On March 8, 2025, community members gathered in Northwestern Livermore, CO to learn how to safely burn slash piles with The Ember Alliance. The overarching goal of this pile burn workshop was to make pile burning feel like an accessible management tool for private landowners, by having qualified firefighters walk them through the process step-by-step. The workshops are part of a larger effort to form Pile Burn Cooperatives in Northern CO, in which neighbors help neighbors to mitigate wildfire risk to their homes and communities by building and burning slash piles together.
During the March workshop, 6 private landowners came together to learn about pile burning; including the planning process, how to apply for a burn permit, how to measure snow depth and wind speed to ensure conditions are right for burning, how to light the piles, and appropriate mop-up procedure to ensure piles are out cold at the end of the day. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants were asked to share one thing they learned. One landowner said, “I learned that this is something I can actually do at my property!”
The only way we are going to solve the current wildfire crisis is by collaborating across property boundaries at the local, state, and national levels. With 30% of forested lands in Colorado being privately owned, landowners are an important piece of the puzzle, and it’s amazing what communities can accomplish when they come together to work towards a common goal. If you are interested in getting involved in Colorado Pile Burn Cooperatives or hosting a workshop, reach out to Kristin Leger at The Ember Alliance.
Pile Burn Cooperative funding provided by the Fire Learning Network, CO Department of Natural Resources, and the National Forest Foundation.
“I learned that this is something I can actually do at my property!”
