In the 23 years since Reed was born, California has experienced 15 of its 20 most destructive wildfires on record. He’s a graduate student, Indigenous fire practitioner and wildland firefighter, and he’s teaming up with other young fire practitioners to change the way the U.S. responds to the wildfire crisis. That includes diversifying the workforce that responds to wildfires, Trefny said. 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. They met with Moore, Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, and officials from the Department of the Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire to advocate for getting more young people involved in wildfire policy.