[1/5] Volunteer David Palmer takes part in a broadcast burn in advance of wildfire season near Blodgett Forest Research Station in Georgetown, California, U.S., May 20, 2023. Teaching locals is exactly what Susie Kocher is hoping to accomplish through the El Dorado Amador Prescribed Burn Association. Founded in 2021, the association teaches private landowners about prescribed burns, including how to plan and carry them out safely. California last year launched a strategic plan for wildfire and forest resilience with the aim of expanding prescribed burns to 400,000 acres annually by 2025. The Saturday class for two dozen volunteers – mostly college students and a few private landowners - at the Blodgett Forest Research Station west of Lake Tahoe turned out just as the experts had hoped.

---

Persons: David Palmer, Loren Elliott GEORGETOWN, Susie Kocher, Amador, it's, Kocher, Sarah Fischbach, haven't, ” Fischbach, we're, ”, Ariel Roughton, Cathy Mueller, we've, ” Mueller, Nathan Frandino, Mary Milliken, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Research, REUTERS, El, Burn, “, Blodgett, Thomson Locations: Blodgett, Georgetown , California, U.S, Loren Elliott GEORGETOWN , California, California, Sierra Nevada, Lake, “ California