As a fire practitioner in the Good Fire Alliance and prescribed fire information coordinator for Fire Forward, I have the honor of working alongside prescribed fire practitioners, cultural fire tenders, and stewards returning beneficial fire to region.

Below you’ll find a collection of stories about good fire written for All Hands Ecology (formerly Audubon Canyon Ranch), a not-for-profit organization on a mission to connect people, nature, and science for a more resilient world.

North Bay residents join together to tend nearly 1,000 acres with good fire in 2025

A ridgeline deep in the coastal mountains of northwest Sonoma County glitters in the night. The subtle glow appears on ALERTCalifornia camera system amongst miles of dense redwood and mixed evergreen forest. What isn’t detected by AI is the scent of toasted oak and fir and organic remnants, released after years of weathered accumulation. On the fire-line, a prescribed burn crew takes a moment to catch their breath as they marvel at the mellow fire effects that creep across a tangle of detritus.

Lighting the way: Local research is shaping the future of fire stewardship in North Bay

A low flame creeps across a shallow blanket of redwood duff, swallowing sword ferns in a brief crackle of light. A few inches below ground, their rhizomes prepare to resprout after a top singe and long winter soak. For a few hours, the forest in Coastal Marin is bathed in the apricot glow of a prescribed burn. Fresh char rings the base of coast redwoods, a species dating back to the Paleocene Epoch.  

Just 30 miles north begins a network of wildfire scars that have left different marks on the landscape, and in recent memory.

Coastal Prairies: Entangled Coastal Grasslands (Part 1)

A patch of swaying blades whispers the distinct song of shimmering grass, the scent conjuring memories of slow afternoons with sandy toes and salty lips. They sigh as the coastal breeze ripples through the patch, sending freckles of golden dust to the air and chorus of insects alight within these Coast Miwok and Miwok homelands.

Sun-loving California brome, blue wild rye, and purple needlegrass are signature perennials of a unique grassland ecosystem known as coastal prairie. The fine blades of grass have adapted to easily ignite in the dry heat of the summer. Grassland fires burn low to the ground, sweeping through in a flash and taking out seedlings of tree and shrubs still vulnerable to fire. The long-lived root structure of perennial bunchgrasses are especially resilient to fire, resprouting from their deep root systems almost immediately after a scorch. Fire is one of the greatest allies to help grasses push back against the dark cool forest.

But without fire, there’s a problem. In the absence of frequent disturbance, even plants endemic to California become deadly competition. 

Coastal Prairies: Returning fire to coastal grasslands (Part 2)

This StoryMap is the second in a 2-part series about California’s coastal prairies, home to North America’s most species-rich grasslands, and their entanglement with humans and fire.

Since 2018 our stewardship activities at Martin Griffin Preserve aims to restore grasslands crucial to watershed health and ecosystem resilience by returning good fire to the land.