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Ryan Reed spent much of his childhood outdoors, absorbing the knowledge of his Karuk, Hupa, and Yurok ancestors through activities like hunting and fishing in the forests of Northern California. As he grew older, he began participating in , an ancient practice also known as prescribed or controlled burns that involves igniting and tending to small fires as a way to maintain the health of the forest and prevent larger fires. By necessity, this education was 鈥渄iscrete,鈥� he said, because for years, these burns were

These bans 鈥渟tripped us of our culture, but [were] also an . , leaving the forests full of brush and kindling that, combined with climate-related drought and record-breaking heat, fueled the current wildfire crisis. In the 23 years since Reed was born, California has experienced 15 of its 20 on record. 

Reed is now dedicated to restoring humans鈥� relationship to fire. He鈥檚 a graduate student, Indigenous fire practitioner and wildland firefighter, and he鈥檚 teaming up with other young fire practitioners to change the way the U.S. responds to the wildfire crisis.

鈥淭here needs to be a continuous place for our generation in [responding to] a crisis that we鈥檙e most impacted by,鈥� said Kyle Trefny, a student at the University of Oregon and seasonal wildland firefighter.

In 2022, Reed, Trefny and two other students 鈥� Bradley Massey, a junior at Alabama A&M University, and Alyssa Worsham, who recently completed her master鈥檚 at Western Colorado University 鈥� formed the (FireGen, for short), a group that advocates for centering Indigenous knowledge and bringing more young people into the wildfire space. 

That includes diversifying the workforce that responds to wildfires, Trefny said. A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the vast majority of wildland firefighters鈥攎ore than 80%鈥攊dentify as male and more than 70% of the workforce is white. Though Trefny is both male and white, he identifies as queer. He said he was struck by the lack of diversity in the ranks and described the culture as patriarchal and militaristic. 

A more inclusive and diverse workforce wouldn鈥檛 just lead to a better experience for new recruits, Trefny added, it could also help address the severe of wildland firefighters. Last year, the Forest Service told it was short more than 25% of the workforce it needed heading into fire season; the following months saw an number of wildfires, including the largest and most destructive fire on record in New Mexico.  

The FireGen cohort believes that getting more young and Indigenous people involved in developing wildfire policies can increase support for proactive tactics like prescribed burns. It鈥檚 a shift that Tim Ingalsbee, an instructor at the University of Oregon and a former wildland firefighter, said he鈥檚 noticed among his students in recent years.

鈥淵oung people want to get involved in putting good fire on the ground,鈥� said Ingalsbee. 鈥淭hirty years ago, no one asked me that. They all want to be firefighters.鈥�

In November, Ingalsbee traveled with Trefney, Reed, Massey and Worsham, to Washington, DC, at the invitation of U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. They met with Moore, Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, and officials from the Department of the Interior鈥檚 Office of Wildland Fire to advocate for getting more young people involved in wildfire policy.  

鈥淭he collaborative is passionate about being a part of the climate change solutions of the future, including work in prescribed fire and as wildland firefighters,鈥� said Wade Muehlhof, a  spokesperson for the Forest Service. 鈥淭hey bring great insights from the best and brightest we are trying to recruit into that workforce.鈥� 

The group arrived in Washington with a proposal to for young people to connect with the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior, the agencies that oversee federal wildland firefighting. Trefny said they looked to FEMA鈥檚 Youth Preparedness Council, which recruits young people to serve as and assist in other outreach efforts, as a model for bringing more young people into the field. (Muehlhof said his office was connecting the group with the Biden administration鈥檚 , which was created in 2021.)

In addition to its advocacy efforts, FireGen is working to fill a gap in knowledge about young peoples鈥� attitudes toward 鈥� and understanding of 鈥� fire. Reed, Trefny and Worsham are developing a research project that will gauge their peers鈥� interest in various fire-related activities, such as prescribed burning or fireproofing homes, to make a case to policymakers to fund workforce development programs that go beyond traditional firefighting. For Worsham, who became interested in wildfires through her graduate research in prescribed burns, it鈥檚 an opportunity to help others discover their own unique paths into this field.

鈥淲e need this base of young people who are rethinking how fire fits into bigger things, like land management and climate change,鈥� said Worsham. 鈥淲e鈥檙e aiming for fire happening at the right frequency, at the right severity, in the right vegetation and ecosystems. And that鈥檚 all going to take a lot more work on the front end than suppression, which is entirely [an] emergency or reactive response.鈥�

In a contribution to a recent Federation of American Scientists on wildfire responses, Reed and Trefny outlined ways that agencies could integrate Indigenous knowledge into their operations and invest in educating and onboarding young people. For example, they recommend shifting the hiring schedule for seasonal wildland firefighters from the fall to the spring to better accommodate students. 

Massey, who co-captains Alabama A&M University鈥檚 student-run forest firefighting team, wants to create more opportunities for students to access forest management and wildland firefighting training. The Forest Service currently partners with a of four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to establish student-run fire crews; Massey, who has led prescribed burns near his school鈥檚 Huntsville campus, hopes to establish a multi-school fire crew that could take on larger land management and firefighting responsibilities.

鈥淣ot too many people from my community are familiar with prescribed fire or wildland fire, so just being able to have that knowledge to give and open their eyes to see what else is out there [is my goal],鈥� Massey said. 

Massey and his FireGen teammates have seen, often up close, the devastation of increasingly frequent and severe wildfires. But they also understand that, much like becoming an electrician who installs heat pumps, understanding wildfires, and knowing how to anticipate and respond to them, is a skill set that will only grow in demand. 
鈥淚magine if in every fire-prone community, the local community college, university or even their local high school had programs where young people can get [prescribed] burn qualifications and get experience in making a house resilient,鈥� Trefney said. 鈥淥ur generation needs to be part of a cultural shift toward living with fire and not fearing it.鈥�

This article is originally appeared in , an editorially independent, nonprofit news service covering climate change. Follow .