Event Date
The 2026 California Fire Science Retreat marks the fourteenth annual field‑based retreat hosted by the California Fire Science Consortium in collaboration with the Safford Lab. Held each summer, the retreat brings together approximately 40–60 participants—including fire scientists, land and fire managers, tribal members, educators, students, and NGO staff—for three days of immersive, field‑oriented learning and discussion focused on fire and fuels management within the ecological, geographic, and socioeconomic context of the host landscape.
The 2026 retreat will take place July 7–9 at the UC Santa Barbara Sedgwick Ecological Reserve, a site with a long history of leadership in fire research and applied management. Participants will spend all three days in the field and camp at the reserve, with evenings devoted to shared, catered meals and extended professional dialogue. Program topics include prescribed fire planning and implementation, management and ecological effects of the 2024 Lake Fire, balancing wildfire risk mitigation with environmental impacts in central and southern California shrublands, Chumash cultural and prescribed burning practices, and an overview of ongoing fire‑related research at Sedgwick Reserve. The retreat offers a distinctive opportunity for sustained exchange, collaborative learning, and professional networking among researchers, managers, and local stakeholders.
Registration form: https://forms.gle/bcidYAq9QFzV9xQS7