Private landowners play a big role in the prescribed fire conducted annually in the Southeast. The Tall Timbers Prescribed Fire Academy was established to provide them with access to high-quality, continually improved training options. Thanks to funding from our state and federal partners, this new online learning platform is available for free from March 16 to May 18.
The Academy was designed for private landowners and managers, with online materials and assignments that provide the flexibility to balance other responsibilities. These resources familiarize students with prescribed fire concepts from state Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Programs, the Guidebook to Prescribed Burning in the Southern Region, and Tall Timbers research and staff experience. Video interviews from a wide variety of fire managers and landowners are found throughout the Academy, bringing these concepts to life and enhancing the learning experience.
Additional training modules will be added to the Academy each year, based on input received from students and other fire practitioners. These new modules may include various aspects of fire ecology and fire history, as well as appropriate National Wildfire Coordinating Group materials, while respecting the art and culture of the fire, which is a vital component of sustaining prescribed fire use.
The Academy will be open to students twice a year, with several “office hours” hosted by seasoned prescribed fire managers ready to answer questions. In order to strengthen the concepts learned online, Academy students will also be given information regarding their local Prescribed Burn Associations, potential Learn n’ Burn events in their area, Burn Plan Writing Workshops and other in-person fire mentoring opportunities. While the Academy does not offer any official certification, it is hoped that everyone in the fire community will seek out what they want to learn more about, and continue to be a “student of fire.”
“Tall Timbers hired an instructional designer and has invested 15 months in developing the Academy as an interactive online learning platform,” explained Zach Prusak, Wildland Fire Training Specialist with the Prescribed Fire Applications Program at Tall Timbers. “Our experience during COVID taught us that a good amount of classroom time can be moved to online learning, which can reach more students from a wide fire background at a lower cost. Addressing core fire management concepts online also helps focus subsequent in-person learning time during hands-on fire experiences.”
The Academy includes seven Modules covering core concepts, and takes approximately 10 to 25 hours to complete, depending upon how many Modules you complete. These include “Getting Started,” “Planning the Prescribed Burn,” “Conducting the Burn” and more! This is currently a self-paced course with no testing or final examination. Since many of these key concepts are a part of state Certified Prescribed Burn Manager (CPBM) Courses, state agencies have expressed an interest in utilizing several Modules to provide opportunities for online learning as part of their certification process. The state of Pennsylvania has already included several modules in their 2025 state CPBM offering to great success, and if other states here in the SE adopt the core fire Modules for state CPBM courses, then these materials will be offered as often as needed.
We welcome your feedback on this inaugural launch of the Academy, as we will use your input to inform the second offering in Summer of 2026.
To start the Academy:
1) Watch this video to learn how to access the courses:
2) Open the Tall Timbers Course Platform to log in or create an account: https://talltimbers.instructure.com/login/canvas
3) Complete the evaluation form so we can make each course better before the next offering
Any questions on the course structure and Portal mechanics, contact Joseph Krafczynski, Fire Course Developer with the Prescribed Fire Applications Program at Tall Timbers.
