Marin Firefighters Burn Wildfire Fuels, Train On Mt. Tam

MOUNT TAMALPAIS, CA — Marin County fire crews and recruits got a jumpstart on fire season Tuesday atop Mount Tamalpais.

According to the Marin County Fire Department, the FIRE Foundry fuels crew, led by a captain and comprised of 13 recruits, got to work in the Mt. Tam Watershed to reduce flammable vegetation in the area via pile burns. The team will help conduct preventative burns when other crews are working fires.

"The four Tamalpais Fire Crews are made up of over 50 firefighters who execute vegetation management work across the county," the department said Tuesday. "Different from [the] Foundry Fuels Crew, Tam Fire crews respond to wildland fires to build containment lines, fall hazardous trees, and mop-up fires. The awarded grant will allow MCFD to lean on the Foundry fuels crew to continue vegetation management when Tam Fire crews are deployed to wildfires."

Following Tuesday's training burns, fire officials said the 2024 cohort of recruits will have the skills needed to perform further pile burns. The program is paid for by a $1.9 million CAL Volunteers grant.