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[DISCLOSURE: The Blue Lake Rancheria is a minority owner of the Outpost’s parent company, Lost Coast Communications, Inc.]

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Press release from the Yurok Tribe:

As part of a new agreement between the two Northern California tribes, the Yurok Fire Department recently started overseeing Blue Lake Rancheria’s fire management operations as well as providing expertise and assistance for cultural burning initiatives.

Signed by the Yurok Chairman Joseph L. James and Blue Lake Chairman Jason Ramos, the memorandum of understanding will improve the Rancheria’s capacity to prepare for, respond to and recover from wild land fires.

“The Yurok Tribe has been a valued partner and brings significant expertise in wildland fire management,” said Jason Ramos, the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribal Chairman. We are pleased to see tribes collaborating in this critically important area, an effort that will benefit our local communities.”

“We are always happy to share our knowledge and expertise with fellow tribes,” said Joseph L. James, the Yurok Tribal Chairman. “I’d like to sincerely thank the Blue Lake Rancheria for selecting the Yurok Fire Department. This partnership will strengthen tribal sovereignty, self-determination and safety within our respective communities.”

“We are grateful for the opportunity to provide these services and help out a neighboring tribal fire department,” added Yurok Fire Chief Rod Mendes. “This agreement represents a win/win for the tribes and surrounding communities.”

Per the agreement, the Yurok Fire Department will provide oversight and operational management of Blue Lake Rancheria’s fire personnel and equipment, utilize the Blue Lake Rancheria’s fire department as a satellite facility, and provide administrative assistance as needed. The agreement also funds a new battalion chief position for Yurok Fire, who will be stationed in the Blue Lake Rancheria facility.

The Yurok Tribe will also assist with cultural fire practices, including help and training from Yurok Prescribed Fire Burn Bosses and other fire practitioners. Blue Lake Rancheria will designate its own team of cultural fire practitioners and develop cultural fire objects and operations.

Cultural burning is a practice that leads to a healthier ecosystem for all plants and animals, long term fire protection for residents, and supports the traditional hunting and gathering activities of Native people.

The tribes have held successful collaborative burn demonstrations in the last three years on Blue Lake Rancheria property as part of the annual Cultural Burn Seminar.

The Yurok Fire Department is an all risk, all hazard organization that focuses on fire detection, prevention and suppression in conjunction with traditional and conventional fuels management. The chartered tribal agency fights wildfires in the local area and across the US as a national resource. In addition to extinguishing fires, the Yurok crew conducts cultural burns to moderate forest fuel loads, improve wildlife habitat and increase access to traditional basket weaving materials and indigenous foods on tribal lands. When they are not contending with fires or performing controlled burns, the Yurok crew works on projects that reduce fire risk on the reservation.

Chief Mendes has more than 35 years of fire officer leadership experience, including lengthy terms as a District Fire Management Officer for the Klamath National Forest and as the Chief of Fire and Office of Emergency Services for the Hoopa Valley Tribe, and over 20 years with Inter agency Incident Management teams. He is also a governor appointed member of California’s Homeland Security Advisory Committee.