Living With Wildfire: Voices from Butte County

This episode highlights Paradise’s rebuilding journey and how neighbors are taking wildfire safety into their own hands through Firewise USA, tackling insurance challenges, and setting a national example for fire-adapted communities.

On this episode of Living With Wildfire, we explore how grazing cooperatives are reducing wildfire risk and strengthening communities. Sarah Jo McDowell and Sarah Keiser share how goats, sheep, and cattle are being used to manage vegetation, improve soil health, and build resilience. Listeners will also learn about the Butte County Fire Safe Council’s Annual Paradise Grazing Festival and its role in showcasing these innovative practices. 

This episode explores how the Butte Prescribed Burn Association (PBA) is reshaping our relationship with fire through the innovative “neighbors helping neighbors” model. Together, community members are learning to use good fire as a tool for healing the land, easing trauma, and building resilience. Featured voices include Taylor Nilsson, Executive Director of the Butte County Fire Safe Council; Wolfy Rougle, Planning & Watershed Program Manager at the Butte County Resource Conservation District; and Dallas Koller, Fire Program Manager at the Butte County Resource Conservation District. The conversation covers prescribed fire, land stewardship, community-led fire resilience, and how collaboration is transforming wildfire preparedness in Butte County. 

 In the premiere episode of Living With Wildfire: Voices from Butte County, host Calli-Jane West sits down with long-time board member and former Paradise Fire Chief Jim Broshears to explore the origins of the Butte County Fire Safe Council and the county’s wildfire history. From the lessons of the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire to the sweeping changes after the 2018 Camp Fire, they trace how community-led wildfire preparedness has evolved—from early fuel breaks to today’s landscape-level projects, prescribed burning, and Firewise communities. Together, they discuss how a deep connection to the land, proactive home hardening, and neighbor-to-neighbor collaboration are shaping a safer, more resilient Butte County.