Spring 2026 SAFE Chapter UPdates
At the end of April, the National SAFE Officers held an all-chapters meeting. All SAFE members and chapters were invited, and we were excited to hear from 10 SAFE chapters on what they have accomplished, what they are working on, what feedback they had regarding the 10th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress last December, and what AFE and SAFE can do to help support student involvement.
California State University, Chico
Members attended the Maidu TREX in Northern California, and they got complimentary tickets to the Good Fire exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California. Members of UC Berkeley SAFE attended the exhibit with them. The chapter completed a tool-making workshop in February with a local tool-maker - they have been trying to do interdisciplinary activities in order to include more people and interests. The chapter held a regenerative agriculture and food event in March with a biochar collective, and the chapter has burned with a local PBA.
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia chapter is one of the newest chapters, and they have held two meetings so far. They have assisted multiple members in obtaining Red Cards and they engaged with a tabling opportunity.
University of Wyoming
The SAFE chapter at University of Wyoming is also starting up and building capacity. They have been attending webinars and have been working on recruiting members.
University of Montana
The University of Montana SAFE chapter took their annual trip to Mann Gulch. They also burned with the DNR and with the Fire Center at the Lubrecht Experimental Forest. The chapter has invited multiple guest speakers, including researchers, former hotshots, and people who work in predictive services and meteorology. They have been assisting the forestry club at the University of Montana with a thinning project at Lubrecht Experimental Forest. Further, they have been working with the Northern Rockies Fire Science Network, Salish Kootenai College, and Montana State University to plan a fire science student summit in the fall. They are also preparing students for summer field work.
Cal Poly Humboldt
The SAFE chapter at Cal Poly Humboldt started off the year with their annual firelighter training that is hosted by the local PBA. They have done at least 10 burns this school year, and they have also hosted a few job and resume trainings. SAFE members, a capstone class, and a fire behavior class all worked together on a burn plan, and the local PBA decided to burn the next day. The chapter helped conduct a few tribal-focused burns in the fall, and they are participating in another firelighter training with the PBA but with a cultural focus. The chapter has had good, consistent engagement and attendance in terms of students showing up to meetings and going on burns. There are three fire-based clubs on campus, and cooperation between the three has been increasing. They received a chapter grant that will help them create a SAFE-specific gear cache for prescribed burns.
University of Washington
The University of Washington SAFE chapter has been developing consistent activities for students. They have hosted a graduate school panel, and they are planning a career panel for students interested in working for state, federal, or private employers. The chapter has also held fire movie nights and is actively working on building resource networks for students.
Northern Arizona University
Over spring break, the Northern Arizona University SAFE chapter attended a mini TREX with The Nature Conservancy in Georgia. In the fall, the chapter when to a WUI conference in Prescott, AZ, which was a great opportunity for networking with local municipal fire departments and wildland fire professionals. The chapter burns with the Flagstaff Fire Department a few times per year, and the chapter has started working on defensible space as part of community outreach.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
The chapter has done around 8 burns this year, and they are getting started with an AD program with the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The chapter has done a lot of research this year - they started a project on macroinvertebrate responses to fire, they have been doing dendrochronological research on the Treehaven campus, and some graduate students have been doing projects on pine barrens. They certified 140 FFT2s this year and had 20 S-211 certifications and 10 L-280 certifications.
Missouri University of Science and Technology
The chapter is new and has been working on networking. In the Ozarks, there are many interested PBAs and conservation groups. The chapter has been able to get out and burn 4 times - one of which was a 500-acre burn in Mark Twain National Forest. The university gave the chapter a parcel of land on the edge of campus to manage. It is full of invasive species, and the chapter is excited to restore it to native prairie and woodland.
Texas Tech University
The chapter has been participating in shortgrass prairie prescribed burns near Lubbock, TX as well as one tallgrass prairie burn in Kansas. The chapter largely does not have experience burning forested lands, but they have enjoyed gaining experience in burning prairies by helping farmers and ranchers in the area. Each year, the chapter holds a chainsaw training.
