"The Tassajara Firefighter Retreat is the most meaningful thing that fire has led me to. It has helped me recover from the toll that life experiences and working fire has had on me. This experience has helped me to feel balanced and whole. I would highly recommend this retreat."
~ Retreat participant, 2022-2023

Wildland firefighters from across the country expressed profound gratitude for the rest refuge and renewal offered at the annual Tassajara Wildland Firefighter Retreat—December 28, to January 2, 2026.

The retreats began in 2020 when wildland firefighters who had helped defend Tassajara from encroaching fires, and who knew the ever-increasing stressors, risks and intensity of the firefighter’s work, approached San Francisco Zen Center to ask if Zen Center might be able to offer mindfulness and meditation tools and support for the firefighter community. 

 The retreat has since become a sought-after annual offering that brings together circles of communities of care. This year eighteen wildland firefighters from different agencies and representing diverse experiences—from hot shots and smokejumpers to high level administration—practiced together with deep intention to not turn away from the complexity of the grief and joys of their profession, and to cultivate wholehearted care for self, other, Tassajara and the earth. 

 As part of their intention to give back, they joined in a day of work with firefighters from previous wildland retreats who returned to support SFZC by cutting firewood for Tassajara, taking down fallen trees, burning leaf piles, and doing wildfire prevention work. Volunteers also came in to prepare delicious meals for all and to be of support for the staff and residents in the valley.

 On New Years Eve everyone gathered together in the zendo for meditation and the ringing of the bonsho bell 108 times, and at the blazing bonfire for song, poetry, laughter and tears and offerings of things to release and call in for 2026. The kitchen prepared an extraordinary ramen feast that evening, and blueberry pancakes for all in the morning!

 In these challenging and difficult times, the Wildland Firefighter Retreat offers immersion in the healing power and care of community and the direct experience of practice as a path of refuge and renewal for body mind and spirit.   

 Thank you to the generous donors and sponsors and to everyone in the Tassajara valley who participated to making this retreat a success. Together, we illumined the darkness. 

 —Chris Fortin, Lee Klinger Lesser, and Marc Lesser—Retreat Leaders

Information from past retreats

In December of 2024, the San Francisco Zen Center offered a 9-day mindfulness-based retreat for Wildland Firefighters at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. SFZC has sponsored three previous retreats that have been life-changing for the participants. These retreats are a way to support our first responders, who have played a crucial role in protecting our forests from numerous fires that have become more frequent and fierce in recent summers.

The intensity and longevity of these wildfires has been taking a toll on firefighters and their families, who carry the trauma of the destruction they witness and of the loss of colleagues who have died fighting the fires.

Comments from firefighters after the retreat:

"Going to [Tassajara] was a life-changing experience for me. I really appreciated being surrounded by like-minded firefighters who truly understand the struggles we each face, both on and off of the line. I found people I could empathize with, I found healing, and I found practices I can use in everyday life to benefit my mental health."

"I hope this [yearly] retreat continues and I will be actively sharing the tools, resources, and my takeaways with the wildland firefighter community whenever I have the opportunity."

Photos of Dharma Heart Zen retreat volunteers