Inaugural class of new Forest Corps inducted in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO — About 20% of California is forest land and the state is already experiencing an above-average fire season.

A new team of young volunteers is being trained to help reduce the threat of wildfires and respond when they grow out of control. Taking an oath to serve their country, these young adults are the first members of a new team called the Forest Corps .

"The need is great," said Liz Berger, a U.S. Forest Service regional forester. "We are addressing a wildfire crisis."

AmeriCorps has been serving communities across the country for 30 years, but this class is dedicated to exclusively working in the national forests.

"These young people are going to be working long days, sometimes long nights," said AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith. "They're going to be in hot weather."

The team's first task is to reduce the threat of forest fires by eliminating dry brush and debris that can help fires rapidly grow in size.

"There are a lot of wildfires this season and I know fuel reduction is a great way to prevent that," said Cassidy Smith, Forest Corps team leader.

"It's something that is definitely needed for the environment and not a lot of people are willing to actually go out and do the hard work in the dirt," said Forest Corps member Tristin Edwards.

If the fire season worsens, team members can also be sent to the frontlines to help battle the blaze.

"We actually were in fire training this morning and all of last week," Cassidy Smith said. "We had a field day with forest service staff."

A shortage of hand crews has been a challenge for state and federal fire agencies, and the Forest Service said that these new teams can help.

"We're adding capacity with them," Berger said. "We're adding more people to get on the ground and do some of the really hard challenging work."

Michael Smith said the Forest Corps is starting with 80 members but he hopes that number could grow to 800 in the next couple of years.

Forest Corps members commit to ten months of service and are eligible for a grant to pay for higher education once they complete the program.