the Inyo, Mammoth Lakes Tourism, the Mono Lake
Committee, the Whitebark Institute, Eastern Sierra Land Trust, several Mono County Fire
Safe Councils, and others, the Academy is aimed at reducing the anxiety about wildfire,
and addressing and responding to the multitude of questions that residents and visitors
have about the topic. The 60–90-minute sessions are held the third Monday of each
month at 6:00PM.

SCHEDULE AND TOPICS
April 18 Introduction and the History of Wildfire in the Eastern Sierra and
California, featuring David Carle, author of Introduction to Fire in California.
May 16 Fire Ecology
June 20 Current USFS, BLM, and CAL FIRE 2022 Wildfire Management Plans and Policies
July 18 Current Eastern Sierra Fuels Reduction Treatment and Other

Projects

August 15 Home Hardening and Defensible Space Projects
September 19 Smoke, Evacuation, and Other Preparation Procedures
October 17 Insurance Concerns, Local Fire Departments, and Fire Safe

Councils

ESCOG is an association of city and county governments created to address
regional issues.