Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters are helping battle the destructive blazes that are rapidly spreading across southern California as a powerful windstorm devastates the region.
The California department of corrections and rehabilitation (CDCR) said on Thursday that it had deployed 783 imprisoned firefighters while Los Angeles county fights multiple out-of-control blazes fueled by extreme winds and dry conditions. The incarcerated crews are embedded with the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) and its nearly 2,000 firefighters, who have been stretched thin from several simultaneous emergencies.
The CDCR operates more than 30 “fire camps” across the state where people serving state prison sentences are trained in firefighting and support authorities as they respond to fires, floods and other disasters. The sites, also called conservation camps, are considered minimum-security facilities and house more than 1,800 incarcerated firefighters, officials said this week.
On Wednesday, the CDCR said it had deployed 395 imprisoned firefighters to the frontlines. A day later, that number had doubled, and the department said the crews also have 88 staff members supporting them. Their work has involved “cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread”, the CDCR said.
California, which is grappling with longer and more destructive fire seasons amid the climate crisis, has long relied on incarcerated people for its response. The CDCR crews have at times accounted for as much as 30% of the wildfire force in the state.
The fire camp wages are meager, but are considered high-paying jobs behind bars, with CDCR firefighters earning between $5.80 and $10.24 a day and an additional $1 per hour when responding to active emergencies. When responding to disasters, they may earn $26.90 over a 24-hour shift, according to the CDCR.
“Wildfires are a constant and formidable challenge for California, and CDCR conservation fire camps remain dedicated to supporting the state’s response,” Jeff Macomber, CDCR secretary, said in a statement on Wednesday. “The work of our incarcerated firefighters and staff is an essential part of this effort, and their commitment to protecting lives and property during these emergencies cannot be overstated.”
The fires this week have stretched from the Pacific Palisades, a picturesque community along the ocean, to Pasadena, east of the city of Los Angeles. At least five people were killed and more than 1,000 structures destroyed.
1:49 'There's nothing left': fast-moving wildfires sweep through southern California – video
Participants in the program have said they appreciate higher wages and the opportunity to do meaningful work while serving their sentences, but the jobs can be taxing.
“The fire crews want to go out and support our communities and protect people and property,” said Amika Mota, an advocate who served with the fire camps from 2012 to 2015 while incarcerated, responding to more than 20 fires. “It’s horrific to see what’s unfolding, but I know the firefighters inside have a desire to take part and are walking into these horrible conditions proud to be there.”
Mota, now the executive director of the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, a group that supports formerly and currently incarcerated people, said the firefighting wages were helpful, but that people still struggled to get by: “We’re doing this heroic, crucial work, but many people inside cannot support their family, can barely afford to just get hygiene [supplies] for themselves. Nobody is saving money with wages for when you go home. Nobody is able to send money to cover the expenses their children are incurring.”
Participants must have eight years or less on their sentence, and some convictions, including sex offenses and arson, are disqualifying.
Graduates of the program have reported difficulties accessing firefighting jobs once released despite their experience and training.
The CDCR says some can seek professional emergency response certifications and expedited expungement once freed, and that a felony conviction doesn’t bar employment with Cal Fire. One 18-month training program helps participants become qualified to apply for entry-level firefighting jobs.
Mota recalled the grueling nature of the job: “We always had this reputation on the fire ground of being the ones who did the dirtiest work, the hardest work, got there the earliest, stayed there the longest. There was a lot of respect we’d get from other fire crews. But that also takes its toll.”
Still, she added: “The firefighters love to do this frontline work that’s fierce and intense and has the potential to save lives.”
knucklesOf88 on January 11st, 2025 at 15:34 UTC »
I worked alongside inmates when I was a firefighter 10 years ago, and they were some of the most hardworking people o have ever met. My rookie year there was a woman that had been on the Malibu inmate crew and was hired for federal firefighting. She rocked it! I find it interesting that nobody mentions that up until a few years ago, inmate crews were a common place at California wildfires, and a bunch of the crews were disbanded. They used to get 2 days off their sentences for every day they worked on a fire. There was a lot of competition for the spots on the crews.
Throw_a_way_Jeep on January 11st, 2025 at 15:12 UTC »
Many of these convicts are then barred from being actual firefighters after their release though, which is such a waste of training. Giving them these job opportunities after release would also help reduce the odds of convicts from going back to prison.
autoxbird on January 11st, 2025 at 14:52 UTC »
Volunteer fireman here, who has worked with convict crews on wildland fires and was deployed to California when it was on fire at the end of '07. This is actually a very common thing, having prisoners working on bigger wildland fires like this, and getting on one of the crews is actually a coveted position. Typically the prisoners that got allowed on the line were guilty of less serious crimes and were nearing the end of their sentence. I'd never heard, at least, of any trying to make a run for it, they didn't want to screw up the chance they'd been given. Most of the ones that I've talked to (and technically we weren't supposed to fraternize with them, but if had the chance to strike up a little conversation while refilling a water pack or something, I would) were, at least IMO, not bad people that made a poor choice in life, and were using getting trained in firefighting as an opportunity to better themselves and have better prospects for when they got out. And most of the ones I worked with were some of the hardest working men around. Typically getting hired as a felon is tricky at a city or county fire department, but I've seen a lot of them get hired on with private wildland hotshot crews.
What's even more common is having the prisoners working back at fire camp, in positions like the kitchen. I'd never really gotten a chance to talk much with them, but I can say more often than not, when the prisoners were running the kitchen, you knew you were going to get some good food. If I owned a restaurant, I would hire a convict that got taught how to cook by the prisons in a heartbeat